The Value Of Libraries For Research And Researchers

The value of libraries for research and researchersThe value of libraries forresearch and researchersA RIN and RLUK reportMarch 20111

AcknowlegementsThis report was commissioned by Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and the Research Information Network (RIN). Thefieldwork and data analysis were undertaken by Curtis Cartwright Consulting Limited, in partnership with the HigherEducation Statistics Agency (HESA) and Professor Charles Oppenheim (University of Loughborough). The project wasoverseen by a Project Board whose members were Michael Jubb (RIN), Phil Sykes (University of Liverpool and RLUK),Stephen Town (University of York), Jan Wilkinson (University of Manchester and RLUK), and Nicola Wright (LSE).We wish to thank all those in universities across the UK who gave freely of their time in providing information andevidence to us; and SCONUL for allowing us access to its data.List of iation of College and Research LibrariesArts, Humanities and Social SciencesGrade Point AverageHigher Education Pay and Prices IndexHigher Education Statistics AgencyOpen AccessPrincipal Component AnalysisResearch Assessment ExerciseResearch Councils UKREFResearch Excellence FrameworkRIMSResearch Information Management SystemRINResearch Information NetworkRLUKResearch Libraries UKROIReturn on InvestmentRSOResearch Support OfficeSCONUL Society of Colleges, National and University LibrariesSTEMScience, Technology, Engineering and MathematicsVLEVirtual Learning EnvironmentVREVirtual Research Environment

ContentsExecutive summaryPage 4IntroductionPage 102.The environment for libraries and researchPage 123.A map of the value that libraries providePage 184.Good libraries help institutions to recruit and retain top researchersPage 225.Libraries help researchers win grants and contractsPage 266.Libraries promote and exploit new technologies and new modelsof scholarly communicationsPage 30Repositories increase the visability of the institution and raise itsresearch profile8.Outward-facing libraries contribute to institution-wide initiativesPage 349.Specialist staff work in partnership with academic departments10.Connecting with researchers enhances the value of the library’s servicesPage 4211.Dedicated spaces provide a better work environment for researchers12.Convenient access to high-quality research content remains a keyfoundation for good researchPage 5013.Page 607.Libraries are a physical manifestation of the values of the academyand of scholarship14.Review of evidencePage 38Page 46Page 54Page 62

Executive summaryExecutive summaryAim and approachThis report presents the findings of a systematic study ofthe value of the services that libraries in the UK provideto researchers, and of the contributions that librariesfrom a wide range of institutions make to institutionalresearch performance. The aim was to identify the keycharacteristics of library provision to support research insuccessful UK universities and departments.The approach comprised two main elements: quantitativeanalysis of statistics – from SCONUL, HESA, and the RAE,along with bibliometric data - to investigate correlationsbetween the characteristics and behaviours of librariesin 67 UK HE institutions, and the research performanceof those institutions; and gathering and analysing a largetranche of qualitative information from nine institutionswith a range of characteristics.Statistical and qualitative evidenceOur initial hope was that analysis of statistical trendsand correlations would provide evidence and suggestavenues to explore in the qualitative phase of the project.The limitations of the available statistical data on libraryprovision and characteristics, however, mean that ourstatistical analyses have been of limited utility.4This report is therefore based on a large weight ofqualitative evidence, gathered from interviews and focusgroups with a range of stakeholders – researchers, PVCsResearch, the Research Support Office, Graduate Deansand Finance Directors as well as librarians - across nineinstitutions, and carefully analysed and cross checked.Such evidence is based on individual perceptions andexperiences, but we believe that in the aggregate, theevidence on the value of libraries set out in this documentis robust and unequivocal. Libraries contribute to theresearch performance of individuals and institutions inmany different ways, even if the nature and extent of thatcontribution is not well understood by researchers andsenior managers.Our findings are summarised in the form of map whichsets out the key characteristics and behaviours of libraries,and the links between them and the performance ofindividual researchers and institutions. Libraries havechanged and are changing, developing new roles andservices. Our detailed findings are thus presented in theform of ten stories – summarised in the map - about thedifferent kinds of value that libraries provide in supportingboth individual researchers and the research performanceof their host institutions.

The value of libraries for research and researchersLibrary behaviour orcharacteristcInformation andorganisational skillsIntermediate outcomes andbenefitsGood knowledge ofexternal environmentGood subject expertiseIncreased potentialreadership of researchClose relationshipswith researchersProactive informationspecialistsMore research incomeWider institutional roleIncreased visability ofresearchStrong service cultureManifestation ofscholarshipOutward-facing libraryResearcher-focusedservicesStrong researchmaterialsImproved researchpracticesPublicly availablecatalogue of researchmaterialsEnd benefitsBetter informedresearchersFlexible physical spaceOpportunities forbrowsingManaging institutionalrepositoryNew research interestsor directionImproved institutionalunderstanding ofinformation assetsBetter researchmanagementHigher qualityresearchRecruitment andretention of higherquality researchersMore efficient researchImproved coordinationof research activitesMore satisfiedresearchersGood reputation ofinstitution for researchGreater researchoutputMore motivatedresearchersNeutral position atcentre of institutionBetter researchenvironmentLegacy perceptionof library as home ofknowledge5

Key messages1. Good libraries help institutions to recruit and retaintop researchers4. Repositories increase the visibility of the institution andraise its research profileThere is global competition for top researchers, andinstitutional reputation is key to attracting them. Manyfactors contribute to a good reputation, including leaguetables, RAE scores, research productivity and fundinglevels. But the library also contributes, positively ornegatively, to an institution’s reputation. The quality,nature, and extent of the library’s collections, of its staffand the services they provide, and of its buildings areall important. Successful and high-quality libraries canbe a significant factor in recruiting and retaining topresearchers.Most institutions now have repositories to store and makeavailable institutional assets such as research papers andtheses. In most cases, the library runs the repository onbehalf of the institution, and senior institutional managersacknowledge the role the repository plays in increasing thevisibility of the institution’s outputs and raising its researchprofile. But repositories are only as valuable as the contentthey hold, and now the focus is on increasing the volumeof content, by making it routine for researchers to deposittheir outputs. Libraries are now playing an increasingrole in educating researchers and building more effectiveprocedures and approaches across the institution.2. Libraries help researchers win research grants andcontractsSuccess in winning research grants and contracts iscritically-important, especially for research-intensiveuniversities. Research Support Offices help researchersto generate a regular flow of high-quality applicationsfor such grants and contracts, but libraries are playingan increasingly significant role too. On the whole theydo so in response to specific requests rather than proactively, however, and in general researchers are notrequired to consult the library in generating their bids.Libraries could play a greater role if researchers knew thatsupport was available, and if their involvement was moreformalised. Libraries have an opportunity to use their skillsto help researchers improve the quality of their fundingapplications, and to increase the institution’s success inwinning research income.3. Libraries promote and exploit new technologies andnew models of scholarly communicationsLibraries are critically important in helping researchersto exploit the full benefits and opportunities of thenetworked world, including such developments as openaccess and social media. But libraries are not alwayswell-equipped to promote change, and researcherssometimes resist efforts to modify their behaviours andpractices. Nevertheless, many libraries have succeeded inaddressing such problems, by establishing stronger linkswith researchers and re focusing their services to promoteand exploit new technologies and new models of scholarlycommunication.65. Outward-facing libraries contribute to institution-wideinitiativesIn recent years, many libraries have demonstrated thatthey can seize opportunities to help institutions respondto changes in the research environment. Libraries’ centraland impartial position, together with their informationand organisation expertise, puts them in a good positionto play a wide institutional role and deliver new value.Seizing these opportunities is not always straightforward,since in some institutions libraries have to overcometraditional views about their appropriate role. Butoutward-facing libraries can help in joining up researchsupport and administration, leading to better researchmanagement and a higher profile for the library across theinstitution.6. Specialist staff work in partnership with academicdepartmentsInformation specialists - both subject specialists and thosewith a specific focus on the needs of researchers - forma significant group of the library staff in most institutions.The researchers who make use of them see them as vital.But too often information specialists and researchers arenot well connected. Putting that right can alter specialists’roles profoundly, shifting them away from more traditionalcollection management roles. Where this change hastaken place, information specialists take a more proactiverole, working in partnership with academic departmentsand acting as consultants. Such developments have beenwelcomed by heads of departments and researchers.