May 2020 221 C&RL News

Welcome to the May 2020 issue of C&RL 
News. Production of this issue is taking 
place during April 2020, at the height of 
the COVID-19 pandemic in the United 
States, a time when academic and re-
search libraries and library workers are 
adapting to (hopefully temporary) new 
ways of working.

In this month’s Scholarly Communication 
column, Willa Tavernier examines the impact 
of the pandemic on the scholarly commu-
nication system in “COVID-19 demonstrates 
the value of open access.”

Amy Tureen, Erick Lemon, Joyce Martin, 
Starr Hoffman, Mindy Thuna, and Willie 
Miller reflect on their pre-COVID-19 expe-
riences with connecting virtually in their 
article “Virtual cohorts.”

Ashley T. Hoffman shifted her insti-
tution’s library faculty group to online 
meetings as part of an effort to increase 
participation. She writes about her experi-

ences in “Revitalizing your library faculty 
governance.”

With the sheer volume of news and 
information available across multiple plat-
forms, teaching information literacy (IL) 
skills remains essential during the pan-
demic. Stephanie A. Diaz and Russell A. 
Hall discuss their initiatives at “Fighting fake 
news,” many of which could be adapted 
to the online teaching environment, while  
Annis Lee Adams, Stephanie Alexander, and 
Lana Mariko Wood write about their use of 
satirical news videos in the IL classroom in 
“Evoking truthiness.”

Finally this month, we look ahead to a time 
when students will hopefully be returning to 
campus life. Gwendolyn J. Reece shares her 
experiences holding an Absentee Ballot Day 
event and calls on the community to join the 
efforts to encourage voting this fall. 

Stay safe and healthy.
—David Free, editor-in-chief, dfree@ala.org

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