Dynamic Research Support In Academic Libraries

This inspiring book will enable academic librarians to develop excellent research and instructional services and create a library culture that encompasses exploration, learning and collaboration. Higher education and academic libraries are in a period of rapid evolution. Technology, pedagogical shifts, and programmatic changes in education mean that libraries must continually evaluate and adjust their services to meet new needs. Research and learning across institutions is becoming more team-based, crossing disciplines and dependent on increasingly sophisticated and varied data. To provide valuable services in this shifting, diverse environment, libraries must think about new ways to support research on their campuses, including collaborating across library and departmental boundaries. This book is intended to enrich and expand your vision of research support in academic libraries by: Inspiring you to think creatively about new services. Sparking ideas of potential collaborations within and outside the library, increasing awareness of functional areas that are potential key partners. Providing specific examples of new services, as well as the decision-making and implementation process. Encouraging you to take a broad view of research support rather than thinking of research and instruction services, metadata creation and data services etc as separate initiatives. Dynamic Research Support in Academic Libraries provides illustrative examples of emerging models of research support and is contributed to by library practitioners from across the world. The book is divided into three sections: Part I: Training and Infrastructure, which describes the role of staff development and library spaces in research support Part II: Data Services and Data Literacy, which sets out why the rise of research data services in universities is critical to supporting the current provision of student skills that will help develop them as data-literate citizens. Part III: Research as a Conversation, which discusses academic library initiatives to support the dissemination, discovery and critical analysis of research. This is an essential guide for librarians and information professionals involved in supporting research and scholarly communication, as well as library administrators and students studying library and information science.

Academic libraries have traditionally had two key functions, to support teaching and to support research. In an evolving and competitive university environment, along with the emergence of various technologies and substantial changes in scientific communication, university management has reached a turning point. Academic libraries are facing a paradigm shift in the role they need to play to achieve the research objectives of universities. Research support services in academic libraries have evolved as a response to these changes. They are heterogeneous, adapt to their university culture, adopt different points of view, take different approaches in their organizational structures, and include a diverse catalog of activities. Having an overview of different experiences will allow libraries to adopt best practices, redefine services, and even establish new management and collaboration models. Cases on Research Support Services in Academic Libraries is a critical scholarly resource that uses case studies to systematize the experiences of research support services in academic libraries for the support of higher education faculty. The cases focus on such items as the role of technology and its impact as well as how these services help to improve the excellence of universities. Featuring a wide range of topics such as library services, data management, and open science, this book is ideal for librarians, academicians, professionals, researchers, and students.

Higher education institutions in the United States and across the globe, are realizing the importance of enabling internal and external collaborative work, e.g., interdisciplinary research and community partnerships. In recent years, researchers have documented the benefits of organizational collaboration for research including greater efficiency, effectiveness, and enhanced research reputation. In addition, accreditors, foundations, business, and government agencies have been espousing the value of collaboration for knowledge creation and research and improved organizational functioning. As a result of both the external pressures and the known benefits, many forms of internal and external research collaborations have begun to emerge in higher education. At the heart of this change, academic libraries, who have long been models for collaborative work, are increasingly participating in the research process by providing a widening range of research services beyond traditional reference services. Innovative library services, in areas such as bibliometric analysis, research data management, and data repositories, are evolving in response to changes in education funding and policies. These funding and policy changes have also coincided with technological developments to create opportunities for academic librarians to find new roles within their institutions and the research community. There is a growing body of literature examining these changing academic library roles, but few volumes have concentrated on how the nature of collaborative work in libraries is helping to reshape institutional research practices. Academic Libraries and Collaborative Research Services fills that void by providing academic librarians and administrators with case studies and guidance on how academic libraries are establishing their place in this new collaborative research arena in the areas of emerging liaison roles, research data services, open access and scholarly publishing, and professional development programming. The book will also be useful to higher education administrators and institutional research officers looking for information on how to partner with libraries to increase the effectiveness of collaborative research.

Supporting Research in Area Studies: A Guide for Academic Libraries focuses on the study of other countries or regions of the world, crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries in the humanities and social sciences. The book provides a comprehensive guide for academic libraries supporting communities of researchers, exploring the specialist requirements of these researchers in information resources, resource discovery tools, information skills, and the challenges of working with materials in multiple languages. The book makes the case that adapting systems and procedures to meet these needs will help academic libraries be better placed to support their institutions’ international agenda. Early chapters cover the academic landscape, its history, area studies, librarianship, and acquisitions. Subsequent chapters discuss collections management, digital products, and the digital humanities, and their role in academic projects, with final sections exploring information skills and the various disciplinary skills that facilitate the needs of researchers during their careers. Describes the nature of area studies research and the traditional strengths of area studies librarianship in supporting inter- and trans-disciplinary research Applies the latest thinking in research support in university libraries to the specific needs of the area studies research community in the United Kingdom and United States Explores how internationalizing systems and processes can bring broader benefits to the university as a whole Analyzes the particular issues caused by working with content and systems in multiple languages

Researchers rely on libraries to provide the information they need; equally, supporting research is a fundamental reason for libraries' existence. This book explores the crucial relationship between libraries and researchers, focusing on developing and managing effective library services to support research, and includes the authentic voices of researchers surveyed. This book will inform and advise all those who work with researchers in libraries, combining practical advice with an exploration of fundamental issues relating to the relationship between research and libraries. It is essential reading for all who work in academic and research libraries, and will be of particular value to newly qualified and practising liaison and research support librarians.

How do college students really conduct research for classroom assignments? In 2008, five large Illinois universities were awarded a Library Services and Technology Act Grant to try to answer that question. The resulting ongoing study has already yielded some eye-opening results. The findings suggest changes ranging from simple adjustments in service and resources to modifying the physical layout of the library. In this book Duke and Asher, two anthropological researchers involved with the project since the beginning, Summarize the study's history, including its goals, parameters, and methodology Offer a comprehensive discussion of the research findings, touching on issues such as website design, library instruction for faculty, and meeting the needs of commuter and minority students Detail a number of service reforms which have already been implemented at the participating institutions This important book deepens our understanding of how academic libraries can better serve students’ needs, and also serves as a model for other researchers interested in a user-centered approach to evaluating library services.

Edited by a thought leader with an international reputation, it brings together renowned authors from across the globe who are breaking traditional moulds and boundaries in a way that will have a profound impact on the way libraries and library services are conceptualized in the years to come. They represent the key links in the knowledge chain: authors, publishers, academics, community knowledge creators, librarians and institutions; the student perspective is also provided.

Providing practical and theoretical chapters on academic library services for graduate students, this volume helps information professionals support this often-overlooked campus population to address their multiple roles and identities as students and as future faculty members or professionals. As more and more students attend graduate programs, many higher education institutions have established professional development programs to help graduate students learn the wide range of skills needed to be successful as both students and as future professionals or academics. To presuppose that graduate students are proficient library users is a mistake. Graduate students need and want help, and many libraries are now offering specialized services for this diverse population. Contributors to this edited volume provide case studies and practical advice on academic library services for graduate students that support their multiple roles on campus and address the complex social and emotional issues related to their other roles as parents, working adults, caretakers, and more. As academic libraries shift from functioning primarily as collections repositories to collaborating as key players in discovery and knowledge creation, value-added services for graduate students are even more central to libraries' changing missions. This book makes an important contribution to the ongoing professional conversation and is a useful tool for librarians who want to better support graduate students at their institutions.