The Power of Public and School Library Collaboration During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Jamaican Experience

Abstract

Public and school library collaboration of ers mutually beneficial opportunities that became increasingly important during the global health crisis. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the collaborative ef orts of the Jamaica Library Service (JLS) during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The main goal of the study is to highlight what constitutes collaboration, showcase collaborative strategies implemented and to assess the opportunities gained and challenges associated with executing these collaborative initiatives during the pandemic. This study is grounded in the Teacher and Librarian Collaboration (TLC) model and employed a mixed method research design to collect data from schools and librarians directly involved in collaborative activities. The findings revealed that public and school collaboration played an integral role in teaching and learning activities during the pandemic while also increasing awareness of the resources and services offered by the public library.