Cooperation among health science library professionals in response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about notable changes in our society, including new forms of relationships and work. It has especially affected the professions related to the health system, which includes health science librarians, who are responsible for providing up-to-date and high-quality information to health workers on the front line of this fight. This article presents the work of a group of professionals working in Spanish health science libraries (#AyudaBiblioteca), organized to collaborate and provide a better response to the information needs resulting from Covid-19. It has 90 participants, mainly from hospital libraries, as well as from research organizations, scientific societies, professional associations, ministries, universities, health technology evaluation agencies, and independent professionals. WhatsApp has been used as a means of communication, and Google Drive as a document repository. Resources are displayed on a public website, and search strategies are deposited in Diigo. Twitter is used with the hashtags #AyudaBiblioteca and #COVID19 as an external means of communication to receive and disseminate information. This collaboration has allowed us to join forces in the search for and coordinate collection of reliable, evidence-based, proven, and high-quality information, demonstrating the benefits of teleworking and online collaboration. The benefits of open science and how it improves research are also reflected upon. This initiative shows the importance of health science librarians in supporting health, academic, and research staff.