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Library support for student mental health and well-being in the UK: Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author
Abstract
:

Libraries increasingly seek to support the mental health and well-being of students. This study reports on the results of a survey examining the range of such support activities offered by UK academic libraries prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic libraries' emphasis was on new library specific services such as a fiction collection, a type of initiative taken to proactively align with institutional policy. During the pandemic focus shifted somewhat to addressing the anxiety related to finding e-resources. Drawing on the survey data a holistic model of library support for student mental health and well-being is developed, capturing its eight different aspects: inherent library value, library services impact, well-being as a library service, detection, hosting, signposting, library as a good partner and library staff well-being. This represents a framework through which to examine how an academic library can support student mental health and well-being, and complements the "whole university" approach being increasingly adopted in the UK.

Year of Publication
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2020
Journal
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Journal of academic librarianship
Volume
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46
Issue
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6
Number of Pages
:
102256
ISSN Number
:
0099-1333
DOI
:
10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102256
Short Title
:
Journal of academic librarianship
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