***With apologies for cross posting***
Dear colleagues,
We hope that the below may be of interest.
With kind regards,
Camille
********
Re-imaging the role of the library is key to demonstrating value in the
developing world
Los Angeles, London (06 August 2013) - Raising awareness of how the
library supports teaching and research staff is key to demonstrating
library value in developing countries, concludes a new report published
today. The findings are the result of a six-month research study with
twelve developing country institutions conducted by SAGE exploring
perceptions of the value of academic libraries by teaching and research
staff in developing countries.
'Library Value in the Developing World' reports that developing-country
librarians are beginning to recognize the importance of evaluating their
value for research and teaching staff.
Communicating the value of their role however, remains a key challenge.
Librarians noted that whilst they receive positive feedback about the
resource collections they provide, there is limited awareness of how
librarians can better support research and teaching staff beyond these
traditional parameters.
Chief considerations
Outlined in the report are examples of best practice from the case study
institutions, along with recommendations on how working relations
between academic libraries and stakeholders could be enhanced. These
include:
. Communication
The report highlights the value of increased engagement between
individual libraries and their academic staff to help reinforce their
changing role in supporting academia and in supporting training and
advice. Developing research partnerships, integrated teaching, research
services and literacy instruction were all considered part of the
'reinvented' librarian role, beyond providing access to resources.
The report suggests that librarians are building an increased
understanding of marketing skills, as well as developing external
relationships with the scholarly community to promote advocacy for the
library.
. Support from the university
Universities can also help to build awareness of the role of the
library, the report advises, by investing in the professional
development of librarians in both their provision of research and
teaching skills, and by enabling librarians more contact time with
research and teaching staff. It also advises that the University provide
internal marketing support to help raise the status and recognition of
librarians and the value they add to the work of academic colleagues and
senior managers.
. Collaboration with publishers
There are also considerations for publishers. The report advises that
further research be conducted to understand the ongoing needs of
developing-country libraries and their work. Part of this includes the
adaptation of marketing and online resources to enable greater access
for those in developing countries.
###
The full report can be accessed from:
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/librarians/dw.sp. Follow the conversations on
twitter at #libvalue
###
Library Value in the Developing World, a follow up to the 2012 study
conducted with LISU "Working together: evolving value for academic
libraries", was undertaken by SAGE, in consultation with Claire Creaser
of LISU the national research and information centre based at
Loughborough University (UK), and Lucy Browse of International Network
for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP).
The findings are based on a series of surveys, interviews and case
studies with twelve developing country institutions; Universidad
Nacional Autonoma de Honduras; Indonesian Research Institute; University
of Cape Coast, Ghana; National Scientific Library, Georgia; Maseno
University, Kenya; Convenant University and Obafemi Awolowo University,
Nigeria; University of the Philippines Visayas, Philippines; University
of Thies, Senegal; Makerere University, Uganda; Institute of
Intellectual Property of National University Kiev, Ukraine, and the
University of Zimbabwe.
The findings of the report are also being presented at the Charleston
Conference 2013
Camille Gamboa
Camille.gamboa_at_sagepub.com
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Received on Mon Aug 12 2013 - 13:39:27 EDT