Page 56 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

LI Jingxia & LI Zhenwu / Inquiring into and reflecting on library professionalism in the new era: 055
Taking Wuhan public libraries’ anti-pandemic practice as an example

input, design and implementation of the central-branch library system in Wuhan were led by
the government and libraries. It is one representation of the professionalism of libraries in the
rapid development of public culture services to participate in the top-level design and practical
construction. In 2006, with the support of governments at the municipal and district levels, libraries
in Wuhan started from the 24-hour self-service library and the one-card-through in public libraries
to establish the central-branch system and the “City of Reading” (one of five cultural cities). At
last, the library system of three levels have been established in Wuhan in which the Wuhan Library
acts as the central library, libraries of districts as main libraries (the district level) and community
libraries as branch libraries (the district level). At the same time, public libraries and academic
libraries in Wuhan cooperate with each other, which breaks the service barriers between public and
academic systems.
The relatively valid central-branch system established before the outbreak of the COVID-19
has undoubtedly provided a solid foundation for the actions and services during the special period
in conjunction with pushing ahead anti-pandemic services. On the one hand, the professionalism
of the central-branch system arouses the consciousness of grassroots libraries in cooperation and
service. Benefiting from the professional consciousness, public libraries in Wuhan collaborated
with social forces and built 23 “bookstops” providing nearly 10,000 books and periodicals in
February 2020 (“A close-up”, 2020). According to statistics, book corners amounted to 78 when the
makeshift hospitals wrapped up operation as of March 10, 2020. In addition, the building of book
corners included selection, packaging, delivery and arrangement. Although the work was finished
in haste, it had been practiced repeatedly in the daily operation of the central-branch library system.
Librarians were quite familiar with the circulation and coordination of information resources.
On the other hand, digital libraries and the digital resource sharing mechanism established under
the central-branch system endowed the library with substantial service capacities which enabled
libraries of all levels and all types to change their service mode rapidly in emergency. In the past
few months, public libraries in Wuhan were able to provide online services and various kinds of
digital services such as cloud reading and online lectures. Generally speaking, it was the overall
arrangement at an earlier time that enabled libraries to carry out responsive strategies and services
in time in the anti-pandemic practice.

2.2 Professional services: An integration of online and offline services

Although libraries were closed during the pandemic, they kept providing professional services
offline. Library workers visited different communities, including makeshift hospitals, groups of
medical workers who came to aid Wuhan, quarantine venues, people who were stranded in Wuhan,
temporary shelters and rehabilitation revenues. Book corners were built to provide spiritual
nourishment for patients, doctors and other staff and help them relive mental stress and panic.
However, the most remarkable performance of libraries during the pandemic should be online