Library support for student mental health and well-being in the UK: Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Abstract | :
Libraries increasingly seek to support the mental health and well-being of students. This study reports on the results of a survey examining the range of such support activities offered by UK academic libraries prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic libraries' emphasis was on new library specific services such as a fiction collection, a type of initiative taken to proactively align with institutional policy. During the pandemic focus shifted somewhat to addressing the anxiety related to finding e-resources. Drawing on the survey data a holistic model of library support for student mental health and well-being is developed, capturing its eight different aspects: inherent library value, library services impact, well-being as a library service, detection, hosting, signposting, library as a good partner and library staff well-being. This represents a framework through which to examine how an academic library can support student mental health and well-being, and complements the "whole university" approach being increasingly adopted in the UK. |
Year of Publication | :
2020
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Journal | :
Journal of academic librarianship
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Volume | :
46
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Issue | :
6
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Number of Pages | :
102256
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ISSN Number | :
0099-1333
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DOI | :
10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102256
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Short Title | :
Journal of academic librarianship
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