Published: November 9, 2022 by Dr. José Aguiñaga

As I developed my RSCA agenda during my 1st semester at the iSchool, I have focused on academic libraries, organizational culture, and EDI since March 2020. These findings may shed new insights into what is happening with academic libraries since the pandemic has caused societal and medical paradigm shifts across higher education. Another finding that I have discovered after breaking down my focus per each keyword search is the intriguing fact that academic libraries are encountering new opportunities to revise and create new services that promote collaborative student success and engagement.

I am preparing a manuscript for submission to the Journal of Academic Librarianship. The theme is The Pandemic’s Impact on the Academic Library: Adapting to the New Normal. This manuscript’s working title is Adaptability and Resourcefulness: Academic Libraries and the Global COVID-19 Pandemic. This manuscript provides a literature review of peer-reviewed articles since March 2020. Several themes emerged: academic libraries staff, leadership, students, adapting to change, and future opportunities.

The anchor to my peer-reviewed publications will be my data analysis. Understanding the story that emerges from the data may reveal other themes that I must consider, and it may confirm what has been disseminated in the library and information science literature. One survey focuses on leadership, Bolman & Deal’s Four Frames of Leadership. Besides the quantitative study, academic librarians will provide data with the qualitative portion of the study. Using the narrative-inquiry methodology, I will interview academic library colleagues and listen to what they have experienced since March 2020. I look forward to contributing to the literature with what the findings will reveal about academic librarianship and academic libraries since COVID-19 entered our daily life.

Secondly, I am preparing a manuscript for the International Information & Library Review. This manuscript will share the changing nature of reference services, organizational culture, and EDI in academic libraries from March 2020. The publication date is June 2023.

I have also submitted several abstract chapter proposals regarding community college libraries. ACRL has created a call for proposals for a new series of monographs dealing with community college libraries. The first abstract proposal: “Who belongs at the reference desk?” Abstract #2 is co-authored with a former community college librarian colleague from Glendale Community College in Arizona, entitled: “Cooperative collection development and management.”

Finally, in preparation for my second year, I attended the ALISE 2022 conference in Pittsburgh, and I look forward to submitting conference paper proposals for 2023. I welcome your feedback regarding my 1st semester at the iSchool. Thanks for taking the time to read about my initial junior scholar steps.