The research environment is challenging libraries to raise their game by providing higher-end services in response to technological change and policy developments. Librarians are being urged to move from service-as-support to a partnership model involving “deep collaboration” across the whole knowledge lifecycle. But libraries are no longer the “go-to” place for researchers. Perceived as dispensers of goods, more geared to students and education, they struggle to gain take-up for research offerings. Innovative practitioners are using various strategies to reposition themselves as key players in the research arena, notably space-as-service strategies, which can bring researchers back to the physical library and improve visibility of virtual services.

1. From
Reading
Rooms
to
Research
Commons
Context
is
Cri+cal
Sheila
Corrall
Professor
and
Chair
Library
&
Informa;on
Science
scorrall@pi>.edu

2. Agenda
• Developments
in
the
digital
research
environment
• Library
service
challenges
and
responses
– Scope
for
rethinking
space
for
researchers
– Opportuni;es
for
higher-­‐end
support
– Problema;c
percep;ons
of
libraries
• Emerging
trends
in
library
support
for
research
• Innova;ons
in
library
space
for
researchers
• Ques;ons
for
debate

3. What
is
the
Purpose
of
Library
Space?
• A
store
or
archive
for
the
residuum
of
physical
materials?
• A
quiet
place
for
study
and
reflec;on?
• A
“thinking
place”
– where
users
are
encouraged
to
“slow
down
and
take
a
mind
break”?
• A
s;mula;ng
environment
for
crea;ve
innova;on?
• A
social
space,
or
“social
hub”
– for
mee;ngs
or
collabora;ve
work?
(Beard
&
Bawden,
2012)

4. The
Research
Environment
• Networked
data-­‐driven
science,
digital
humani;es,
“grand
challenges”
and
transdisciplinary
research
• Policy
developments
and
funding
body
mandates:
open
access,
data
sharing,
and
research
impact
• Evidence
of
unmet
needs
for
research
support,
e.g.,
infrastructure,
systems,
tools,
and
expert
help
• Calls
for
academic
libraries
to
change
what
they
offer
and
how
they
engage
with
the
research
process
– Moving
from
“service-­‐as-­‐support”
to
partnership
and
“deep
collabora;on”
across
the
knowledge
crea;on
cycle

5. Libraries,
Research,
and
Space
“The
library
is
the
only
centralized
loca;on
where
new
and
emerging
informa;on
technologies
can
be
combined
with
tradi;onal
knowledge
resources
in
a
user-­‐focused,
service-­‐rich
environment
that
supports
today’s
social
and
educa;onal
pa>erns
of
learning,
teaching,
and
research.”
(Freeman,
2005,
p.
3)
“Is
there
any
scope
to
provide
researchers
with
spaces
for
mee;ngs,
good
levels
of
access
to
a
mixture
of
technology
for
presenta;ons,
informa;on
crea;on
and
publishing,
a
mixture
of
study
environments,
including
soa
sea;ng
and
food-­‐tolerant
zones,
as
well
as
individual,
reservable
formal
study
and
working
spaces,
with
some
storage?
(Gannon-­‐Leary
et
al.,
2008,
p.
5)

6. Research
Libraries:
Call
to
Ac;on
“In
order
to
con;nue
to
play
a
central
role
in
support
of
scholarly
research
and
publishing,
academic
libraries
must:
2. Design
flexible
new
services
around
those
parts
of
the
research
process
that
cause
researchers
the
most
frustra;on
and
difficulty.
3. Embed
library
content,
services,
and
staff
within
researchers’
regular
workflows;
integra;ng
with
services
others
provide…
where
such
integra;on
serves
the
needs
of
the
researcher.
7. Embrace
opportuni;es
to
focus
on
unique,
core
services
and
resources;
while
seeking
collabora;ve
partnerships
to
streamline
common
services
and
resources.
(Extract
from
Bourg
et
al.,
2009,
pp.
1-­‐2)

7. Problema;c
Percep;ons
of
Libraries
“Libraries
are
perceived
by
users
to
be
more
geared
to
suppor;ng
teaching
and
learning
ac;vi;es”
(Bent
et
al.,
2007,
p.
82)
“edged
out
of
the
top
spot
as
the
‘go-­‐to’
place
for
virtually
all
aspiring
researchers”
(Wood
et
al.,
2007,
p.3)
“Few
researchers
see
the
library
as
a
partner,
and
most…seemed
to
regard
the
library
as
a
dispensary
of
goods
(i.e.,
books,
ar;cles)
rather
than
a
locus
for
badly
needed,
real-­‐;me
professional
support”
(Jahnke
&
Asher,
2012,
p.
16)

8. Perceived
Importance
of
Library
Roles
(Housewright
et
al.,
2013,
p.
69)
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
UG
Info
Lit
Teacher
Research
Supporter
Teaching
Facilitator
Repository
Buyer
Gateway
Faculty
Library
Directors

9. Library
Support:
Emerging
Trends
• Bibliometrics
–
Research
impact
measurement
services
• Digital
humani;es
–
Centers/ins;tutes
and
scholars’
labs
• e-­‐Research
–
Data
management
planning
and
support
• Lifecycle
models
–
Strategic
planning
and
marke;ng
• One-­‐stop
shops
–
Single
point
of
access
to
research
informa;on,
resources
and
support
across
the
university
• Scholarly
communica;ons
–
Ins;tu;onal
repositories
and
academic
publishing
(journals,
conferences,
and
monographs)
• Specialist
posi;ons
–
New
strategic
and
frontline
roles
• Space-­‐as-­‐service
–
Research
commons/collaboratories

10. Bibliometric
Service
Case
Studies
Targeted
at
individuals,
academic
units
or
ins;tu;onal
level,
marketed
in
various
ways,
for
internal
or
external
purposes:
o Advice
on
publishing
strategies,
e.g.,
early-­‐career
researchers
o Support
for
job
applica;ons,
promo;on,
or
salary
review
o Research
impact
measures
for
grant
applica;ons
o Output
comparisons
for
benchmarking
with
peer
schools
o Analyzing
publishing
pa>erns
and
usage
data
for
a
library
scholarly
communica;ons
program
o Finding
a
university’s
most
cited
papers
and
researchers
for
an
ins;tu;onal
promo;on
program
o Compiling
whole-­‐career
cita;on
counts
across
the
university
o Facilita;ng
ins;tu;onal
repository
growth
(Corrall
et
al.,
2013)

12. Bibliometric
Services
of
ANZUKI
Libraries
(n=140)
13
24
30
47
47
67
82
4
17
20
9
22
27
26
112
92
83
73
65
44
30
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Candidate
evalua;ons
Disciplinary
trend
reports
Grant
applica;on
support
h-­‐index
calcula;ons
Research
impact
calcula;ons
Cita;on
reports
Bibliometrics
training/literacy
Offered
Planned
Not
planned
(Corrall
et
al.,
2013,
p.
652)

14. Digital
Humani;es
“a
nexus
of
fields
within
which
scholars
use
compu;ng
technologies
to
inves;gate
the
kinds
of
ques;ons
that
are
tradi;onal
to
the
humani;es,
or…who
ask
tradi;onal
kinds
of
humani;es-­‐oriented
ques;ons
about
compu;ng
technologies”
(Fitzpatrick,
2010)
• Emerged
from
ac;vi;es
known
as
“humani;es
compu;ng”
– collabora;ve,
transdisciplinary,
computa;onally
engaged,
but
essen;ally
a
humanis+c
endeavor
– concerned
with
“Why
possible?”
ques;ons,
rather
than
“How
possible?”
ques;ons
(cf.
science
and
engineering)
• Three
broad
areas:
textual/linguis;c
analysis,
spa;al
analysis,
and
media
studies/visual
analysis
(Waters,
2013)

15. Digital
Humani;es
Agenda
for
Libraries
1. The
par;cular
type
of
research
being
pursued
is
a
key
issue
– literary,
spa;al,
and
visual
analysis
have
quite
different
staffing,
equipment
and
related
requirements
2. Digital
preserva;on
is
a
cri;cal
R&D
need
across
all
areas
3. Tools
and
infrastructure
spanning
the
three
areas
are
increasingly
needed
(e.g.,
annota;on
tools)
4. Tools
facilita;ng
visual
and
spa;al
analysis,
and
also
emergent
areas
(e.g.,
audio)
are
an
immediate
need
– investments
in
textual
analysis
tools
are
well
advanced
5. Understanding
requirements
and
building
the
capacity
for
publishing
and
cura;ng
scholarly
products
is
a
high
priority
6. Training
people
in
tool-­‐based
scholarship
is
another
priority
(Waters,
2013),

16. Digital
Humani;es
in
ARL
Libraries
(n=64)
• 5
host
digital
humani;es
centers
• 30
provide
ad
hoc
DH
services
• 15
host
d-­‐scholarship
centers
(Bryson
et
al.,
2011)

17. Does
Every
Library
Need
a
DH
Center?
• In
most
sewngs,
it
is
best
to
observe
what
DH
academics
are
already
doing
and
then
set
out
to
address
gaps,
e.g.,
– package
collec;ons
and
services
as
a
"virtual
DH
center"
– advocate
coordinated
support
for
digital
scholarship
– create
avenues
for
scholarly
use
and
enhancement
of
metadata
– consult
scholars
at
start
of
library
digi;za;on
projects
– get
involved
in
planning
for
sustainability
and
preserva;on
of
DH
research
results
• A
"DH-­‐friendly"
environment
may
work
be>er
than
a
center
• Library
culture
may
need
to
evolve
for
librarians
to
be
seen
as
effec;ve
DH
partners
(Schaffner
&
Erway,
2014)

18. Influence
na;onal
data
policy
Iden;fy
required
data
skills
with
LIS
schools
Develop
local
data
cura;on
capacity
Develop
LIS
workforce
data
confidence
Develop
researcher
data
awareness
Provide
researcher
data
advice
Lead
on
local
(ins;tu;onal)
data
policy
Teach
data
literacy
to
postgraduate
students
Bring
data
into
UG
research-­‐
based
learning
Data
Collec*on
Development
and
Access
Management
Iden;fy,
select,
describe,
preserve
and
present
research
data
resources
for
use
Data
Management
Pyramid
for
Libraries
(Corrall,
2012)
What
are
the
priority
areas
for
library
engagement?
(Lewis,
2010)

19. Research
Data
Services
of
ACRL
Members
(n=221)
(Tenopir
et
al.,
2012,
pp.
17-­‐19)
21
24
24
26
32
39
45
49
97
58
51
73
48
60
52
49
74
48
141
143
121
144
129
127
126
97
75
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Preparing
data
for
deposit
Collabora;ng
with
other
services
Iden;fying
data
for
deposit
Metadata
crea;on
Technical
support,
e.g.,
repository
Advice
on
data/metadata
standards
Advice
on
data
management
plans
Web
guides
and
finding
aids
Help
with
finding
and
ci;ng
Offered
Planned
Not
planned

20. Research
Data
Services
of
ANZUKI
Libraries
(n=140)
15
15
21
22
24
25
45
54
62
61
64
53
61
55
78
31
50
47
49
50
54
45
49
27
49
27
22
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Developing
RDM
tools
Data
management
planning
Digital
cura;on
techniques
RDM
guidance/educa;on
Suppor;ng
external
deposit
Developing
ins;tu;onal
policy
Finding
external
datasets
Suppor;ng
ins;tu;onal
deposit
Assis;ng
technology
use
Offered
Planned
Not
planned
(Corrall
et
al.,
2013,
p.
657)

21. Idea
Development
Funding
Proposal
Conduc;ng
Dissemina;on
• Find
background
literature
• U;lize
research
tools
effec;vely
• Locate
data
sources
• Iden;fy
collaborators
• Learn
grant
seeking
tools
• Iden;fy
specific
grant
opportuni;es
• Find
alterna;ve
funding
sources
• Prepare
data
management
plan
• Describe
data
• Navigate
repository
op;ons
• Track
compliance
with
NIH
Public
Access
Policy
• Manage
cita;ons
• Review
IRB
and
IACUC
protocols
• Conduct
systema;c
reviews
• Select
journals
• Iden;fy
OA
journals
• Manage
copyright
• Design
posters
• Cite
grants
• Track
research
impact
• Deposit
in
repository
Research
Lifecycle
Model
for
Library
Services
“the
library
is…
poised
to
be
a
partner
through
the
en;re
process,
not
just
at
the
bookends
of
research.”
(Adapted
from
Vaughan
et
al.,
2013,
p.
312)

24. Library
Roles
in
Scholarly
Communica;on
• Advice
to
faculty
on
intellectual
property
issues
– Answering
ques;ons
on
copyright
and
publisher
policies
• Awareness-­‐raising
and
advocacy
for
alterna;ve
forms
of
scholarly
publica;on
• Digital
preserva;on
of
ins;tu;onal
research
outputs
– Managing
repositories
of
eprints
(preprints/postprints),
working
papers,
theses/disserta;ons,
etc.
– Providing
valued
added
services,
e.g.,
mediated
deposit,
database-­‐driven
reports
of
faculty
outputs
and
usage
data
• Hos;ng
and
publishing
of
scholarly
research
outputs
– Journals,
conference
proceedings,
and
monographs

26. Library
Publishing
Services
ARL
ac;vity
in
2007
• Offering
services
–
43%
• Planning
services
–
21%
Types
of
publica;ons
by
ac;ve
members
• Journals
–
88%
• Conference
proceedings
–
79%
• Monographs
–
71%
(Hahn,
2008)
ARL
ac;vity
in
2010
• Offering
services
–
49%
• Planning
services
–
29%
Typical
services
provided
to
conference
organizers
• Repository
for
program,
papers,
slides,
video,
and
audio
• Metadata
enhancement
• Long-­‐term
website
hos;ng
• Soaware
training
• Design
services
(Mullins
et
al.,
2012)

29. Specialist
Research
Support
Posi;ons
(Examples)
• Academic
Support
Manager
(Research)
• Biomedical
and
Transla;onal
Research
Librarian
• Data
Cura;on
Librarian
• Data
Reference
Services
Librarian
• Data
Services
Librarian
• Digital
Scholarship
Librarian
• Digital
Science
Librarian
• Head
of
Scholarly
Communica;on
• Interdisciplinary
Science
Librarian
• Librarian
for
Advanced
Research
and
Engagement
• Librarian
for
Digital
Research
and
Scholarship
• Open
Access
and
Data
Cura;on
Manager
• Open
Access
Coordinator
• Research
Data
Manager
Coordinator
• Research
Services
Librarian
• Research
Support
Services
Manager
• Research
Support
Leader
• Scholarly
Communica;ons
Manager
• Scholarly
Services
Librarian
• Senior
Librarian
(Research
Support)
• Social
Sciences
Data
Librarian

30. Library
Research
Collaboratories
• Space
freed
up
by
library
collec;ons
going
virtual
can
be
repurposed
for
research
collabora;on
and
compu;ng
• Key
audiences
are
doctoral
and
post-­‐doc/early
career
researchers
who
may
not
have
their
own
offices
or
labs
• Several
US
and
other
libraries
have
opened
or
are
planning
“research
commons”
facili;es
as
renova;ons
or
new
builds
• Spaces
support
interdisciplinary
data-­‐intensive
scholarship
and
offer
services
in
partnership
with
other
campus
units
• Offerings
include
assistance
for
researchers
in
grant
wri;ng,
research
conduct,
copyright,
and
open
access
publishing
• Facili;es
are
typically
access
controlled
to
exclude
undergrads
(Corrall
&
Lester,
2013)

32. UW
Research
Commons
VISION
FOSTER
INTERDISCIPLINARY
CONVERSATIONS
AND
COLLABORATION
HUB
OF
SUPPORT
FOR
EACH
STEP
OF
RESEARCH
PROCESS
EXPERIMENTAL,
CREATIVE,
PARTICIPATORY
SPACE
SEATS
• 164
work
seats
• 25
computer
sears
• 3
booths
FEATURES
• Whiteboard
walls
• Whiteboard
tables,
mobile
chairs
and
Media:scape
• Collabora;on
screens
• Open
presenta;on
place
Talk.
Share.
Connect.
Research.

33. UW
Research
Commons
PARTNERSHIPS
▶ Research
Commons
Advisory
Board
▶ Graduate
School
▶ Undergraduate
Academic
Affairs
▶ The
Odegaard
Wri;ng
Center
▶ Center
for
Commercializa;on
▶ Microsoa
Research
▶ Center
for
Social
Science
Computa;onal
Research
(CSSCR)
▶ Capital
Projects
Office
▶ UW
IT
▶ Classroom
Support
Services
▶ Faculty
Council
on
University
Libraries
h>p://commons.lib.washington.edu/
about/fact-­‐sheet/view

35. Concept
Graphic
Research
Commons
Renova;on
Bobst
Library
NY
University
Two
floor
designed
for
21C
scholarship,
with
staff,
technology,
equipment
and
furnishings
selected
and
located
to
ensure
users
can
work
with
maximum
produc;vity

37. Research
Commons
Space
Planning
Type
of
Space
Watchwords
Research
Commons
(5th
floor)
User-­‐centered;
Integrated;
Research
intensive;
Technologies;
21st-­‐century
Service;
No
space
lies
fallow;
Mul;disciplinary;
Mobility.
Graduate
Exchange
(10th
floor)
Exchange;
Decompression;
Serendipity;
Interdisciplinarity;
Peer
to
peer.
Individual
Spaces
(4th
and
5th
floors)
Individual
scholar;
Concentra;on;
Diversified
flavors
of
individual
space;
Storage
of
research
materials,
notes.
Collabora*ve
Rooms
(5th
floor)
Collabora;ve;
Shared
desktops;
Presenta;on
rehearsal.
Quiet
Spaces/
Reading
Room
(4th
floor)
Tradi;onal;
Reading
room;
Quiet;
Community
standards.
Intrastacks
&
Contempla*ve
Sea*ng
(4th
and
5th
floors)
Natural
light;
Shorter
dura;on;
Solitary,
contempla;ve,
high-­‐focus;
Deep
reading;
Low
light,
low
traffic,
den-­‐like;
Intra-­‐stacks;
Collec;ons
consulta;on
&
note-­‐taking;
Tradi;onal
library-­‐sea;ng.
See
nyu.libguides.com/research
commons/
for
Descrip*on
and
Why
do
we
need
it?

38. December 11, 2007The Research Commons: Planning Library Space and Services for Faculty and Graduate Students
h>p://www.indiana.edu/~libadmin/RC_Service_Components.pdf

39. Faculty
Publica;ons
Collec;on
Faculty
Workrooms
Visualiza;on
Lab
A
"black
box"
theater
for
high-­‐
defini;on
visualiza;on
and
simula;on,
offering
270-­‐degree
immersive
projec;on
on
three
walls
(80
linear
feet
of
display
surface).
The
award-­‐winning
Hunt
Library
at
NCSU
has
brought
Engineering
Faculty
back
to
Libraries.

41. Wolfson
Research
Exchange
(2009)
• Dedicated
research
space
in
a
prime
campus
loca;on
• Combines
tradi;onal
quiet
study
places
with
collabora;ve
and
social
areas
in
a
technology-­‐rich
environment
• Mobile
equipment
can
be
reconfigured
for
types
of
mee;ngs
– Poster
sessions,
project
mee;ngs
and
reading
groups,
summer
schools
and
academic
conferences
• Key
services
aims
include
facilita;ng
cross-­‐discipline
research
interac;ons
and
“fostering
a
sense
of
community”
• Events
on
various
topics
– Funding
opportuni;es,
grant
applica;on
tracking,
data
management,
bibliometrics,
journal
impact,
patents
and
spinout
companies
• Peer
support
staffing
model
–
RE
Advisors
are
PhDs/Post-­‐Docs
(Carroll,
2011)

44. Dedicated
Research
Spaces
(Examples)
US
Ø Case
Western
Reserve:
Research
Commons
Ø Indiana,
Bloomington:
Research
Commons
Ø New
York:
Research
Commons
Ø Washington:
Research
Commons
UK
Ø Durham:
Researchers’
Study
Area/PGR
Studyroom
Ø Exeter:
Research
Commons
Ø Queen
Mary:
Research
Reading
Room
Ø Sussex
Research
Hive
Ø Warwick:
Wolfson
Research
Exchange
Ø York:
Research
Study,
Research
Lounge,
Research
Hotel

45. Ques;ons
for
Debate
• Do
academic
and
research
ins;tu;ons
need
dedicated
library/informa;on
space
for
researchers?
– Should
such
space
have
controlled
access?
• What
facili;es
and
services
should
be
offered?
• Should
the
space
be
in
the
library
or
elsewhere?
– Should
it
be
managed
solely
by
the
library
or
developed
as
a
joint
venture
or
partnership?
– How
should
it
be
staffed?