Chapter 15: A Post-Pandemic Future for Library Planning: Perceptions of Caribbean Academic Library Leaders

This study explores academic library leaders’ views on the post-pandemic future of libraries in the Caribbean and how these views impact strategic planning. A convergent mixed-method approach was applied for data collection. About 28 participants from the Spanish, Dutch, French, and English-speaking Caribbean (including Florida) responded to an online survey. It represented a response rate of 55%. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten leaders. The findings showed that some of the key strategies librarians are considering for planning in the post-pandemic library cover digitalization of services, digitizing resources, human resource development, new technologies, flexible work systems, and health and wellness of users and staff. Most of these findings mirrored those from research in the United States and the United Kingdom. However, it was unique that cataloguing and metadata skills emerged as a popular area for development. It is the first known study on the post-pandemic future of libraries with participants from several Caribbean language groups and territories.