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News from academic and research libraries, evolving academic library research support services: research ethics.

Author: Roxanne Missingham, University Librarian, Australian National University

Introduction

Academic libraries are fundamental supporters of research activities in their institutions. The digital environment has opened up the collections and services so that they sit within reach in every lab and researchers’ desktop as a part of the research toolkit that supports research in every discipline. The extensive connection with researchers has provided the opportunity to engage with this community to implement many new services to meet their needs.

At the Australian National University, a member of the International Alliance of Research Universities, the Dean of Science commented some years ago that he visited the digital library every day, relying more than ever on the full range of library services. For those in the humanities and social sciences the library is perceived as their laboratory, the research infrastructure on which their work depends. Professor Frank Bongiorno recently stated, “For historians, libraries and archives are the laboratory” (Bongiorno, 2022). This provides an environment where the impact of developments in research support by libraries has a significant benefit to the academic community within their institution.

Over the past decades, academic library services have evolved significantly, in particular with the revolution to a digital or e-research environment. A visit to an academic library website will reveal a wealth of services and products supporting research – from special collections to tailored support services.

Research ethics is an area that has benefited from the new library services that have been created to enhance research activity. Together with established services that support research more generally, services have been extended to provide strong support for compliance with, and capabilities to deal with, research ethics matters.

Applying the lens of research ethics to library activities provides the opportunity to reveal an important value from modern academic libraries. The work of the library in this area is vital infrastructure for successful research within institutions.

Research ethics and integrity

The study of ethics reaches back to the Greeks. Aristotle (Aristotle 1999, Aristotle 2002) proposed a philosophy of ethics that was a new and separate area of discourse. In summary, the approach was one that proposed that “moral virtue is the only practical road to effective action” (Sachs, n.d.). National and international research ethics standards have evolved dramatically since World War 2. The Nuremberg Code, established in 1948, is recognised as the first formal codification (Weindling, 2001). It stated that “The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential”. For information professionals this codification represented new standards and the requirement for documentation to record processes, consents and approvals as an integral part of the research ecosystem.

Research ethics is now required for all human and animal studies, with extensive requirements from funders, governments and institutions. The principles developed to underpin the approaches reflect moral principles that are continually reviewed and tested. They are designed to ensure high ethical norms are met. The norms “promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error” (Resnik, 2020). Ensuring integrity through research ethics is achieved through a range of institutional services, including that provided by libraries.

Dimensions of library support for research ethics

Research and an analysis of the field of research ethics has developed a number of essential principles. These relate to the practices that are required for compliance and values that are relevant to the nature of the support services required for successful research.

Unpacking the major principles and mapping them to work of academic libraries reveals a wealth of effective and well used activities that are fundamental to ensuring researchers can be confident they are able to comply with research ethics. A well-established set of principles (Shamoo and Resnik 2015) includes the following:

Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, research sponsors, or the public.

Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of thought and action.

Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.

Transparency

Disclose methods, materials, assumptions, analyses, and other information needed to evaluate your research.

Intellectual Property

Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to research. Never plagiarize.

Responsible Publication

Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.

Analysing the range of academic library services against these principles provide an insight into the extent of library activities that support research ethics. A summary of the mapping (Figure 1) summarises collection, reference and research services that are all components of holistic support from the library for research ethics.

Figure 1. Mapping of library services to research ethics principles

The investment of academic libraries in collections and services to support research have had a significant impact on building the capacity of our institutions to support research ethics. The key strategic initiatives that have created great support in this area include:

• Digital collections that specifically support research ethics with a wide range of text books, journals and case studies including guides (such as lib guides) and researcher training to facilitate awareness and use of this material;
• Institutional repositories that provide open access to scholarly works including theses, preprints, OA copies of journal articles, non-traditional research outputs and other original research outputs. The most recent figures from Australian and New Zealand universities (Council of Australian University Librarians, 2021) reveal extraordinary strengths in this area. In 2020 (the most recent figures available), there were 1,650,867 resources available through Australian academic repositories and 135,712 through repositories in New Zealand universities. The impact of these in making research open and transparent is extraordinary. The 2020 figures reveal

Downloads from academic institutional repositories 2020 (Council of Australian University Librarians, 2021)

The repositories enable researchers to both make their work openly accessible and access publications from others to increase knowledge of methods and research findings.

• Institutional data support services. Academic libraries now offer a wide range of data support services. These include research data management training, data storage and management of data repositories (such as the Australian National University Data Commons Service). In Australia, a significant program to develop the capabilities of library staff in data management has been delivered by the Australian Research Data Commons and its predecessor, the Australian National Data Services, a federally funded program (Australian Research Data Commons, 2022b). The University of Queensland Library guide on research data exemplifies the emphasis on clear information on data ethics (University of Queensland Library, 2022)

Figure 2. University of Queensland Library Research data guide.

• Specialised reference services have developed that support research with a strong component of research ethics. New courses include systematic reviews, publishing and publishing ethics, ethical writing, using tools such as Endnote and discipline based standards.
• Libraries provide specialist support on copyright and intellectual property. Most universities have a copyright specialist embedded in the library delivering training for researchers, answering enquiries and advising the institution of copyright issues.

Academic libraries are offering a wide range of activities that are vital to supporting researcher’s knowledge of, and capabilities, in relation to research ethics. The evolution in services and products, such as repositories and knowledge of publishing is of benefit to researchers in all disciplines. The evolution of national programs to support greater capabilities of library staff has been an important enabler of these developments.

The digital revolution has enabled greater and more effective outreach to researchers to embed these services across academic institutions. The library services have been vital elements in a partnership to address increasingly complex funder, government and institutional requirements for research. A recent study highlighted the importance of support in these areas (Jackson, 2018). The complexities identified to collect, transport, and store data in compliance with ethical requirements and managing data across the whole data lifecycle are well supported by the new library services.

There is a need to continue to develop the capabilities of librarians to be able to effectively support researchers with emerging issues, such as data management policy, privacy and security. Participation in national programs such as the Institutional underpinnings program for data (Australian Research Data Commons, 2022a) is an important element in this landscape. Over the next decade the evolution of services will provide an exciting area for the academic library community.

Roxanne Missingham , Australian National University

[email protected]

Aristotle. (1999).  Metaphysics , Joe Sachs (trans.). Santa Fe, NM, Green Lion Press

Aristotle. (2002).   Nicomachean Ethics , Joe Sachs (trans.). Newbury, MA, Focus Philosophical Library, Pullins Press

Australian National University. (2022).   Data Commons. Canberra, ANU. https://datacommons.anu.edu.au/DataCommons/

Australian Research Data Commons. (2022a). Institutional Underpinnings. ARDC. https://ardc.edu.au/collaborations/strategic-activities/national-data-assets/institutional-underpinnings/

Australian Research Data Commons. (2022b). Resources for librarians. Canberra, ARDC. https://ardc.edu.au/resource_audience/librarians/

Bongiorno, Frank. (2022). The Humanities Laboratory. Canberra, The Australian Academy of the Humanities. https://humanities.org.au/power-of-the-humanities/the-humanities-laboratory/

Council of Australian University Librarian. (2021) Data file for CAUL statistics 2020. Canberra, CAUL. https://www.caul.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/stats/2020_caul_statistics.xlsx

Jackson, Brian . (2018) The Changing Research Data Landscape and the Experiences of Ethics Review Board Chairs: Implications for Library Practice and Partnerships. The Journal of Academic Librarianship , 44 (5), p. 603-612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2018.07.001

Resnik, David B. (2020). What is ethics in research and why is it important. Washington, D.C., National Institute of Environmental Health Science. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm

Sachs, Joe. (n.d.). Aristotle: Ethics. Internet Encyclopaedia of philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/aristotle-ethics/

Shamoo, Adil E. and Resnik, David B. (2015). Responsible Conduct of Research. 3rd ed. Oxford,  Oxford University Press.

University of Queensland. Library (2022) Manage research data. St Lucia, UQ Library. https://web.library.uq.edu.au/library-services/services-researchers/manage-research-data

Weindling, Paul. (2001). “The Origins of Informed Consent: The International Scientific Commission on Medical War Crimes, and the Nuremberg Code”. Bulletin of the History of Medicine . 75 (1): 37–71

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Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries

Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries. Edited by Starr Hoffman. London, UK: Facet Publishing; 2016. 154 p. $75.00. ISBN: 978-1-78330-049-5. 

Libraries have long stood on the shifting sands of change. The key to survival has been to understand that change and meet it at the point of need. Starr Hoffman’s work provides a road map to that change as academic reference librarians make the shift to academic research support librarians. She emphasizes that the traditional role focused on discovery and instructional services has moved into the realm of a broader encompassment of exploration, learning, and collaboration. This evolving world of interdisciplinary cooperation across departments and disciplines in academia places librarians to use our essential expertise in collection development, metadata, reference, and instruction to meet the needs of our subject-based faculty colleagues. No matter what the library size or budget, librarians can contribute. Hoffman’s book is a valuable guide.

Although there exist many books on reference, research support and learning, and related initiatives—such as data services, digital humanities support, and data management—Hoffman seeks to provide illustrative examples of those services as correlated, emerging models of research support in one volume. Hoffman, head of planning and assessment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, knows her environment. This book does not limit itself to biomedical libraries or disciplines but spans the social sciences and humanities as well. Research is not the purview of one discipline or one country. Chapter contributors are international and come from both large academic institutions and smaller specialized projects. Research support is not “one size fits all.”

First, Hoffman defines the landscape and the essential terminology. In the introduction, she demonstrates a clear understanding of the nature of current reference and information services. Librarians find that reference sessions can quickly evolve into custom consultations on information literacy, the interpretation of quantitative statistics, methods of sharing research, or relative measurements of altmetrics. Librarians are also expanding liaison services to support open access publishing, data management, and digitalization projects. Instructional techniques are also shifting. Guided inquiry encourages students to ask questions to solve problems. Inquiry as conversation ties to the critical librarianship (critlib) movement in information literacy, encouraging students to think critically and challenge traditional authoritative sources.

Hoffman discusses the need for an exploratory culture, in which librarians are trained and encouraged to take creative risks in the redesign of services. A culture of assessment where all staff understand and contribute as partners creates an environment of proactive change; just as central are collaboration and engagement with the university, expanding the roles of liaison librarians to include academic support staff and student affairs, as well as offices of sponsored research, institutional repositories, and data management. Taking some of these services to the recommended level will require a reenvisioning by leadership. Hoffman notes that librarians shine when they focus on what institutions need most and what librarians do best. As in any other aspect of life, relationships are central to success.

The book is divided into three parts. Each part begins with an introduction discussing the theme of that section, followed by the case study chapters. Part 1, “Training and Infrastructure,” focuses on the role of library staff development and library physical spaces in research support, with chapters on library renovation to support digital scholarship, research into illustrated books in art history, and a digital scholarship pilot training project for librarians. Part 2, “Data Services and Data Literacy,” includes case studies on training researchers to manage data, creating the Digital Social Science Center at Columbia, and supporting geographic information systems (GIS) across nontraditional disciplines. Part 3, “Research as a Conversation,” discusses academic library initiatives to support the dissemination, discovery, and critical analysis of research, with chapters on implementing open access across a large university, an information literacy massive open online course (MOOC), and metadata enhancement through name authority for a university’s digital repository. Each chapter author clearly lays out practical information such as planning, staff needs, budgeting, time factors, processes, development, implementation, and assessment. A particularly useful component is the discussion of lessons learned. Each segment is well researched, with relevant, current lists of references. The book concludes with an index containing a minimum of cross-references.

Hoffman advises readers to use case studies in the book as launching pads to develop services specific to the readers’ institutions. The exceptionally clear writing and organization of this work by both the editor and the chapter authors make that possibility a likelihood. One might expect each chapter to follow the formatting of a research article, as each author clearly has compiled analyzable and publishable data as a result of their featured projects. Instead, the authors follow more of a program format, explaining processes and outcomes. The effect is that of a useful how-to manual.

This book is strongly recommended for academic librarians of any type seeking to update research services and support scholarly communications. For health sciences libraries, this book will prove most valuable in exploring roles and action plans to meet the growing needs of academic health sciences faculty and students. This book is also highly recommended for faculty and students in graduate schools of library and information sciences.

This journal is published by the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh as part of its D-Scribe Digital Publishing Program and is cosponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Press .

Martha F. Earl, AHIP, ude.kcmtu@lraem , Preston Medical Library, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

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The Electronic Library

ISSN : 0264-0473

Article publication date: 3 June 2019

Issue publication date: 3 June 2019

This paper aims at understanding the current situation of research support services offered by academic libraries in world-leading universities and providing useful implications and insights for other academic libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

Of the top 100 universities listed in the QS World University Rankings in 2017, 76 libraries were selected as samples and a website investigation was conducted to explore the research support services. The statistical method and visualization software was used to generalize the key services, and the text analysis and case analysis were applied to reveal the corresponding implementation.

Research support service has become one of the significant services of academic libraries in the context of e-research and data-intensive research. The research support services can be generally divided into seven aspects, as follows: research data management (62, 81.58 per cent), open access (64, 84.21 per cent), scholarly publishing (59, 77.63 per cent), research impact measurement (32, 42.11 per cent), research guides (47, 61.84 per cent), research consultation (59, 77.63 per cent) and research tools recommendation (38, 50.00 per cent).

Originality/value

This paper makes a comprehensive investigation of research support services in academic libraries of top-ranking universities worldwide. The findings will help academic libraries improve research support services; thus, advancing the work of researchers and promoting scientific discovery.

• Academic libraries
• Research support
• Data-intensive research

Acknowledgements

This paper is one of the research outcomes of the project supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of P.R. China (Project Name: Research on the Formation Mechanism and Service of the Federation of Institutional Research Data Repository in Big Data Environment, Project No. 71573198).

Si, L. , Zeng, Y. , Guo, S. and Zhuang, X. (2019), "Investigation and analysis of research support services in academic libraries", The Electronic Library , Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 281-301. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2018-0125

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Investigation and analysis of research support services in academic libraries

Purpose This paper aims at understanding the current situation of research support services offered by academic libraries in world-leading universities and providing useful implications and insights for other academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach Of the top 100 universities listed in the QS World University Rankings in 2017, 76 libraries were selected as samples and a website investigation was conducted to explore the research support services. The statistical method and visualization software was used to generalize the key services, and the text analysis and case analysis were applied to reveal the corresponding implementation. Findings Research support service has become one of the significant services of academic libraries in the context of e-research and data-intensive research. The research support services can be generally divided into seven aspects, as follows: research data management (62, 81.58 per cent), open access (64, 84.21 per cent), scholarly publishing (59, 77.63 per cent), research impact measurement (32, 42.11 per cent), research guides (47, 61.84 per cent), research consultation (59, 77.63 per cent) and research tools recommendation (38, 50.00 per cent). Originality/value This paper makes a comprehensive investigation of research support services in academic libraries of top-ranking universities worldwide. The findings will help academic libraries improve research support services; thus, advancing the work of researchers and promoting scientific discovery.

• Related Documents

“Making space” in practice and education: research support services in academic libraries

Purpose – How academic libraries support the research of their parent institutions has changed as a result of forces such as changing scholarly communication practices, technological developments, reduced purchasing power and changes in academic culture. The purpose of this paper is to examine the professional and educational implications of current and emerging research support environments for academic libraries, particularly with regard to research data management and bibliometrics and discuss how do professionals and educators “make space” as new service demands arise? Design/methodology/approach – The present paper uses data from a recent survey of research support provision by academic libraries in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland, (authors 2013), and provides additional in depth analysis of the textual responses to extend the analysis in the light of forces for change in higher education. The original online questionnaire surveyed current and planned research support in academic libraries, and constraints or support needs related to service developments. It was distributed to 219 institutions in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Ireland, and obtained 140 valid responses (response rate of 63.9 percent). Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics with thematic categorization and coding for the textual responses. Findings – Most academic libraries surveyed are already providing or planning services in the focal areas of bibliometrics and data management. There was also increasing demand for other research support services, not the focus of the study, such as eresearch support, journal publishing platforms, and grant writing support. The authors found that while many academic libraries perceive increasing research support services as a “huge opportunity” they were constrained by gaps in staff skills, knowledge, and confidence and resourcing issues. With regard to staff education and training, it was reported they require a broader understanding of the changing research and scholarly landscape, the research cultures of different disciplines, and technological change. There was a near-universal support for development of more comprehensive, specialized, LIS education to prepare professionals for broader research support roles. Originality/value – This further analysis of the implications of our survey in relation to influences such as economics, academic culture, technology, raises questions for both educators and practitioners about the future direction of the profession and how the authors collectively “make space” as new potential services arise.

Data visualization as a research support service in academic libraries: An investigation of world-class universities

Maintaining sustainable performance in operating petroleum assets via a lean-six-sigma approach.

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the possibility of maintaining triple bottom line (TBL) sustainable performance in the petroleum industry via a case study. In particular, it presents the utilization of a lean-six-sigma (LSS) concept for investigating one of the underperforming support service activities in an engineering contractor (EC) and to indicate how LSS concepts enable the barriers to maintaining sustainable petroleum operations to be reduced for maintaining sustainable petroleum operations. Design/methodology/approach A case study has been carried out in an EC organization in relation to one of the support services (i.e. valves requisition process [VRP]) to demonstrate how LSS concepts enable the barriers to maintaining sustainable petroleum operations to be reduced for maintaining sustainable petroleum operations. Value stream mapping (VSM) and value stream analysis (VSA) have been utilized to investigate the barriers that inhibit sustainable operations. VSM and VSA have been performed to investigate the underperforming activities in the selected support service (i.e. VRP) using a current state map. After performing VSA, a future state map has been developed, indicating possible improvements in overall TBL sustainable performance. Findings VSM and VSA enable the barriers to maintaining TBL sustainable operations in the petroleum industry to be investigated, while minimizing waste in the ECs and asset owners’ organizations. Research limitations/implications The study has been limited to ECs’ support services, which have been delivered based on asset operators’ requirements. Practical implications The suggested LSS approach and related analysis help practicing engineers to perform similar analysis for different engineering support services. Improved performance in support service results minimize health, safety and environmental challenges in asset operations, and the resulting waste reduction increases the return on investments. Social implications Effective delivery of the assessments minimizes potential delays in projects related to petroleum operations, mitigating future accidents. It enhances the TBL sustainable performance of an asset-intensive industrial organization. Originality/value This manuscript addresses the inherent TBL sustainable performance challenges in the petroleum industry that have been caused by delayed projects. The responsibilities of projects’ delivery are mainly attributed to ECs. The EC organizations are operating in project mode, and projects delays are inherently caused by the frequently changing nature of: operators’ requirements; suppliers’ and/or manufacturers’ capabilities and restrictions; and lack of standardization in documentation and work processes (i.e. because of different engineering projects’ demands). Hence, this manuscript illustrates a methodology to demonstrate the possibility of TBL sustainable performance improvement in the petroleum industry via a case study (i.e. VRP-related project delivery performance improvement) in an EC organization utilizing the lean concept.

Awareness and Use of Research Support Services by the Research Scholars of Kerala University Library

The study analyses the awareness anduse ofresearch support services by the research scholars of Kerala University Library. Kerala University library typically identify research support as a central pillar in its mission. The paper show its mission statements relate to the requirements of researchers themselves, especially in view of reported changes in researchers’ information seeking and sharing in the online environment. A questionnaire survey was conducted among the full time research scholars in Kerala University Library. The study finds that 100% of the research scholars are aware about the research support service ‘assistance from the librarian in research section’; only 46% were aware about the guidance in technical report writing and research data management services. 95.2% of the research scholars opined that assistance from the librarian in Research Section’ is the most available research support service; Personal content management tools (11.9%) is the least available support service. 94% are using the E-resource services.

Re-positioning library technology support on Campus-Wilson Library’s journey

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the changing role of the academic library, in relation to technology support services. It proposes that library technology services should expand to take a central role in developing student academic technology skills, and shows how moving into non-traditional areas of technology support can expand a library’s operation capabilities to include entrepreneurship and innovation for faculty, staff and students. Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines how our library expanded its technology services to include course management support, technical literacy training and three-dimensional (3D) printing, and details future developments into robotics and software development. It details the authors initial objectives, the issues encountered, the improvements made in response and what the authors hope to do in the future. Findings – We are at a time when technology has made innovation and creation available to many. Academic libraries should take on this opportunity of repositioning technology services to provide and promote technical applications, becoming a central point for library users to share ideas and collaborate on projects. As a result of the interdisciplinary nature of academic libraries, the authors are in the best position to make this happen on campus. Originality/value – Even though continual change has been a theme in the development of libraries, very little has been written on the role of technology support services. This paper sets the foundation for further exploration in how taking on academic technology support services, 3D printing and makerspaces could be a part of library services.

Research Support Services in South African Academic Libraries

Implementation strategies for adopting digital library research support services in academic libraries in indonesia, authorship trend and content analysis.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the classic characteristics of highly cited articles (HCAs) of top-ranked library and information science (LIS) journals and get acquainted with the high-quality works in specific areas of LIS for distinguishing what gets cited and who the prolific authors are. Design/methodology/approach The HCAs published across the top four LIS journals were downloaded, coded and a database was developed with basic metadata elements for analysis using bibliometric indicators. Lotka’s Inverse Square Law of Scientific Productivity was applied to assess the author’s productivity of HCA. The content analysis method was also used to find out the emerging areas of research that have sought high citations. Findings Inferences were drawn for the proposed five number of research questions pertaining to individual productivity, collaboration patterns country and institutional productivity, impactful areas of research. The Netherland found to be the potential player among all the affiliating countries of authors and Loet Leydesdorff tops the list among the prolific authors. It is observed that Lotka’s Classical Law also fits the HCA data set in LIS. “Research impact measurement and research collaboration,” “Social networking” and “Research metrics and citation-based studies” are found to be the emerging areas of LIS research. Practical implications Researchers may find a way what gets cited in specific areas of LIS literature and why along with who are the prolific authors. Originality/value This study is important from the perspective of the growing research field of the LIS discipline to identify the papers that have influenced others papers as per citation count, spot the active and more impactful topics in LIS research.

Research Support Services in Academic Libraries in the Digital Environment in Zimbabwe

Research support services in spanish academic libraries: an analysis of their strategic plans and of an opinion survey administered to their directors.

The transition from print to digital information has transformed the role of academic libraries, which have had to redefine themselves as intermediaries and partners in the learning and research processes. This study analyzes the evolution and current provision of research support services in Spanish academic libraries through an analysis of the three strategic plans published by the Spanish association of academic libraries (REBIUN) and a survey administered to the library directors. Results show that academic libraries are firmly embedded within universities’ research activities, and that most of them depend on vice-rectorates for research or scientific policy. There is a relationship between the size of the library and its provision of research support services, although no correlation is observed between the size of the library and the staff devoted to research support. Library directors stress the value of institutional repositories, a vision also reflected in the importance assigned to open access in the strategic plans. Other current hot topics, such as data management, do not seem to be among the priorities of Spanish library directors as yet.

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Your current subscription allows you to be actively logged in on up to three (3) devices simultaneously. click on continue below to log out of other sessions and log in on this device., how academic libraries can support research offices more effectively.

University research offices manage an increasingly complex set of responsibilities. Research has become a several-hundred-million-dollar source of revenue at many institutions, and the role of the research office is to oversee, protect, and further develop this vital enterprise.

As grants have become critical in supporting research initiatives, researchers find themselves spending a larger proportion of their time on administrative tasks, such as finding project collaborators, locating, and securing grants, and reporting on grant-funded activities. In fact, seven in 10 researchers now spend at least 30 percent of their time on administrative tasks, an Ex Libris survey revealed. These activities take time away from the research itself.

Research office leaders find it challenging to provide the administrative support that researchers require, owing to a lack of time and resources. This is a key area where academic libraries can help.

Looking to libraries for support

A growing number of researchers are looking to libraries for support. Specifically, there is increasing demand for data research services, among other activities.

While collaboration between libraries and research offices is on the rise, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Fifty-four percent of research office leaders said the library was a main partner in research activities in 2021, an increase from 48 percent in 2020. However, this means that libraries and research offices are still not close collaborators at nearly half of institutions.

Keys to effective collaboration

How can libraries collaborate with research offices more effectively? This starts with communicating the value they can provide in supporting the entire research enterprise—from identifying new publishing channels, to collecting university research, making works more easily discoverable, and measuring the impact of research.

“In general, I think libraries can do a better job of promoting what they’re able to do at the institutional level,” says Jessica Clemons, an account executive for research solutions at Ex Libris .

Here are three strategies that libraries can use to advocate for a larger role in supporting university research.

Build relationships.

Developing one-on-one relationships with researchers and research office staff gives academic librarians an opportunity to highlight their expertise and explain the types of assistance they can provide within the research process.

“I once heard a librarian say, ‘Our administration thinks of us as a pool of contract managers.’ But librarians are so much more than that,” Horon says. “They have skills in information science that can bring great value to the research enterprise.”

Be creative.

There are other university stakeholders that libraries could partner with as well, Clemons says, such as marketing and communication departments. These campus departments are looking to share the good work that’s being done at the institution. By collecting publications and datasets and sharing these assets with campus marketing teams, librarians can help showcase their institution’s research outputs more effectively.

Demonstrate value.

As academic libraries are able to demonstrate the significant value they can bring to the research enterprise, they will come to be viewed as a highly respected and indispensible partner in the process.

To support university researchers and research offices, libraries need effective tools. For instance, Ex Libris Esploro is a cloud-based research information management solution that automates the capture of research assets and applies metadata to these consistently, making it easier for librarians to help gather, index, share, promote, and track the impact of an institution’s research.

“For institutions to remain viable, there needs to be more collaboration between libraries, researchers, and research office personnel,” Clemons concludes. “I think they all have to work better together to sustain the research enterprise.”

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