A Survey Exploring the Perceptions of Academic Librarians as Researchers

Abstract

This study examines the perceptions of academic librarian research at six Canadian prairie-province universities. An understanding of how librarian research is viewed and valued at academic institutions can lay the groundwork to improve the state of librarian research in the future. Surveys were sent to librarians and non-librarian faculty in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences at these universities to gather information about how both groups perceive academic librarian research. Thirty librarians and 30 non-librarian faculty responded to the survey. In general, research was viewed as an important and positive aspect of librarianship, though one that was of secondary importance to service. Non-librarian faculty largely lacked awareness about librarian research, and librarians reported being unsupported in their research needs by their institutions. Librarian research collaboration with non-librarian faculty was of high interest to both groups of respondents. The results of this survey highlight the importance of research to academic librarianship while indicating that there is room for further improvement by raising the profile of librarian research outside of the library, fostering collaborative research projects, and providing librarians with the support necessary to engage in research activities.

Health sciences and medical librarians conducting research and their experiences asking for co-authorship

“…This phenomenon of coauthorship as validation of unique expertise would be in line with understandings of professionals as those whose “identity and status … is not given or determined but is rather a precarious, contested formation constantly negotiated through discursive activity” [ 36 ] and in which professionals must work to convince others that their roles and contributions are unique and legitimate [ 37 ]. Library literature is indicative of the extent to which the recognition of professional legitimacy of librarians may be fraught [ 37 , 38 , 39 ], particularly in research endeavors [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. In the context of authorship, limited research indicates the extent to which under-recognition of librarian contributions to research teams persists in higher education, with nearly 40% of librarian respondents to a survey on collaboration between librarians and other researchers participating together on systematic reviews reporting that researchers view them as PDF suppliers or administrative support personnel on research teams [ 20 ] rather than as research collaborators.…”

From a network model to a model network: strategies for network development to narrow the LIS research–practice gap

“…For one community of LIS practitioners, however, adoption of the role of practitioner-researcher is critical to career advancement: for academic librarians in North America, research productivity is generally a requirement for promotion and tenure [as noted, for example, by Babb (2019, p. 2), Crampsie et al. (2020, p. 253), Kumaran (2019, p. 2) and Schmidt et al.…”