COVID-19 Pandemi Sürecinin Üniversite Kütüphanelerinde Kullanıcı Hizmetlerine Etkisi: Devlet Üniversitesi Kütüphaneleri ve Vakıf üniversitesi Kütüphaneleri Açısından Bir Karşılaştırma
Zehra Kartal, Ümit KonyaÜniversitelerdeki eğitimin, öğretimin ve bilimsel araştırmanın destekleyici unsuru olan üniversite kütüphaneleri, COVID-19 pandemi sürecinden oldukça etkilenmiştir. Bu araştırma ile pandemi sürecinde üniversite kütüphanelerindeki kullanıcı hizmetlerine ait bir durum tespiti yapılarak, bu hizmetlerin süreçten ne şekilde etkilendiğinin ve bu etkinin devlet üniversitesi ve vakıf üniversitesi kütüphaneleri açısından farklılık gösterip göstermediğinin tespit edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma, “pandemi süreci üniversite kütüphanelerinin kullanıcı hizmetlerini etkilemiştir”, “üniversite kütüphaneleri, pandemide mevcut bazı hizmetlerini aynı şekilde devam ettirebilirken, bazı hizmetlerinin işleyişinde ise değişiklikler yapmak veya yeni hizmet politikaları geliştirmek durumunda kalmıştır” ve “mevcut kütüphane hizmetlerinde yapılan değişiklikler devlet ve vakıf üniversitesi kütüphaneleri arasında farklılık göstermiştir” hipotezlerinden hareketle hazırlanmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden olan örnek olay deseni tercih edilmiştir. Devlet üniversitesi ve vakıf üniversitesi kütüphanelerinde görev yapan kütüphanecilere yönelik bir görüş formu hazırlanmıştır. Görüş formunu, 57’si devlet üniversitesi 57’si ise vakıf üniversitesi kütüphanelerinde görev yapmakta olan 114 kütüphaneci yanıtlamıştır. Görüş formlarına verilen yanıtlar organize edilmiş ve yorumlanmıştır. Yanıtlardan elde edilen veriler ışığında pandemi sürecinde, üniversite kütüphanelerinde kullanıcı hizmetlerinin önemli ölçüde aksadığı, bununla birlikte kütüphanelerin pandemi sürecine mümkün olduğunca uyum sağlamaya çalıştığı ve hizmetlerin devam edebilmesi için alternatif çözümler üretildiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
The Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On User Services in University Libraries: A Comparison From The Perspective Of State University Libraries And Foundation University Libraries
Zehra Kartal, Ümit KonyaThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted university libraries, which serve as a supportive element for education, teaching, and scientific research in universities. This study aims to determine the state of user services in university libraries during the pandemic and to assess how these services have been impacted, as well as to determine whether this impact differs between public and foundation university libraries. The research is based on the hypotheses that “the pandemic has affected user services in university libraries,” “university libraries have had to continue some existing services as they are while making changes to the operation of some services or developing new service policies during the pandemic,” and “the changes made in existing library services have varied between public and foundation university libraries.” The study employs a case study design, which is one of the qualitative research methods. A survey form was prepared for librarians working in public and foundation university libraries. A total of 114 librarians, 57 from public universities and 57 from foundation universities, responded to the survey. The responses to the survey were organized and interpreted. Based on the data obtained from the responses, it was concluded that during the pandemic, user services in university libraries were significantly disrupted. However, it was also found that libraries made efforts to adapt to the pandemic as much as possible and produced alternative solutions to ensure the continuity of services.
It is undeniable that a global-scale event such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had significant impacts on various areas including health, economy, social, cultural, and education, has adversely affected the field of education and educational processes. Due to the rapid spread and form of the COVID-19 virus, educational processes in universities, as well as in all levels of educational institutions in our country, have experienced disruptions. As of March 16, 2020, all schools under the Ministry of National Education and all universities under the Higher Education Council suspended education and training for a while, and subsequently, a decision was made for all schools and higher education institutions to continue their instructional activities through distance education (Yavuz vd., 2020, s. 130-131).
The initial complete interruption of education and teaching in universities, followed by the transition to distance education system, has directly impacted university libraries and library services. During this process, university libraries have struggled to fulfill their primary function of providing information services to their users. Library users, particularly, have been unable to access information sources available in physical environments, leading to difficulties in meeting their information needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has manifested its impact globally across various domains, presenting an unforeseen and unprecedented situation. Consequently, university libraries found themselves unprepared for this situation and initially uncertain about how to respond.
As the understanding of the prolonged nature of the pandemic emerged, alternative methods were sought for the continuation of educational processes in universities. Similarly, university libraries have endeavored to explore new methods in order to sustain their services to the extent possible. While this process affected all the services provided by university libraries, it is clear that the service unit most affected is user services. The suspension of education and teaching in universities during the pandemic has led to a decrease in the number of users who can benefit from university libraries in physical settings. However, many user services such as physical lending, return, consultation, reference services, and similar others have not been available. The decrease in the number of users due to the suspension of education and the transition to distance education in universities, coupled with the necessity for libraries to restrict services due to the transmission rate and form of the COVID-19 virus, has also contributed to this situation.
This study aims to conduct a situational analysis of user services in university libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of determining how these services have been affected by the pandemic and whether this impact differs between state and foundation university libraries. In this research, the qualitative research method of the case study design was chosen. Within the scope of the study, a questionnaire was prepared for librarians working in state and foundation university libraries. The responses to the questionnaires were organized, interpreted, and various findings were obtained at the conclusion of the research. A total of 114 librarians, with 57 from state university libraries and 57 from foundation university libraries, responded to the questionnaire. The reason for selecting librarians working in both state and foundation universities in equal proportions may be the possibility of differences between these libraries in terms of the regulations they are subject to, as well as their budgets, technological infrastructure, and human resources. With this consideration in mind, the aim was to determine whether these libraries have different capabilities or limitations in maintaining their existing services and developing new service models during the pandemic.
The data obtained from the research were analyzed and interpreted using the SPSS program. Based on the responses, various aspects such as the overall condition of user services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the existence of any disrupted services, and the types of changes made to the existing services were identified. The differences between foundation university libraries and state university libraries in terms of the emerging developments and changes made were examined. In light of the data obtained, it has been concluded that user services in university libraries have significantly faltered during the pandemic; however, alternative solutions have also been devised to ensure the continuity of services as much as possible. Additionally, although there was a slight variation in the changes made to services between foundation and state university libraries during this period, it has been concluded that regardless of the type of library, user services were the most affected service type during the pandemic. Although efforts were made and new practices were introduced in both types of libraries to ensure the continuation of services during the pandemic, it has been found that these practices were more prevalent in foundation university libraries.
