RUL Scholarly and Professional Activity Committee

Title: Technically Virtual

Presenters: Melissa DeFino and Mary Beth Weber

Abstract: March 2020 redefined the nature of work for many people. The pivot to remote in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was an impetus to usher in a new era of technical services. Our initial plan was to write a book about how to move technical services work offsite following an emergency or crisis. However, we soon realized that remote and hybrid work had the potential to revitalize technical services and better prepare us to meet the demands of an ever-changing academic landscape.

The unfortunate perception of technical services departments is often that of backroom operations staffed by socially inept introverts who argue over the placement of commas and semi-colons with overflowing inboxes and book trucks. This is an outdated view stemming from a lack of understanding of what constitutes technical services work or how it may be performed. Very little of technical services involves handling physical materials. Twenty-first century technical services is focused on data engineering, user experience enhancement, and metadata schema application and development. Our presentation will dispel historic notions of technical services and will discuss how remote or hybrid work has the potential to improve librarian impact, save on operating costs and space, support diversity, equity, and inclusion, increase employee satisfaction and wellness, and contribute to more sustainable academic libraries.