(20 Sep 2021) Librarians should be given more support and credit for their research contributions, which should be costed into grant proposals, according to Research Libraries UK (RLUK), a consortium of research libraries in the UK and Ireland.
A new report commissioned by RLUK and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) says libraries are becoming important partners in research, for example, in the work of demonstrating societal impact for the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF).
But as they transition from the position of service provider to research partner, their contributions are not acknowledged by academics and institutions, says Matthew Greenhall, deputy executive director of RLUK. For example, on the evidence of the report, when librarians have been involved as research collaborators, often no value is placed on the time they put in.
“The majority of the engagement has been uncosted,” he says.
Read more from Nature Index here.
