This is our first global pandemic. Of course they have happened before – but it’s our first time trying to figure out how to do the best things to get us all through this time.

So, we’ve all been trying things, and then refining as we learn more, and trying new things. Everyone is doing their best. And of course – we all need for everyone to keep doing their best. COVID is still running through our population, and still killing people.

Hopefully you have been able to get your vaccine! Or, at least you should be on the list to get in there and get this very basic thing done. Obviously, this is not a great time to listen to The Internet Wackos Who Cause Trouble, and get scared away. It’s a time to listen to Actual Medical Experts, such as the CDC, the Mayo Clinic, and other real experts. They are literally begging everyone to get vaccinated. Let’s go! Let’s get this done! Let’s do the right thing, make the best decision, and get your jab! It’s our best strategy to work together.

In the library profession we have been following advice from OCLC’s REALM project: REopening Archives, Libraries and Museums. Some of that has changed – we don’t need to be so fanatic about wiping down tables and quarantining books and magazines. And that’s good: we want advice to evolve as we learn new things! (Again: Yay, us!)

Check out their latest material, all about sharing vaccine information: Understanding COVID-19 Vaccines: A REALM Project Webinar. The live event is over, but the recording and all the support information is available here. You can find some of their information below, and all of i tat their own website.

“The REopening Archives, Libraries and Museums (REALM) project is hosting a webinar to explore the topic of COVID-19 vaccines and how they impact the reopening and ongoing operations plans for organizations. Presenters will provide information on vaccine education, including resources available to help address vaccine misinformation in the community. They will also share aspects of what is known and unknown in the scientific community about vaccines, along with a general update about the REALM project.

Presenters:

• Crosby Kemper, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services
• Elisabeth Wilhelm, Co-Lead of Vaccine Confidence Team, COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, CDC
• Erica Kimmerling, Senior Advisor for Science Engagement Policy and Partnerships, Association of Science and Technology Centers
• Amy Marino, Senior Program Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Research, Smithsonian
• Moderator: Kendra Morgan, Senior Program Manager, OCLC

Access Recording

• View Webinar Recording via Webex
• View Webinar Recording To receive a certificate for viewing the recording, you will be prompted to log in to our free Course Catalog.

Webinar Attachments

• View slides (pdf)
  
• View chat (xls)
• View captions (txt)

Related Resources and Links

• Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) Information Hub
  • Happening Now – Project Updates
  • Sign up to receive project updates
  • Toolkit Resources
  • Test Set Results
  • Systematic Literature Review
  • Project FAQs
  • Research briefing: Vaccines and variants
  • Vaccines: Resource Roundup
  • Reopening considerations for LAMs
  • Decision-making Checklist
• Institute of Museum and Library Services and Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates
• Battelle
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  
  • COVID-19 Information
    
  • COVID-19 data tracker
  • Vaccinate with Confidence, including strategy
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Toolkit Materials
  • Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor
• Association of Science and Technology Centers
• Public Face of Science Initative, for a landscape overview of how people view and experience science
  
• 10 facts about Americans and coronavirus vaccines, Pew Research Center
• Encountering Science in America, 2019, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (and 2020 insights and infographics from ASTC)
  
• The Public’s Role in COVID-19 Vaccination: Planning Recommendations Informed by Design Thinking and the Social, Behavioral, and Communication Sciences (Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security)
• COVID-19 Vaccination Communication: Applying Behavioral and Social Science to Address Vaccine Hesitancy and Foster Vaccine Confidence (National Institutes of Health)
• A practitioner’s guide to the principles of COVID-19 vaccine communications (Center for Public Interest Communications at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications)
• Communication Resources for COVID-19 Vaccines (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), including A Communicator’s Tip Sheet for COVID-19 Vaccination (pdf)
  
• Centering the Picture: The role of race & ethnicity in cultural engagement in the U.S. (pdf)
• VaccinesAndUS.org, hosted by the Smithsonian”

You can find all the rest of this information here on their website!