Researchers: Roadmap, Roles and Reality Checks

—the Work of the RIM Programme

Ricky Erway, Senior Program Officer John MacColl, European Director RLG Partnership, OCLC Research18 September 2009

RLG Partnership: Diverse PerspectivesRLG Partnership: Diverse Perspectives

About 130 partner institutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East and in the Asia-Pacific region.

National libraries, universities, museums, and independent research libraries

System-wide ChallengesSystem-wide Challenges

RLG: a unique venue - international perspective on shared priorities and concerns, community-wide impact

Combined OCLC Research and RLG Partnership capacity

supports evidence-gathering, problem-solving, prototyping

System-wide outlook and insights into macro-economics of library enterprise

Direct engagement with partner libraries provides opportunities to shape collective action agenda

Evolution of the Research Information Management program

Evolution of the Research Information Management program

• Incubation of an idea by staff• Input at from RLG Partners at 2008 RLG Annual Meeting

• RIM interest group• Advisory group on Research Output

Assessment • Four working groups • Update and recalibration at 2009 Annual

Meeting

Research Information Management Research Information Management

Image by permission of Rick Luce

Meeting Researchers’ NeedsMeeting Researchers’ Needs

The Research Information Management UniverseThe Research Information Management Universe

Scholar; Scopus; WoK; WorldCat; Oaister; CiteSeer; Google Books; datasets; databases; EEBO/ECCO; VREs; repositories; etc

Researcher

Domain

Institution

Data Environment

Assessment Regime

Other Researchers

Other Researchers

Large research-oriented (tend toward STEM)Smaller research-oriented (tend toward humanities)Tenure issuesFunding issues

JISC NamesISNIResearcherIDPeople AustraliaDAICooperative ID Hub?

Self-assessment (Netherlands; Nordic)Funding-based (UK, Australia)Tenure based (US)PR and institutional reputation (all)

Comfort zone, but withcompetition issues

RLG Research Information Management (RIM) ProgramRLG Research Information Management (RIM) Program

RLG Research Information Management ActivityRLG Research Information Management Activity

• Report on Scholarly Information Practices• Workflows in Research Assessment Project

(WRAP) consultancy• Joint investigation with RIN • Projects within the RLG Partnership

• A RIM manifesto• Testing the desirability of research services• Role of libraries in data curation• Changing roles of library staff

InstitutionDomain

User

First understand, then interveneFirst understand, then intervene

Patterns of Convergence in Scholarly PracticePatterns of Convergence in Scholarly Practice

accessingassessingchaining

disseminatingnetworking

Interdisciplinaryprobing

translating

HumanitiesSciences

direct searching scanningco-authoring coordinating monitoring data-sharing

Browsing collecting

re-reading assembling

consulting

note-taking

Adapted from C. Palmer, L. Teffau, C. Pirmann (2009)

Workflows in Research Assessment Program (WRAP) Consultancy

Workflows in Research Assessment Program (WRAP) Consultancy

• Survey library roles in research assessment data-gathering regimes within research universities in: • UK• Netherlands• Denmark• Republic of Ireland• Australia

• Describe the assessment regimes, placing them on a spectrum from high- to low-intervention, noting national characteristics.

Assessment RegimeInstitution

Joint project with UK Research Information NetworkJoint project with UK Research Information Network

Investigate methods of managing places of intersection around research support on campus Data Environment

Institution

User

RIM ActivityRIM Activity

• Report on Scholarly Information Practices• WRAP consultancy• Joint investigation with RIN • Projects within the RLG Partnership

• A RIM manifesto• Testing the desirability of research

services• Role of libraries in data curation• Changing roles of library staff

RIM Roadmap ProjectRIM Roadmap Project

•This project involves issuing a provocative call to action, urging academic libraries to take a more significant role in their institution's research mission.

Working GroupSusan Ashworth - University of GlasgowNiamh Brennan - Trinity College DublinElizabeth Brown - Binghamton University, SUNYSheila Cannell - University of EdinburghRoss Coleman - University of SydneyRobin Green - University of WarwickGeneva Henry - Rice UniversityAllen Jones - The New SchoolRebecca Kennison - Columbia UniversityMJ Romaniuk - University of AlbertaSally Rumsey - University of Oxford Anna Shadbolt - University of MelbourneChair: Chris Bourg - Stanford University

Data EnvironmentAssessment Regime

Institution

Support for the Research Process: An Academic Library Manifesto

Support for the Research Process: An Academic Library Manifesto

Scholarly communication and practice have undergone radical transformations in recent years.  Developments such as cloud computing, open access publishing and online social networking are affecting scholarly practices. Researchers are asking a wider range of questions, using diverse data and methods, producing new forms of scholarly output, and engaging in innovative new forms of research and publication. The enticing opportunities in digital scholarship are coupled with new challenges for the research community. Researchers are drowning in a deluge of raw data and information and face a bewildering array of options for disseminating and sharing their work. The choices these scholars make have implications on intellectual ownership, potential audience, ways of measuring impact, and long-term preservation. As budgets across higher education are shrinking, some in the academy are questioning the continued value of large academic libraries. At the same time, many academic libraries are providing vital and innovative services and resources in support of emerging forms of research, publishing, and information management. While some would argue that academic libraries are playing an increasingly important role in scholarly research, others fear that they are on the brink of extinction and must change radically to survive. The challenge is to rise above the debate, and take a fresh look at the role of academic libraries in scholarly research.

Manifesto principlesManifesto principles

• Study the ever-changing work patterns and needs of scholars• Design flexible new services around those parts of the research

process that cause scholars the most frustration and difficulty.• Embed library services in scholars’ workflows; integrating with

services others provide• Redefine reference as research and technical consultation

instead of fact-finding. • Ensure that staff training and hiring reflect needs of new modes

of scholarly research.• Recognize that discovery will happen outside of libraries --

provide the organization that makes content discoverable.• Focus on unique, core services; while seeking collaborative

partnerships for common services. • Demonstrate the value of library services to funders; while

providing services that may seem invisible to scholars.• Engage researchers in the selection of content for long-term

preservation and access. • Offer alternative scholarly publishing and dissemination

platforms

RIM Research Services ProjectRIM Research Services Project

• A list of research support services will be tested with researchers. The list exemplifies a user-centered approach, with services that researchers should like because they can make their work easier and help them in maintaining their scholarly reputation.

Working GroupSusan Ashworth - University of GlasgowJeff Belliston - Brigham Young UniversityNiamh Brennan - Trinity College DublinMartha Brogan, University of PennsylvaniaSten Christensen - University of SydneyJudy Gardner, Rutgers UniversityLeah Krevit, Rice UniversityZack Lane - Columbia UniversityVirginia Shih - University of California, BerkeleyChair: Robin Green - University of Warwick

Data Environment

Institution

User

List of Research Support Services

(slide 1 of 2)

List of Research Support Services

(slide 1 of 2)We will… • provide you dedicated space on a server.• help you load your work if you like, and back it up.• ensure access to your work remotely, wherever you

are.• help you structure space to organize your notes,

datasets, others’ publications, presentations…• provide tools for group work/version control at file

level.• help you manage your research, track who is involved

in which grant, which research is funded by which grant, and purchasing grant-funded equipment.

• include you in the campus expertise database and facilitate inclusion in disciplinary expert databases.

• keep your personal bibliography up-to-date. • provide you with a customizable personal web page.

List of Research Support Services

(slide 2 of 2)

List of Research Support Services

(slide 2 of 2)(Cont.) We will… • advise on information sources and publication routes

when you research in unfamiliar disciplines. • maintain your awareness of rights issues relating to

your outputs and to negotiate publication rights• help you comply with funder requirements.• see that your work is disseminated broadly, quickly and

openly, with maximum impact for you and your university.

• preserve your outputs in the institutional repository and facilitate inclusion in disciplinary repositories.

• do the authority work to credit you for the various forms of your name used in indicating authorship.

• help you manage, store and preserve your data, link it to your related publications, and make it available for reuse.

• enable your work to go with you if you leave this institution.

While big science often has its data curation needs met outside the library, the library needs to be prepared to respond to the need for local dataset management, to look beyond derivative data, to include the source data, and to help researchers manage the entire data lifecycle.

Working GroupJeff Belliston - Brigham Young UniversityNiamh Brennan - Trinity College DublinElizabeth Brown - Binghamton University, SUNY Rowan Brownlee - University of SydneyFaye Chadwell - Oregon State UniversityPatricia Cruse - California Digital LibraryRobin Green - University of WarwickAllen Jones - The New SchoolMJ Romaniuk - University of AlbertaSally Rumsey - University of OxfordAnna Shadbolt - University of MelbourneChair: ?

Data Environment

InstitutionDomain

User

Data Curation Project

Assess library contributions related to data curation• Big science vs. little science and humanities• Derivative data vs. source data• Data lifecycle management• Data reuse• Institutional vs. disciplinary approaches

Data Curation

This project entails an investigation of how traditional library roles can be simplified, so that libraries can rise to the increasing demands related to scholarly communication and data curation.

Working GroupSusan Ashworth - University of GlasgowChris Bourg - Stanford UniversitySheila Cannell - University of EdinburghRoss Coleman - University of SydneyRobin Green - University of WarwickAllen Jones - The New SchoolCatherine Mitchell - California Digital LibraryMJ Romaniuk - University of AlbertaSally Rumsey - University of OxfordSarah Watstein, University of California, Los AngelesChair: Niamh Brennan - Trinity College Dublin

Data EnvironmentAssessment Regime

InstitutionDomain

Changing Roles of Library Staff

Explore changing roles of library staff• Increasing demands • Role of "data librarians" • Faculty liaison role• Specialization in rights and open access• Ways to work with departments to increase

data management awareness and skills

Changing Roles of Library Staff

Comments?Comments?

• Report on Scholarly Information Practices• WRAP consultancy• Joint investigation with RIN • Projects with the RLG Partnership

• A RIM manifesto• Testing the desirability of research services• Role of libraries in data curation• Changing roles of library staff

ResourcesResources

Research Information Management Programwww.oclc.org/programs/ourwork/researchinfoOCLC Research White Paperswww.oclc.org/programs/publications/reports.htmBloghttp://hangingtogether.org/ Webinars and Podcastshttp://www.oclc.org/programsandresearch/parcasts

Ricky Erway erwayr@oclc.orgJohn MacColl maccollj@oclc.org