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Author: Saskia Hoving

Editor-in-Chief

The academic library’s core purpose remains unchanged - getting the right information to the right people at the right time. What has changed though is the way this is done, what people do with it and how it’s synthesized. As we saw in our last post, many working practices have been turned upside down by the digital revolution, ushering in a wave of necessary new skills and processes.

In this post, , Assistant Librarian at Trinity College Dublin and , Adjunct Instructor Librarian at Weber State University, Utah, help us consider how these changes have reset relationships within the institution, between the library and its patrons in faculty and the research office. “We’ve gone from service providers to partners, says Greg. “We’re not book monkeys anymore!”

From gatekeepers to innovators

Open access (OA) and Research Data Management gain momentum, not to mention AI, there’s been a growing need for librarians to contribute more directly to the research process. Out with gatekeeping, and in with playing a leading role in navigating the digital space. Why? Libraries have skills which have suddenly become a lot more useful. They’re the ones who adopt new technologies, as they work to keep the library at the forefront of delivering relevant and current information to their users.

The advent of OA has had a profound effect on the librarian’s place in the research ecosystem, both broadening and underscoring the importance of their role. Not only do they now guide researchers through the publishing process, but they also play a leading role in negotiating transformative agreements and spreading the word about OA throughout their institutions.

The Research Office – new pathways

As open research gathers pace, at many institutions the library and research office are working more closely together, combining skills and knowledge to optimise their services.

At Trinity College Dublin, Research Informatics has been relocated from the library to the Research Office. “Metrics are more important now, feeding into rankings,” says Greg Sheaf. “This is a good illustration of how library expertise is valued and transferred out.”

At the University of Manchester, the Library Research Services Team has joined with the Research Office to form the (OOR). A shared service, this is a single point of access for all research support provided by the library, at every stage of the research process, including research data management, OA, Research Indicators, open research skills and training, and open research systems.

Librarians as educators

As researchers grapple with a myriad of digital tools and resources, librarians are there to help guide them through. And in this age of misinformation, there’s nobody better placed to help users distinguish information that is trustworthy and reliable. “Critical evaluation is more important than ever, especially with the rise in AI,” says Greg. “The amount of literature and data produced is doubling every year, and as research builds on what went before, it’s crucial for researchers to know if something is right or wrong. Libraries play a key role in fake news, helping users learn to recognise and evaluate reliable information. This is mirrored in the rise in evidence-based medicine, which looks at the best evidence at a point in time and builds on that.”

Arianna Keyser agrees with Greg that researchers need to question their sources. “In today’s environment of information overload, the assumption that you know how to use technology and find things online is completely inadequate - analysis and critical thinking are so important. And there’s an essential misunderstanding - being technologically literate doesn’t mean being research literate.”

Arianna’s role straddles library and faculty. With a foot in both she inserts herself in courses teaching information literacy, good scholarly practice and the expectations of college-level writing and research. “My role isn’t universal in the US,” she says. “Teaching good research practice is a grey area, where everyone’s responsible so there’s no overall owner. Libraries have a beneficial perspective, but a lack of support means we can’t always get involved – faculty are busy teaching their subjects and tend to hope good scholarly practice happens with experience.”

The inside out librarian – a team effort

For some time now we’ve been hearing the term “inside out librarian”. The relationship between librarians, faculty and the research office has evolved to the extent that some librarians are now leaving traditional library services behind and embarking on a whole new persona as partner and collaborator.

Greg says it all depends on the discipline. “In more literature-based disciplines such as English and History, the relationship remains more traditional and they see no need for the library to be further involved,” he says. “The library has always been their laboratory. However, in the Health Sciences and some of the Social Sciences, librarians are becoming co-researchers in their own right, sought out by faculty to collaborate in research for their particular skills.” Greg has watched this relationship evolve over the past decade or so, with the library acknowledged as a member of the team for their expertise. “Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research is more prevalent. Everyone involved is an expert in their own sub-fields, working together as a team. The library brings it all together by devising and running search strategies, then uploading this to software such as Covidence for screening to evaluate for quality.”

Libraries – leading the way forward

The upshot is that the library’s contribution is more valued now. According to Greg, faculty can do more research now, of higher quality. “We’re contributing directly to a stronger research output at our institution,” he says. However, it’s easy to become a victim of your own success. “Our workload is increasing as more people recognise the value of what we do. We’re looking into where AI can help in our workflow to free up our time – perhaps with ordering and more mundane tasks.”

The library has taken giant steps from service provider to partnering with faculty and the research office. “Library skills are seen as attributes in their own right that help in the research process,” says Greg. “And we’ve earned kudos for it, as stakeholders recognise the value of the work we do.”

As libraries move from the margins to the heart of research, at 91��Ƭ�� we’re here to support your journey - whether you're navigating open access, shaping research strategy, or exploring new tools. Explore insights from peers and thought leaders on our news blog, and keep up with the latest trends by reading the latest white papers.

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