10. Virtual Information Services During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Makerere University Library, Uganda

The unprecedented outbreak of Covid-19 led to disruptions in all aspects of life and the economy. Total and partial closures have characterised the pandemic period to contain the spread of the epidemic. Higher education institutions have devised new forms of existence. With the increasing mutations of the virus, coupled with slow vaccination rollouts in Uganda, e-learning remains the practical pedagogy, while electronic information resources are the vital support for learning and research in these circumstances. During the first lockdown, in April 2020, the library carried out a qualitative study on both frontline library staff and academic users. The aim of the study was to understand the experiences of use of electronic resources during the pandemic period. Among the observations of the study was a total decline in downloads from institutional subscriptions of up to about 20% in the year 2020. This finding was troubling, given prior assumptions that lockdowns would boost e-resources’ uptake. Furthermore, while the library website and its aggregator tools had traditionally been assumed to be key access points for institutional resources, the study showed that most respondents preferred Google Scholar and not the library discovery tool, as their preferred a key search interface. While Google Scholar worked perfectly on campus within permissible IP ranges, off campus access, as determined by the pandemic period, required a remote access tool. As such, respondents who utilised Google Scholar, experienced marked differences in the levels of access while outside the university network. Thus, the findings revealed that the library website was not the first point of recourse for most users and that this particularly affected the utilisation of e-resources. This chapter, therefore, highlights efforts to improve the use of e-resources through augmenting the website with interactive and other applications. It includes, but are not limited to, a subscription to another remote access system (MyLOFT – My Library on Finger Tips), which enables users to remotely access the library’s electronic resources, using their personal accounts and internet from anywhere with more flexibility. Zoom accounts have been established for blended information literacy trainings, complemented by social media platforms, especially WhatsApp and Twitter to facilitate seamless communication. Nevertheless, while the transition to virtual engagement offers opportunities, there are challenges as well. This chapter has chronicled and analysed the mediated undertakings of the Makerere University Library’s ICT to maintain accessibility, visibility, and relevance in the face of physical isolation. It is based on the experiences of staff members at the frontline, coupled with observations of the library’s social media feeds. It could be deduced that the adoption and acceleration of technological tools in the context of the pandemic were perceived as a case of rising to the occasion , while social media platforms were recognised as ‘useful’ and ‘easy to use’ (Davis 1989:320) in bridging distance and isolation.