Thread by @ErinSpinney

“Where Have All the Books Gone? Research and Writing Without Physical Library Access”

Dr. Erin Spinney, University of Lethbridge
Historian and Sessional Lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences
#PandemicMethodologies #twitterstorians #histmed #histnursing

The significant impact of the #Covid19 pandemic on academic research & publishing has been well documented. Watchorn and Smith found that 5 factors impacted the ability of researchers in the arts and humanities to publish their work. scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2020/12/22/gue… #PandemicMethodologies

This survey does a good job to show the devastation that a lack of archival and library access can have to humanities research “55% of these scholars cannot get access to the essential libraries, archives, collections, and museums they need to continue.” #PandemicMethodologies

Libraries and archives are essential to my work. I was extremely fortunate to have had a postdoc from 2018-2019 which enabled me to spend months in the archives photographing documents, transcribing letter books, and doing research. #PandemicMethodologies #histnursing

In Winter term 2020, I was finishing up a term Assistant Professor position @MountAllison. In February, knowing that when my position ended, I’d lose library access, I interlibrary loaned several books I needed for my research. Then the pandemic hit #PandemicMethodologies

Even in the “Before Times,” I worried about library access. That moment when your time as a PhD student or a contract lecturer ends, and with it the precious institutionally-bound library access that permits historical research and writing. #PandemicMethodologies

For a precariously employed Early Career Researcher (ECR), I’ve been lucky in going from library access at one institution to another, with only a period of a few months here and there without some form of library access. regions.regionalstudies.org/ezine/article/… #PandemicMethodologies

At my current position, I have access to digital articles and a good collection of Ebooks, but as I live in Williams Lake, BC where @glenniceton has found work, I have no physical access to library resources and interlibrary loan is no longer an option. #PandemicMethodologies

Yet, as peer review comments on my submitted publications have come in over the past year my lack of physical library access has made addressing these comments difficult and costly as I buy some of the resources I need. #PandemicMethodologies. #histmed #histnursing

However, books from more than 15 years ago are unlikely to be digitized. They also tend to be prohibitively expensive to purchase either as a print on demand or second-hand. So I’m stuck in a publishing holding pattern. #PandemicMethodologies

Publishing is necessary for career progression, for landing a job interview, and ‘kitemarking’. For ECRs like me, publishing during the pandemic has become more difficult widening the already wide gap between us and tenured faculty. royalhistsoc.org/early-career-h… #PandemicMethodologies

So what can we do to lessen this gap? First, universities and hiring committees must recognize that library access is a necessary part of our work. I’ve some suggestions for what we can do next, but I want to hear your thoughts too! #PandemicMethodologies #precarity #HigherEd