SPEC Kit 343: Library Support for Faculty/Researcher Publishing (October 2014)
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SPEC Kit 343: Library Support for Faculty/Researcher Publishing · 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction This survey investigated the level and variety of ser- vices ARL libraries are providing to support, facili- tate, and participate in the publishing activities of the faculty and researchers they serve. The survey was distributed to ARL member libraries in June 2014. Seventy-one libraries at 70 of the 125 member institu- tions (56%) responded by the July 7 deadline. Library involvement with scholarly publishing be- gins, naturally and historically, with the stages lead- ing up to publication: researching, writing, and deter- mining place of publication. These areas are therefore addressed first in the survey and this summary, with a natural progression to library facilitation of open access publishing, and the most recent phenomenon: library as publisher. However, survey results, as dis- cussed below, indicate that even where libraries are not acting as publishers, they are active participants in the scholarly publishing process. Libraries routinely engage with curating and marketing faculty publica- tions whether they are published by the library or by a traditional publisher, resulting in stronger ties with academics across campus. Library Services that Support the Research Process The most traditional library publishing services are in areas that support the research process. Sixty-eight of the responding libraries (96%) provide document delivery services and train faculty on how to conduct a literature search 65 provide traditional bibliographic search services (92%) and 58 identify articles for litera- ture reviews (82%). These are high, but not unexpected numbers because this type of support for faculty has long been a mainstay in academic libraries. The newest service with a high uptake is management of schol- arly identity through an identification system such as ORCID or VIVO 40 libraries (56%) provide this service. Evidence of librarian involvement in research and publishing suggests that librarians write or assist with writing literature reviews rather than simply provide research to support the writing of these re- views however, survey results indicate than fewer than one-third of the libraries are actually engaged in this service. Respondents’ comments indicate that there is a distinction between medical and academic libraries. Medical librarians appear to provide the greatest assistance with writing literature reviews through their clinical work. Further research should investigate if those librarians who are writing litera- ture reviews are also listed on the appropriate grant and/or given author credit on the research articles. Respondents identified an interesting mix of ad- ditional services to support the research process, such as uploading articles to the IR and assisting in data management planning, services that were asked about in the latter part of the survey. Librarians also provide DOI’s to researchers, teach researchers and graduate students to search primary source materials within the libraries’ various collections, and provide personal content management systems for manage- ment of articles and citations. Library Services that Support the Writing Process Libraries are not only supporting faculty writing but also participating as co-authors with faculty. While it’s unsurprising that 70 of 71 libraries provide cita- tion management software and training, the number of libraries responding that their librarians are serv- ing as primary and secondary authors in non-library