News from the Long Island Library Resources Council
WINTER CONFERENCE
November/December 2021
Volume 39 Number 6
LILRCNEWSLETTER
September/October 2021 LILRC NEWSLETTER
Message from Tim Spindler Executive Director The 30th Annual Conference on Libraries and the Future: New Perspectives was a success with our three speakers. We recognized Dr. Arthur Friedman for his 30 years of service on the planning committee and presented a video with remembrances of the 30 years of the conference with interviews conducted by Chris Kretz. Miguel Figueroa opened up the conference with his presentation, “What We Talk About When We Talk About the Future.” He discussed being wary of thinking in terms of a singular future because it can tend to lead to dependence on one person’s vision. There should be a diversity of opinions that should be heard and that there is not necessarily one future. Thinking of the future can be more productive and inclusive. Miguel was followed by Dr. Brandy McNeil from the New York Public Library. Her presentation, “Innovation in the New Normal,” featured the drastic changes libraries had to make for the pandemic and how those changes are impacting the future of library innovation. She noted how switching to an online environment has impacted the future of library programming and how staff can work for libraries whether in person or remotely. The pandemic also highlighted the need to bring more people into the use of technology raising issues of digital equity. The crisis also forced the library to be more prepared for future crises. A big takeaway I took from her presentation is the need for libraries to be where their communities are, whether that is on zoom, at a reference desk, or in a popup library at the farmers market. The conference concluded with Stacey Aldrich’s discussion and walking attendees through scenario planning. She talked about the power of stories and the importance of challenging our assumptions. By developing scenarios, we can create stories as a way to explore the future and look at our assumptions. The conference really returned to its roots in this program. I found all of the speakers informative and insightful covering everything from how to plan for the future, to theoretical frameworks, and practical no nonsense advice. Tim Spindler
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November/December 2021 LILRC NEWSLETTER
November 10, 2pm-3pm REGISTER
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Study and reading area in the former library
Hollis Health Sciences Library: Back up for Renewal by Barnaby Nicolas Director, Hollis Health Sciences Library Prior to the first confirmed case in New York State, administrative leadership meetings were being held at NYU Langone Health to discuss what was a newly identified human coronavirus called 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019 nCoV) at that point in time. Action planning, emergency preparedness, and future contingency planning for escalation were among the matters being addressed in an effort to be proactive as the medical center vigorously monitored the outbreak. Furthermore, communication and training informing frontline clinical staff of the appropriate screening and containment protocols were provided to ensure we were prepared as a health system as we expected cases to come to the New York metropolitan area in the coming days. Little did we know that this would be become a global pandemic with New York serving as the epicenter during the first wave in 2020. The impact of the pandemic disrupted services across our organization. It forced departments to adjust their approaches on how to carry out their missions. The Hollis Health Sciences Library, serving the Long Island campus which consists of the NYU Long Island School of Medicine and NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island (formerly NYU Winthrop Hospital), was not immune to this reality. During the first week of March, the Hospital had its first confirmed COVID-19 positive case. To accommodate an anticipated increase in the number of patients under investigation presenting to the emergency department for COVID-19 screening, the hospital’s Dr. Martin Spatz Conference Center (which consists of multiple conference rooms that are used for grand rounds, workshops, and meetings) was repurposed into a screening location. The Library at nearly 3,350 square feet was located in the basement level of the north pavilion for 20 years after moving from the main pavilion in year 2000.
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Entrance to the former Hollis Sciences Library before closing in March 2020
FROM THE FIELD Happenings at Long Island Libraries
Computer laboratory in the former library
It was furnished with a computer lab, study carrels, group study tables, individual reading tables and reading chairs, and a shelving system that housed more than 3,600 volumes medical and health sciences texts. The library was adjoined to the Spatz conference center and consequently closed its doors to serve as a support space for the screening area. The five library faculty and staff were temporarily relocated to the School’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid and continued to deliver library services and support. A couple of weeks in, as the pandemic surged, the library faculty and staff relocated once more—this time working from home. By the end of March, as the hospital approached full capacity, the conference center was converted to a 13-bed ICU unit with amazing ingenuity to mitigate the scarcity of available beds. The library needed to be decanted to accommodate and serve as a support space for this new ICU unit. Thus, the physical materials (print textbooks, media, computers and other equipment) and furniture were transported to off-site storage facilities. Although the physical library space was decommissioned, the library faculty and staff were resilient and demonstrated their flexibility and adaptability in the face of the challenges presented by the pandemic and provided valued services in support of the education, research, and clinical missions of the institution. The library leveraged its library systems and the institution’s web conferencing technologies to stay connected and engaged with its patrons and provide services efficiently. This included fulfilling requests for mediated literature searches; providing virtual library orientation lectures to residents, fellows, and faculty; operating a chat service in real-time; delivering virtual synchronous trainings, educational sessions, and consultations for PubMed, CINAHL, and EndNote; and coordinating with the storage vendor to retrieve physical materials when requested. With support from the hospital and school leadership, the library worked with our Real Estate Development and Facilities department to assess plans for developing and designing sufficient space and resources to restore the library. At the beginning of the new academic year in July 2020, the library conducted a survey in an effort to collect feedback from our stakeholders. One of the main objectives of this survey was to examine our patrons’ current needs in a library that would support
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Temporary library reopened in August 2021
their scholarly, research, and collaboration activities. Medical students, residents, fellows, and a group of nurse management and nurse educators participated in the survey. Majority of the participants responded that it was important for them to have the following features available in the library: quiet study space; computer stations; access to printers, scanners, and other peripheral hardware; access to software programs; and collaboration spaces. The responses from the survey were shared with our real estate development and facilities department to provide additional guidance, with respect to their plans for developing a new program for the library space in the future. A year later, our real estate development and facilities department identified and secured an area in the Research and Academic Center building across the street from the hospital to transform into a temporary library space. The library reopened in August 2021. Due to its short-term nature, the library space is limited in terms of the physical resources. Anticipating there would be some challenges with demand and traffic for study carrels and computer workstations, the library implemented a seat booking solution using LibCal, a product by Springshare. To support this service, the library was awarded the 2021 Long Island Library Resources Council (LILRC) HLSP Technology Grant. The library used the grant funds to procure an Apple iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard. The LibCal reservation module was made readily available on the tablet device to facilitate the seat reservation process for our patrons. The library is grateful for its internal support from the hospital and school leadership, its partnership with the real estate development and facilities department, and its external support from LILRC. With several construction and building projects underway to expand the footprint of our institution on Long Island, the prospect of the library finding a new permanent home in the future seems favorable with an opportunity to renew the library space and write a new chapter in the library’s 93-year-old history.
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2021 LILRC NEWSLETTER
CITIZEN SCIENCE AND HOW WE CAN IMPROVE OUR COMMUNITIES NOVEMBER 12, 1:00PM-2:00PM REGISTER
SEPTEMBR 23, 11AM-12PM
QPR (QUESTION, PERSUADE, REFER) FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION NOVEMBER 17, 10:00AM-12:00PM REGISTER
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ASK AN ARCHIVIST: SAFE LABELING OF ITEMS & OBJECTS IN THE ARCHIVE NOVEMBER 23, 10:00AM-11:00AM
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DECEMBER 2, 2:00PM-3:00PM :OOREG !
WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY SKILLS: PRESENTATION SOFTWARE DECEMBER 3, 10:00AM-11:00AM REGISTER
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The LILRC Newsletter is the official newsletter of the LONG ISLAND LIBRARY RESOURCES COUNCIL. © LILRC It is published six times a year and available on our website. We encourage articles and photographs but reserve the right to refuse any material. Editor: Sally Stieglitz ADDRESS: 627 N. Sunrise Service Road, Bellport, NY 11713-1540 TELEPHONE: (631) 675-1570 WEBSITE: www.lilrc.org
627 N. Sunrise Service Road Bellport, NY 11713-1540 November/December 2021 Volume 39, Number 6 For more information visit: www.lilrc.org
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