Page 60 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

LI Jingxia & LI Zhenwu / Inquiring into and reflecting on library professionalism in the new era: 059
Taking Wuhan public libraries’ anti-pandemic practice as an example

authoritative and reliable knowledge and information”, “educators” and “providing corresponding
services of reference and emergency event by all kinds of means” (FU, 2020). In practice, libraries
took the initiative to provide and introduce authoritative information to the public. Some public
libraries including the Arlington Public Library in Texas, the Oxford Public Library in Connecticut
and the Thousand Oaks Library in California provided corresponding resource lists. Professional
and special libraries at the national level mainly provided professional resources through open
scientific data and scholarly navigation (FU, 2020).

3.3 Professionalism in terms of the long-term planning

Due to the over 100-year-old professional spirit, the library profession has been paying attention
to planning at the macro level. The central-branch system established over a decade ago and
digital resources in reserve provided the bedrock for anti-pandemic services. It also displayed the
advantages brought by the long-term arrangement and planning. From the global perspective, the
healthy and sound library network also played the fundamental role. As the pandemic is gradually
controlled, the world library field begins to turn attention to the post COVID-19 plan. The
European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA) issued the
draft, A European Library Agenda for the Post-Covid 19 Age: Work in Progress, which involved
five key points in library work: exponential social distancing, technologies mutating and shaping
libraries in new ways, reviewing the library budget composition, library governance at central
and local levels and remembering the climate change opportunity and threat (“EBLIDA releases
Preparing a European library agenda for the post-Covid 19 age Work in Progress”, 2020). The
agenda serves as the basic framework and guidance for the recovery of European libraries, and also
makes reflections on the development of librarianship in the future.

3.4 Professionalism in terms of responsive thinking

Responsive thinking is another representation of the libraries’ professionalism. Users were obliged
to withdraw from physical libraries for months, which destroyed their habits to some extent. It is
quite dangerous in the long run. Although online services increase, physical space is actually the
irreplaceable resource and feature of libraries. The Australian Library and Information Association
turned the crisis into an opportunity. In May 2020, Australia resumed work and production. The
association launched the campaign “We’re back. Tell us how you missed us”, which called on
libraries to collect stories of users’ missing libraries and evoke their emotions towards libraries,
and also announced the reopening of libraries (“The Australian library industry is working on a
safe and smooth resumption of opening”, 2020). Similar responsive thinking was commonplace
in the anti-pandemic practice (“The Australian library industry is working on a safe and smooth
resumption of opening”, 2020). For example, a librarian in the United States “gave full play to the