This study presents data from 62 high officials of American and Canadian academic libraries, predominantly library directors, about their plans to utilize student workers in the library, currently and post pandemic. The report gives detailed data on the number of student workers, and overall spending on student workers pre-COVID, at various points during the pandemic, and planned levels of use of student workers and spending on them post pandemic. The study also looks at how academic libraries used student workers during the pandemic and how they use them currently and plan to use them in the near future, focusing on changes induced by the pandemic. The study also looks at Federal aid to help pay for student workers in the library, as well as library plans for unspent funds that had been intended for compensation for student workers in the library. In an open ended response, library directors and deans discuss their future plans for student workers in the library.
Just a few of this 51-page report’s many findings are that:
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Use of student workers in the library declined by 48% during the pandemic
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About 11% of libraries sampled are still unsure if unspent funds for student works will be returned to general college/university funds
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Pre-COVID the typical academic library in the sample employed a mean of about 22 student workers.
Data in the report is broken out by size and type of institution, by tuition level, for public and private institutions and enrolment level as well as by some personal characteristics of survey respondents.