ABSTRACT
In 2020, (digital) media education faced one of the biggest challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In a global context, the pandemic has tested the abilities of both teachers and librarians to teach online, and uncover their need to gain more confidence in managing the digital environments. Even countries with outstanding connectivity and infrastructure have witnessed generic digital environment problems such as online fatigue, lack of interactivity and students’ motivation to participate in online learning. By using digital competence framework for educators and Jisc framework, we present the results of the first phase of our research on how librarians (N=487) perceive online challenges by using the case of Croatia as an example. A comparative dimension is included in this research by taking into account the counterpart experiences from Portugal and the United Kingdom. Our research findings suggest that strong support and professional development programmes are needed for the librarians, especially more sustainable support from governmental institutions and information and communications technology companies.
