What is the place of the Library Space in health care? A literature review and survey of health care library experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Over the last 25 years, health library collections and working practices have shifted in response to an increasingly digital world. As a result, there is a need to examine the continuing role of physical library space in health care environments. There is also a need to consider changes made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic when health librarians found themselves providing essential information services from home, disconnected from physical libraries, at a time when health professionals urgently needed reliable and high-quality information. This study examined the impact of the pandemic and recent evidence about library space in health care settings. We explored the role of physical libraries in health care settings as we emerge from the pandemic into a new normal.