The Barriers and Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on University Library Services in the First Grade Universities' Central Libraries in Iran

The purpose of this study was to explore the barriers to and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the services of central libraries of the first grade Iranian universities.

The research method was qualitative and data collection was done through telephone and online interviews with central library managers or assistants of 13 first grade university libraries. The interview recordings were transcribed with CallX software. The content of the interviews was analyzed and coded using MaxQDA software and led to the extraction of 120 initial codes that discussed the effects and barriers of Covid-19.

Almost all central libraries of the studied universities limited their in-person services during the Covid-19 pandemic and tried to increase digital and remote services. The main problem in the online services of the central libraries was low internet speed and bandwidth that made it difficult to provide online services in libraries. Other important barriers included the issue of intellectual property of Persian resources and the lack of a clear framework for exploiting the digital format of these resources at the national level as well as budget problems and lack of specific protocols for sending physical resources via mail, etc.

Converting Covid-19 as an opportunity, institutionalizing teleworking for organizations, facilitating the bureaucratic process of essential library purchases, and accepting the change are among the cases affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.