School libraries in the virtual world

Abstract

Goal. The paper aims to present the database of links of virtual libraries designed by school librarians, in order to highlight the importance of the school libraries’ role in e-learning and the use of new technologies in education. Approach/methodology. The paper presents an analysis of virtual libraries available in the repository of the school librarianship UDK02, the Croatian network of school librarians. The classification, i.e. the taxonomy of repository content was created with the list of topics, subtopics, and digital tools used by school librarians. Results. The Croatian Library Repository UDK02 contains links to 243 virtual libraries (183 primary and 60 secondary school libraries). Practical implementation. By uniting all virtual libraries in one place, the librarians and all other users have access to a large number of different information. Besides, this website could be the starting page for one joint page for all librarians in the future. Limitations. It is necessary to constantly update virtual pages of all libraries and check the links because some links are no longer available after some time, and also publish our own new materials. Social significance. The pandemic caused by the COVID-19 disease has had a huge impact on society as a whole. The school librarians have aimed to reduce/mitigate all elements of the negative impact with the activities of virtual libraries. The school librarians have continued to support the educational process by referring to available learning and teaching online materials. Originality. The paper presents some high-quality solutions of school librarians in providing services to their users during the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 disease and after the closure of libraries at the national level. Furthermore, the paper empha-sizes the importance of the school library visibility and the library’s importance as a reinforcement to the educational process. In addition, a brief analysis indicates the op-portunities for improvement and further development.