Going Digital: Academic Libraries’ Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article outlines the response by Irish academic libraries to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting closure of higher education institutions and their libraries for an extended period beginning in March 2020. Academic libraries have responded by accelerating their shift to digital collections and services, by supporting and participating in remote teaching and by offering new services. The article discusses the potential longer term consequences of the pandemic for academic libraries, including budgetary constraints, an impact on the shift to Open Access, changes in library design, and new work practices. Examples of initiatives by Technological University Dublin and other academic library members of the Consortium of National and University Libraries are included.