Establishing a culture of research practice in an academic library: an Australian case study

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the establishment of a Research Working Group at Flinders University Library, a mid‐sized teaching and research university located in South Australia. The group was founded to encourage staff to develop a more reflective, research‐oriented and evidence‐based professional practice initially for a three‐year term. This paper comes at about two years into the pilot and provides an interim report of the group's experiences and achievements.Design/methodology/approachAs a case study, this paper describes the introduction and background of the Flinders University Library Research Working Group, its purpose, the selection of projects, and its work to date.FindingsThe paper reports on the management‐driven practical supports that have been implemented to assist practitioners undertaking research at Flinders University Library.Practical implicationsThe paper can be used as an exemplar for other academic libraries with staff with non‐tenured staff which lacks a culture of research.Originality/valueThis paper adds an Australian perspective to the existing literature on support for academic librarians undertaking research. The literature is dominated by US and Canadian experiences based on academic status.

Librarians' Contribution to Open Access Journal Publishing in Library and Information Science From the Perspective of Authorship

“…Researchers in numerous disciplines, including LIS, computer science, education, management, political science, psychology, social work, and nursing, have been concerned about a discrepancy between research and practice and have attempted to address this concern (Belli, 2010). In LIS, most practitioner authors are academic librarians who are expected by their institutions to actively engage in research and scholarly activities (Jacobs & Berg, 2013;McBain, Culshaw, & Hall, 2013). This may motivate some academic librarians to publish their research.…”

The Push to Publish: What is the Impetus for Australian Academic Librarians?

“…Joint (2006) and Clapton (2010), writing in the UK, observe that librarians, in most part, publish 'descriptive' pieces, related to their day-to-day professional activities, as opposed to research focused academics. McBain, Culshaw, and Walkley Hall (2013) argue for creating a culture of evidence-based research to encourage librarians to engage with professional research and writing. Joint (2006, p. 6) argues, 'There is much to be said for practitioners … trying to produce true research articles….…”

Understanding Factors that Encourage Research Productivity for Academic Librarians

“…Common supports include writing support groups (Campbell, Ellis & Adebonojo, 2012;Exner & Harris Houk, 2010;Fallon, 2012;Tysick & Babb, 2006), journal clubs (Fitzgibbons, Kloda, & Miller-Nesbitt, 2017), support groups or forums for research conversations (Carson, Colosimo, Lake, & McMillan, 2014;Hall & McBain, 2014;Miller & Benefiel, 1998;Sapon-White, King & Christie, 2004), mentorship programs (Cirasella & Smale, 2011;Stephens, Sare, Kimball, Foster, & Kitchens, 2011), research skills development initiatives (Edwards, Jennerich, & Ward, 2009;Jacobs & Berg, 2013;McBain, Hall, & Culshaw, 2013;Schrader, Shiri, & Williamson, 2012), research leaves or release time, and funding (Smigielski, Laning, & Daniels, 2014). Alongside these supports, Canadian academic librarians are actively developing communities within and outside of their institutions to foster a positive research culture across Canada (Carson et al, 2014;Jacobs & Berg, 2013;Meadows, Berg, Hoffmann, Torabi, & Gardiner, 2013;Mierke & Williamson, 2017;Wilson, 2017).…”