No matter what kind of library you are in, your community members are probably looking around for good information about the coronavirus/covid-19 virus. As people in the information profession, we want to help ensure our community members have the best quality information, especially in such an ever-shifting circumstance.

We are sharing some material on this topic, from EveryLibrary. We have an excerpt below, and you can get all the information on their website.

“Dealing with COVID-19, the disease caused by the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) raises many questions for librarians. Since being designated as essential disaster services, libraries have focused on the roles that we can serve during emergencies. Most of the attention, has gone to natural, weather, and human disasters as opposed to widespread disease outbreaks but the National Library of Medicine has a great Coronavirus resource page available to librarians as well.

The biggest role libraries can play in a national response to the emerging COVID-19 threat is as information specialists.

Information Literacy as a Nonpharmaceutical Intervention

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) summary on COVID-19 is being updated constantly (get the website badge), and the National Library Of Medicine has this great page for resource tools for libraries. Of course, the overall message to citizens so far has remained the same. Don’t panic, and wash your hands.

It really is a pity that we wasted the efficacy of the “Keep Calm and…” posters because that would be a perfect image for libraries to post right now. With no current vaccine or approved medications, the best approach the CDC recommends at this time is a broad spectrum of what are called nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). There are posters and other educational materials available on the CDC website.

NPIs for COVID-19 are quite similar to those for other viral diseases like the flu. On a personal level they include proper hand washing and maintaining social distancing. So when people talk about COVID-19 being similar to the flu, it is certainly true in terms of current best responses.

Comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu have gone beyond hand washing and entered the zone of conspiracy theories and misinformation. NewsGuard has compiled a list of sources that have advanced inaccurate information. For example, it has been proposed on some websites that the Coronavirus is a hoax, nothing more than the common cold or flu being elevated for political purposes. Other sides suggest cures or preventative measures that have no medical support or that misinterpret studies. These conspiracy theories need a NPI as well. One that libraries are uniquely poised to support.

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What Libraries Can Do:

• Plan now for when COVID-19 becomes a local issue: In the United States, response to public health emergencies is localized. Reach out to your county public health department to see if there is anything you can do to support their efforts.  
• Gather information resources from trusted and accurate sources like Medline Plus that are easily understood by patrons. Resources like the CDC summary page for COVID-19 are great, but require a deeper level of understanding and are not written for the general public. The comic-style resources made available by Weiman Kow at comicsforgood.com can also be effective for sharing.
• Spread awareness of disinformation using neutral sources like NewsGuard that are gathering and debunking myths. Be very cautious of the risks of disinformation from open sources like Facebook or from single issue resources like subreddits that promote confirmation bias. Also be cautious on the graphic design messages being unintentionally transmitted.
• Help patrons understand the medical terminology being used. Widespread has a specific and surprisingly low threshold in terms of epidemiology. When a doctor at CDC uses the word, it may mean something different from what the news reports or what the reader understands.
• Coordinate with community public health resources on local implementation of NPIs. Proper hand washing is the best defense at this time and is a good idea at all times. The National Library Of Medicine Coronavirus preparedness page has great policy and practices recommendations.”