the role of libraries in supporting research alma swan key perspectives ltd truro, uk m25 consortium...
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The role of libraries in supporting research
Alma Swan
Key Perspectives Ltd
Truro, UK
M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries General Meeting, London, 24 January 2008
Researchers and Libraries study for the Research Information Network
http://www.rin.ac.uk/researchers-use-libraries
Snapshot of the situation at T0
Views and expectations about T1
On occasions, a look back
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Methodology Online surveys:
researchers: 2250+ librarians: 300+
Telephone interviews: 30 researchers librarians library educators information specialists
Focus groups: librarians: 4 researchers: 6
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Themes
Digitisation The library as a place Use of resources Finding of resources Way work is done Access
Roles and responsibilities Communication
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Weekly visits to the library
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2001 2006 2011
% r
esp
on
de
nts
Overall
Arts & Humanities
Social Sciences
Physical Sciences
Life Sciences
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Why go at all?
Access print resources
Order inter-library loans
Talk to a subject librarian
The library as a laboratory 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70Arts &humanities
Socialsciences
Physicalsciences
Lifesciences
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Key issues relating to the library space
Opening hours Browsing Quiet study The library is now ‘an
undergraduate space’
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Digital information
Information wants to be digital e-journals e-books e-datasets Digital archival collections Digital finding aids
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Do they find what they want?
Not at all expert: Use what they’ve always used Use Google – a lot ‘Good enough’ tendency
Contrary: ask for FT d/bs and then say WoS is enough
Easily deterred: Remote holdings Locally held microform, microfilm Locally-held print
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Roles and responsibilities
Custodian of information Manager of institutional repositories Administrator of information purchasing and
delivery services Subject information expert Teacher of information literacy skills Manager of data Technology specialist
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Future roles for librarians:researchers’ views
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Cus
todi
an
Man
age
IRs
Adm
inis
trato
r
Sub
ject
expe
rt
Tea
ch in
fosk
ills
Man
age
data
sets
Tec
hsp
ecia
list
Arts &humanities
Socialsciences
Physicalsciences
Life sciences
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The new kids on the block Interdisciplinary research Big science / e-research Medium-to-small science / research pools VREs Data Metrics Demands:
New and different resources New ways to assess and plan for needs Awareness that these researchers may not know
themselves what they need or should consult
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Big research, different research
Interdisciplinary research e-research Semantic technologies bringing new ways to
do research Implications for library services Not just infrastructural, but cultural too Cornell’s VIVO
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Research data
What are libraries to do about this? Watch out for more funder mandates Growing importance as outputs in
themselves Big data are safe (ish) But we should be worrying about small
data (who need carers) Data are only (going to be) really important
if they are re-usable
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Metrics
The RAE is fanning the flames now in the UK (and the RQF in Australia)
Can only produce a range of really good metrics on an open corpus
What metrics do YOU want to see? Can you help by producing the raw
material?
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Driving the OA agenda
Boldness please! Promotion via the library website Information on how funder payments are
working and how you administer them (if you do)
Monitor publisher responses to upfront payments
And what is happening with e-books?
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Open access
Librarian
awareness is high
Researcher
awareness is low
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Veryfamliar
Not at allfamiliar
A&H
Social sci
Physical sci
Life sci
Librarydirectors
Otherlibrarians
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OA education tools
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Discussion with library staff
Resource discovery tools on librarywebsite
Seminars or lectures on OA
Display of promotional material
Promotion of repository
None of these
Librarians
Researchers
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Institutional repositories Maximise the visibility of research outputs Maximise the impact of an institution Collect and curate ALL the research output Showcase the institution’s work Will form the data layer of the future
i2010 Vision Single Information Space
Provide the locus for measurement, assessment and management (in association with information in the institution’s CRIS)
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REPOSITORIESand other open content
Ingest layer services
Search / retrieve
Aggregate / display
Count / assess Peer review
Other value adding
Editorial
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The U.Southampton conundrum…
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The G-Factor (universitymetrics.com)
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Future roles in supporting research, then…
Custodianship of archival collections Subject expertise Training in information literacy Technical expertise Metadata expertise Management of the institutional outputs Strategic role in institutional profiling and
publishing
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Channels, communications
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Researchers
Research managers /
fundersLIBRARY
Institutional management
Thank you for listening
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