This article highlights important new opportunities for libraries by analysing the roles they could potentially play in citizen science projects. Citizen science is one of the eight pillars of open science identified by the Open Science Policy Platform, an EC Working Group. The authors of the article suggest that roles for libraries wishing to support or engage in citizen science could include contributing to specific skills development; building and maintaining collections of protocols, data forms and educational materials; contributing to making data FAIR; supporting new communication roles; participating in recruitment and helping volunteers to participate in projects; participating in marketing activities; building further advocacy and developing or implementing a toolkit for citizen science projects. Several of these roles are illustrated by contributing authors in case studies from their institutions, where citizen science has already been embraced: University College London, the University of Barcelona, the University of Southern Denmark and Qatar National Library. This article thus presents a snapshot of what libraries have so far achieved in this sphere and the challenges and opportunities which remain.
Beginning in 2017 three major institutions on the island of Funen, Denmark, collaborated on a Citizen Science project: "A Healthier Funen" (AHF). The partners were a university, a university hospital and a regional broadcaster. The project invokes citizens to vote for the allocation of research funding. In the case study presented here, we analyze the Citizen Science aspects of AHF and the roles of libraries as collaborators, we examine the results and the reach of the project, and we argue that this strand of Citizen Science could be a possible new trend for Library, Faculty and media collaboration. Seen against the background of the scope and definitions of Open Science and LIBER's Open Science Roadmap, the case of AHF suggests that the field of Citizen Science bears great potential in regard of providing a new level of innovation for Libraries: through a collaborative professional approach to science communication, libraries can assume a strategic role together with the Faculty staff. In the context of reciprocality within Citizen Science, the Library can build skills for engaging in projects, adopt toolkits or models, as well as A New Trend in Media and Library Collaboration within Citizen Science?
Citizen science is spreading and numerous centres, services, or “hubs” within the field are manifesting themselves at European universities. Research libraries can potentially play a central role in advancing citizen science and open science. Building on a scoping literature review, a survey with 125 respondents, and an in-depth follow-up survey of 29 research libraries as part of the Citizen-enhanced Open Science in Southeastern Europe Higher Education Knowledge Hubs (CeOS_SE) project, this article outlines the current state and potential of citizen-enhanced open science (CE-OS) among European research libraries and presents a series of strategic and operational reflections for the future. Overall, research libraries report a high degree of understanding of both open science and citizen science and their applicability for society and research, but only few report the presence of services or infrastructure. Also, approximately half of the libraries engage in, or experiment with, citizen science. Common barriers exist such as resources, funding, strategy, and lack of policy. From these data, we present a typology to better understand how research libraries currently engage with citizen science and the steps that have been taken in this field. However, the overarching conclusion is that CE-OS with regards to European research libraries is contextual. There is no one size fits all.
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