Librarians and Research Support; what do we need to know?

(or think about)Brian Clifford

Deputy University Librarian(Head of Learning & Research Support)

Background: three current policy concerns

• Impact • Impact • Impact• Impact - Higher Education White Paper – The

future of higher education in a knowledge economy

• Impact - REF (Research Excellence Framework)• Impact - RCUK Outputs and Outcomes Collection

Project

HIGHER AMBITIONSThe future of universities in a Knowledge Economy

• In a more challenging climate for research, with tighter fiscal constraints and increased competition from other countries, we will need to carefully protect the excellence of our research base. This will require a greater focus on world-class research and greater recognition of the potential benefits of research concentration in key areas

– Excellence must remain the defining basis for allocating research funding

• We are establishing strong new incentives to increase the economic and social impact of research

– The new Research Excellence Framework, which will drive HEFCE’s allocation of the research block grant, will for the first time explicitly assess the impact of past research on the economy and society. Those institutions that can demonstrate a track record of delivering impact from their research will be rewarded. It will also encourage greater mobility of researchers between academia and industry. This will help us understand and reinforce over time the way in which different funding choices are creating economic impact.

Research Excellence Framework

• Impact becoming even more explicit a measure within the REF– 3/4 best outputs in current review period will be

measured by metrics (citation analysis) and peer review

• REF has produced a list of output types

– Impact of work produced over a longer period– Metrics of research income – Other mertrics

RCUK OOCP• Outputs & Outcomes Collection Project• RCs under pressure to account for how their money

is spent• Project aims to collect data from researchers about

the outputs from their research and the outcomes (impacts) of their work

• OOCS has produced a list of output types • Universities will have to collect all this data and find ways of

linking research outputs to research grants.

• This approach likely to be adopted by other funders

How is research changing?• Research Councils favouring LOLAs• Greater competition for fewer bigger grants• Focus on big themes

– Global or Grand challenges• Climate change• Water resources• City of the future

• Multi-disciplinarity• Bio-engineering

• Cross - Institutional collaboration• E-research

HIGHER AMBITIONSThe future of universities in a Knowledge Economy

• Excellence must remain the defining basis for allocating research funding . Especially in areas such as advanced science, limited resources mean that public investment in the UK must be prioritised on strengthening research centres with world-class capability. This will include further development of multidisciplinary centres bringing together many areas of expertise, and building relationships between teams in universities and industry. We must use scarce resources well. In future this should mean more research concentration, not less, especially in the high cost scientific disciplines. In a diverse higher education system, not every institution should feel that maximising its success in the research assessment exercise or recruiting doctoral students is central to its mission. There are pockets of research excellence across a very wide number of institutions, but a more sustainable model for the future may involve new forms of collaboration between universities so that the best researchers can cooperate rather than compete against each other for scarce funds.

• RIN Life Sciences Case study:“most life science researchers spend much of their time searching for and organising information. The groups studied thus tend to manage information and data in an informal way. In most cases, no one had been identified to support access and use new resources and tools, to help with information services training, to advise on metadata creation, or assist with the curation of data and workflows. Most of them have very little contact with institutional library and information services”from: Patterns of information use and exchange: case studies of researchers in the life sciences. RIN, November 2009

• Competitive environment for research funds• Success in bidding could be a metric• Need to make the bids as strong as possible• Measurement becoming key• Money follows impact and performance• Ensure systems supporting research joined up• More explicit links to EKT

HIGHER AMBITIONSThe future of universities in a Knowledge Economy

We will support stronger long term relationships between business anduniversities. • Interaction between universities and business has increased significantly

over the last decade. We will build on this with continued investment in collaborative research via the Research Councils and the Technology Strategy Board. We will also build on the success of the HEFCE Higher Education Innovation Fund which has supported the development of links between business and universities. Our primary motivation for supporting this research commercialisation and knowledge exchange is to generate economic and social benefits for the nation, not simply to raise revenue for institutions. We will encourage universities to seek greater use of shared services for managing and commercialising their intellectual property.

Arts are different?

• Fewer research teams, still strong emphasis on the lone researcher

• Involvement in interdisciplinary groups?• Concerns about emphasis on “social and

economic” impact

Questions• How will researchers’ information needs change as the

processes of research changes?• Do we really understand the research process well enough to

help?• Will the current role of the subject librarian make sense in an

increasingly multi-disciplinary research environment?• How can we help with research teams working across

institutions?• Whatever happened to VREs?• Is this the time to reconsider the research support role of

Librarians?• Should we be responsible for the management of the

Institution’s intellectual capital?

Research Cycle

What do we do already?

• Helping develop research themes• Help with research bids• Initiation of bids using library resources• Literature searching for bids

• Literature searching• Systematic reviews• Advice on publishing

What do we do already 2?

• Management of publication databases• Digital repositories• Assistance with preparation for the REF

(RAE2008)• Metadata production• Knowledge management• Information (research) literacy• Copyright

Future Influence Potential Role for LibrariesIncrease in cross-disciplinary research and collaborative working

Ability to share resources and outputs (data) at a distanceCollaborative web spacesAbility to publish informal communicationsAccess to data modelling and data generation toolsDo we need to restructure away from discipline based approaches?Foster collaborative networks and provide collaborative space both virtual and physical where researchers work

An increase in the amount and importance of data output from researchers

The need to store and easily retrieve previously produced research data Management of dataRole for Data LibrariansCapture born digital

A decrease in personal contact between researchers and librarians but need to maintain communications

Creation of virtual environments for librarians and researchers to communicate

An increase in the need for validated information that can be retrieved quickly and with minimum hassle

Access to unmediated electronic resources from a single platform that is customisable to a users needs

Future Influence Potential Role for LibrariesComplexity of systems and services to support researchers

Simplification of library systemsTraining and support in use – can this be done virtually

LOLAs Embedding librarian in research teamCLIR Report proposal for virtual support to teamsSupport for personal in formation management for researchers as data and associated information becomes increasingly portable

Metrics informed REF Management of outputsPublications databasesRepositoriesBecome source of knowledge about Bibliometrics, H factors Working with Research Support staff to create Portal/VRE? To bring together the systems needed to manage the REF

Special Collections E-special collectionsBodadam

RLG’s: Support for the Research Process an academic library manifesto

• Commit to continual study of the ever-changing work patterns and needs of researchers; with particular attention to disciplinary and generational differences in adoption of new models of research and publication

• Design flexible new services around those parts of the research process that cause researchers the most frustration and difficulty

• Embed library content, services and staff within researchers’ regular workflows, integrating with services others provide

• Recognise that discovery of content will happen outside of libraries - but that libraries are uniquely suited to providing the organisation and metadata that make content discoverable

RLG’s Support for the Research Process 2

• In the midst of rapid and often unpredictable change, academic libraries can retain their position as critical partners in the research enterprise by anticipating, understanding and addressing the challenges and opportunities inherent in new research practices. If academic libraries heed these calls to action, they will be able to ensure that current and future researchers will have the support they need.

RIN: Ensuring a bright future for research libraries

• Linking library content and collections to research strategies

• Cataloguing, navigation discovery, delivery and access: researchers’ needs

• Sharing skills and expertise• Communicating and evaluating research outputs• Curation, preservation and disposal• Sustainable resources

References

• Department for Business Information and Skills (2009). Higher ambitions: the future of universities in a knowledge economy. London, Dept BIS. http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/higher-ambitions

• Research information Network (2009) . Patterns of information use and exchange: case studies of researchers in the life sciences. London, RIN. (www.rin.ac.uk/case-studies)

• Research Information Network (2008). Ensuring a bright future for research Libraries: A guide for vice-chancellors and senior institutional managers. London, RIN. www.rin.ac.uk/bright-futures-libraries

• Law, Derek (2009). Academic Digital Libraries of the future: an environment scan. New Review of Academic Libraries . 15 (1), pp 53-67.

• Bourg, C, Coleman, R and Erway, R. (2009) Support for the research process: an academic library manifesto. OCLC Research www.oclc.org/research/publications/library/2009/2009-07.pdf