The document reports on a research study examining how academic libraries can increase their value and effectiveness by strengthening relationships with teaching and research staff. The study utilized case studies of libraries in the US, UK, and Scandinavia. Key findings included a need for libraries to provide more evidence of their value, better communicate services, and form closer partnerships through activities like embedded instruction and collaborative research support. The report recommends that individual librarians expand their skills in areas like teaching and marketing, libraries collect better outcome data, and institutions recognize librarians as academic peers.

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Claire Creaser and Valérie Spezi, LISU, Loughborough University

2. Introduction
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 Background & methodology
 Evolving value:- evidence and perceptions of value
 Working together:- services for teaching and
research staff
 Raising the visibility of the library and library
services
 Recommendations

3. Background
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 Commissioned December 2011
 LISU (lisu@lboro.ac.uk)
 Connections between library and academic
departments
 Enhance working relationships
 Marketing services

4. Methodology
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 6 month research project
 US, UK and Scandinavia
 8 case studies
 Survey of librarians

5. Methodology
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 Case studies:
 4 US; 2 UK; 2 Scandinavia
 Identify good practice
 Survey of librarians
 Triangulate case study findings

6. Evolving value:- evidence and perceptions of value
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7. Evidence of value
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 No systematic evidence gathered
 Aware of need
 How to assess impact?
 Internal drivers
 Want to do a good job
 Support budget claims
 UK with statistics, US with ‘success stories’

8. Evidence of value
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 External drivers
 Benchmarking
 Research assessment audits
 Student satisfaction
 Stronger in UK

9. Perceptions of value
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Staff never cease to be
amazed at what we can Teaching and
actually provide/help research staff often fail
them with to realise that it is the
(UK) Library that provides
We are too key resources…
successful in (Scandinavia)
providing seamless
electronic access…
(US)

10. Perceptions of value
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10
Average value score
8
6
4
2
0
US UK Scandinavia
Management Academics Students

11. Perceptions of value
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The library always
tries to work hard to
get what academic
‘ I feel confident that if
staff request
I need something … I
(UK)
know that I can
contact them and get
I’m not sure that the faculty as help’
a whole appreciate what (Scandinavia)
librarians do or understand
what they do
(UK)

12. Working together - services for teaching & research
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13. Embedded information literacy instruction
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 Working with teaching staff
 Relevant to course content
 Most highly valued by teaching staff
 Vocational subjects
 Familiar with evidence-based approach
 Spreading to other areas
 Culture shift
 Pro-active not re-active

14. Embedded information literacy instruction
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Pro Con
 Academics can see value
 Quality of student work  Time-consuming
 Not promoted where
 Increases formal contact resources scarce
hours

15. Integrated teaching services
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When you work with someone
 One step further and you have a successful
class and a successful
 Close collaboration partnership the word of mouth
 Design, teaching & assessment from other faculty within the
 Subject expertise not essential department or in other
departments is worth a lot
 Developing area
 Started in health sciences
 Focus on information literacy for research
 Example of partnership working

16. Other teaching support
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Driven by national changes to
nursing education (all nurses to be
 Curriculum design educated to degree level)
Nottingham developed a new
 One step beyond course with a high level of blended
integrated teaching learning. The health science
 IT tools librarian was directly involved in its
design from the outset, over an 18
 Podcasts, wikis and month development cycle,
blogs identifying relevant resources and
developing information skills
elements

17. Integrated research services
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 Research support less well developed
 Sacrificed to more teaching support
 Depends on individual relationships with researchers
 Typical services:
 OA publishing/self-archiving
 Bibliometrics
 Literature searching
 Data management

18. Most valued research support services
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Scandinavia
UK
USA
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Promoting newly acquired info. resources One-to-one information literacy training
Help with literature searching Support from subject specialist librarians
Something else

19. Research partnerships
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 Collaboration across research process
 Preparation of bids
 Conducting research
 Writing articles
 Library needs to demonstrate added value

20. Data services specialist
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 Purdue University
 Pro-active approach
 Identified need
 Data Services Librarian
 Help researchers get more out of their data
 Include data management plans in grant proposals
 Response to individual need, not general training

21. Raising the visibility of the library and library services
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22. Communication
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 One size does not fit all
 Barriers
 Academic staff time
 Librarian time
 Institution specific
 Location of building
 Institutional culture

23. Building relationships
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 Disciplinary culture
 Personal relationships
 ‘the most interesting part in my work’
 Very time-consuming
 Library office hours within departments
 Informal communication

24. Building relationships
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 Faculty Author Dinner
 Co-curricular programme
 Book group associated with film festival
 Lunchtime lectures
 Free lunch!

25. Marketing
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We need to market what we
offer in anticipation of their ‘… our library is bad
specific needs, not their wants at marketing and
or what we as librarians think advocacy so that the
they should have’. (US) staff doesn't know
what we can offer’.
(Scandinavia)
Market ourselves
better, so that we
show how we are Personalized communication … is
relevant, and how we perhaps the only effective way to
can help them’ (UK) encourage the vast majority of
faculty to value and use the library’.
(US)

26. Recommendations
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27. Individual librarians
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 Promote the relevance of librarianship skills to the
digital information environment
 Go beyond the comfort zone, for example develop
skills in teaching and marketing
 Reach out to users by improving
communication, building personal
relationships, using appropriate language, and
following through to build on success

28. Within the library & its management
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 Support and develop staff
 Provide appropriate training opportunities
 Collect evidence of the value of library services
 Use it systematically with the full range of stakeholders in
the service
 Document the processes and effective strategies for
building partnerships with teaching and research
staff

29. Wider institution
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 Recognise the library contribution by engaging with
the library at all levels
 Not just liaison librarians with teaching and research
staff, but also at senior management level
 Uphold the status of librarians and information
professionals on an equivalent level with teaching
and research staff

30. Questions?
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http://libraryvalue.wordpress.com/