This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of three individuals, all of whom are early-career professionals: Julia, a term librarian for an academic library who began her role as the pandemic was causing widespread change; Christine, a recent graduate who started her job search during the pandemic; and Kevin, a current Master of Library and Information Science student who started and completed his co-op in an entirely remote setting. This paper explores their perspectives on job precarity in a remote work environment and provides reflections on working in a library setting during the pandemic. To bring together the key themes experienced throughout this period, several recommendations are offered to managers and early-career librarians as they navigate this new landscape. For employers, advertising new employees, organizing their onboarding, and ensuring concerted efforts for introductions are recommended. For new librarians, forming communities of practice and building relationships in the remote work environment to battle feelings of isolation and not belonging are recommended. The precarious roles most early-career librarians find themselves in is unlikely to improve during the pandemic. The perspectives and reflections shared in this paper are intended to provide a transparent view into the experiences of three early career librarians, what they have learned, and how they are maximizing their time in the remote work environment.

Background: As the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to ravage the globe and cases exploded rapidly, countries have been presented with challenging policy choices to contain the spread of COVID-19. In Canada, and globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has added a new stratum to the debate concerning the root causes of global and racial health inequities and disparities. Individuals who exist as targets of systemic inequities are not only more susceptible to contracting COVID-19, but they are also more likely to bear the greatest extent of the subsequent economic pandemic. Therefore, data collection that specifically focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on the lives and health of African/Black communities nationally and globally is needed to develop intersectional, culturally-relative, anti-racist/anti-oppression, empowerment-centered interventions and social policies to increase more efficient ways to support heterogeneous African/Black communities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.The primary objective of this review is to investigate the impact and management of COVID-19 on African/Black individuals and communities in Canada and globally and understand how anti-black racism and intersectional violence impact the health of African/Black communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods and analysis: A systematic search of published literature of quantitative and qualitative studies published on COVID-19 in Canada and globally will be conducted in Ovid Medline, Ovid EMBASE, EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Cochrane Library, Ovid PsychInfo, Ovid CAB Abstracts, Scopus, Web of Science, and Global Index Medicus.To be included in the review, studies should include data on COVID-19 in relation to African/Black individuals, population and communities in Canada and globally. The studies must discuss racism, oppression, anti-oppression, or systemic/structural violence and be published in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The findings will be reported according to PRISMA-ScR.Conclusion: This review will collect important data and evidence on African/Black communities related to COVID-19. Moreover, this review could help identified existing gaps in COVID-19 management in the African/Black communities and inform future research. Furthermore, it could also be used in decision-making for health policy and promotion and can influence the services provided by healthcare facilities and community organizations around the globe. Systematic Review registrations: Open Science Framework (OSF). Submitted on November 1st, 2021.