Developments in network technologies, scholarly communication, and national policy are challenging academic libraries to find new ways to engage with research communities in the economic downturn. Librarians are responding with service innovations in areas such as bibliometrics and research data management. Previous surveys have investigated research data support within North America and other research services globally with small samples. An online multiple-choice questionnaire was used to survey bibliometric and data support activities of 140 libraries in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, including current and planned services, target audiences, service constraints, and staff training needs. A majority of respondents offered or planned bibliometrics training, citation reports, and impact calculations but with significant differences between countries. Current levels of engagement in data management were lower than for bibliometrics, but a majority anticipated future involvement, especially in technology assistance, data deposit, and policy development. Initiatives were aimed at multiple constituencies, with university administrators being important clients and partners for bibliometric services. Gaps in knowledge, skills, and confidence were significant constraints, with near-universal support for including bibliometrics and particularly data management in professional education and continuing development programs. The study also found that librarians need a multilayered understanding of the research environment.

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Bibliometrics and Research Data Management Services: Emerging Trends in Library Support for Research

The ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee is responsible for creating and updating a continuous and dynamic environmental scan for the association that encompasses trends in academic librarianship, higher education, and the broader environment, e.g., economic, demographic, political; providing an annual environmental scan “snapshot.” The committee also is responsible for identifying the ACRL “top ten trends” for release every two years. In order to identify the trends, the com

2012 top ten trends in academic libraries A review of the trends and issues affecting academic libraries in higher education

In recent years, there has been considerable discussion about the key role which university libraries can play by engaging with their research community. As a result libraries are scoping, developing and implementing new roles and service models, especially in the relatively new area of research data. This article explores the specific challenges experienced by a traditional academic librarian at Griffith University as she moved into a new role as a data librarian. It was found that this transition needed to be underpinned by a skills development programme, a mentor/coach and a support network of specialists. The authors then outline some strategies to facilitate this type of role transition, which include investing in a range of training and staff development activities, leveraging existing core librarian capabilities and understanding the researcher perspective. The article concludes with a suggestion that several national organisations will continue to have an important role in supporting librarians as...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00049670.2015.1041215

Developing new skills for research support librarians

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...

/pdf/making-space-in-practice-and-education-research-support-1aqra85qn6.pdf

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

Data Sharing and Discovery: What Librarians Need to Know

https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/169867/TransformingLiaisonRoles.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

New Roles for New Times: Transforming Liaison Roles in Research Libraries

In the midst of a decade of extraordinary change in academic libraries change driven by information technology, new approaches to teaching and learning, new models for scholarly communication, and new expectations for the ways we will discover, share, and make use of information there is nothing so important to the future of the library and its continued place at the heart of the academic enterprise than its people and the expertise that they bring to the design, development, and delivery of library services. What will those services be, and who will provide them? The Expert Library provides an overview of the changing dynamics entailed in recruiting and retaining academic library professionals for the 21st century and contains fresh thinking and insights into what will be required to ensure continued library relevance and success through its people. This volume is suitable for academic libraries of all types, for large research libraries, and for library and information science collections.

The Expert Library: Staffing, Sustaining, and Advancing The Academic Library in The 21st Century


 An extensive MyCare Ohio process evaluation was conducted to understand factors affecting everyday implementation. This involved a review of MyCare membership enrollment data and qualitative interviews and focus groups with state-level stakeholders (n=29), regional stakeholders comprised of Area Agency on Aging and MyCare Ohio Plan personnel and HCBS service providers (n=418), and MyCare members (n=40); which were audio-recorded, transcribed, and checked for accuracy prior to coding in Dedoose. Results show that while MyCare was originally envisioned as a program to coordinate Medicare and Medicaid services for dual-eligible, physically-disabled older adults, many MyCare members are under age 65 (47%), have opted out of the Medicare Advantage portion of MyCare (42%), and live with behavioral health diagnoses. This presentation will discuss how process evaluation is instrumental to understanding program impact and how younger members, members with behavioral health concerns, and opted-out members have shaped the implementation of MyCare Ohio.

https://academic.oup.com/innovateage/article-pdf/6/Supplement_1/187/48311420/igac059.748.pdf

Karen Williams

Papers

New Roles for New Times: Transforming Liaison Roles in Research Libraries

The Expert Library: Staffing, Sustaining, and Advancing The Academic Library in The 21st Century

Program theory versus implementation: the importance of process in understanding program impact