February 2022 49C&RL News 

Welcome to the February 2022 issue of C&RL News. The COVID-19 pandemic, along 
with other recent social and political events, provided, and continues to provide, oppor-
tunities to re-evaluate service models, launch innovative projects, and adapt to a variety of 
new environments. 

Rose Barbalace, Tara Maharjan, and Megan Lotts discuss efforts to take the Rutgers Uni-
versity Libraries-New Brunswick student worker program virtual to provide educational and 
employment opportunities during the pandemic in their article “Bringing the federal work-
study program home” and share their unique experiences with the program as managers of 
a varying number of student employees.

The Gonzaga University library launched a “Liaison Academy” program in 2021 as part 
of the implementation of a new liaison librarian service model. Caitlin A. Bagley and Brad 
Matthies outline their adaptable liaison librarianship training model and efforts at refocus-
ing on the core areas of librarianship this issue.

A pre-pandemic meet-up at the 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence Annual Meeting led to a fruitful online collaboration between Khue Duong, Kelee 
Pacion, Melanie Radik, Jessica Martinez, and Roxanne Bogucka over the past two years. 
They discuss their experience and give tips for working together online across time zones in 
their The Way I See It Essay “It always happens over lunch!”

As the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, Liladhar R. 
Pendse of the University of California-Berkeley launched a project to archive a variety of 
websites in order to preserve a digital snapshot of the country prior to the Taliban takeover. 
Pendse writes about the project in the latest installment of our International Insights column, 
“Collaborating to create the At-Risk Afghanistan Web Archive (ARAWA).”

The University of Minnesota-Morris transitioned its popular Prairie Gate Literary Festival 
to a virtual event in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Peter Bremer and Kristina Smith 
write about how they navigated the shift and provide tips for putting on successful online 
literary events in their article “Off the page and onto your screen.”

Voting in the 2022 ALA/ACRL elections opens on March 14, 2022. This month’s issue 
includes position statements from José A. Aguiñaga and Beth McNeil, candidates for ACRL 
vice-president/president-elect. Help shape the future of your associations by voting for your 
candidates of choice starting in March.

Make sure to check out the other features and departments this month, including a call for 
submissions for our monthly Scholarly Communication column and a Washington Hotline 
department focusing on the CASE Act, DMCA exemptions, and Fair Use Day.

Thanks as always for reading the News!
—David Free, editor-in-chief, dfree@ala.org

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