Digital, virtual, online – in focus

Abstract

Purpose. The Zagreb City Libraries offer their users a variety of online services and content, the importance of which was even more strongly emphasized during the period of physical closure due to the pandemic of the COVID-19 disease and additional difficulties caused by the Zagreb earthquake. The aim of this paper is to use the analysis of the services and content available to the Zagreb City Libraries’ users during the lockdown, to corroborate the premise of the importance of permanent investment in the following areas: the quality online services and content, the e-book acquisition, employee education for the skills and knowledge required for remote work from home, and in the technological equipment that supports both the remote work and the increased user access to the online services and content. Methodology. The use of online services and content was analyzed through statisti-cal data collected by the Google Analytics online tool and by tracking the use of digital content of the Zagreb City Libraries in public media and society. The 2020 data are provided for the periods before, during, and after libraries full closures in order to draw conclusions about changes in access to and use of online services and content. Also, as a supplement to the data from 2020, a comparison was made with the 2019 data for some of the digital contents and services. Findings. The importance of the Zagreb City Libraries’ online services and content (Digital collections, e-books, catalog, Anniversary calendar, social media channels, Ask a Librarian service), which record significant changes in use during the period of physical closure of libraries, is the basis for the further planning of priorities in development of the Zagreb City Libraries and an incentive for a comprehensive analysis of the consequences of these exceptional events, in order to effectively influence the further operations and development of libraries. Originality and value. In addition to presenting the only modes of the library services and content available to users during the lockdown of a large library network, the paper supports the premise of the crucial importance of the library services and content based on information and communication technologies and the importance of a contin-uous investment in the libraries’ digital activities.