Susan Ashworth, Sub-Librarian, Research Support Services, University of Glasgow
Chair of Library Research Committee, responsible for liaison with relevant University Departments such as Research and Enterprise , and University Committees such as Research Strategy and Planning Committee. Significant involvement in planning for the University’s RAE submission.
Involvement in supporting research pooling activities in Scotland .
Manager of Glasgow University’s institutional repository, post the DAEDALUS Project (http://www.lib.gla.ac.uk/daedalus/index.html . Responsible for the development of the operational service, and for leading on university policy development in this area.
Member of Project Board, IRIScotland (Institutional Repository Infrastructure for Scotland ).
Responsible for the provision, development and management of research support services at Glasgow University Library which includes the collections, services and staffing in this area. Responsible for ensuring that the support offered is properly aligned to the University’s research strategy and is flexible enough to meet changing research needs. Part of that process is mapping researcher requirements, which is being done by asking about researchers’ information seeking behaviour through questionnaires and (to follow) focus groups.
Also involved in investigating the provision of research support in Scotland, both through involvement in the JISC funded IRIScotland Project and in work supporting research pooling activities in which the University is participating.
Worked closely with researchers, particularly in the biomedical field, and contributed to systematic reviews.
Very interested in the development of virtual research environments, although little work has been done in the area at Glasgow University as yet.
Pat Rogers, Faculty Librarian, University of Bristol
Feels there is too much focus on PhD students. All other research associates and assistants can be misidentified as PhD students and fall out of the net when information support is offered .Feels it would be enormously beneficial for this to be addressed on a national scale.
Very interested in seeing good, basic, national guidelines and a basic standard of service that every librarian should be aware of from the minute they commence training. Supporting researchers should have a much higher profile on our information and library courses and in general.
Very interested in exploring ways to increase understanding of how the requirements and characteristics of researchers and the research process are changing.
Recently been involved, to support and inform the PG Dean in the University of Bristol , in looking at what other comparable universities do with regard to information skills training for PhD students.
Has a broad range of experience in supporting and helping research scientists and engineers, PhD students and research associates/assistants. Attends several Faculty-wide committees and has experience in producing precise and condensed reports for these.
Dr Stephen Bury, Head of European and American Collections, The British Library
Particular expertise lies in collection development and how it supports the researcher. Co-ordinates the British Library's bilateral partnerships with HE institutions in collection development, and promote curatorial liaison with the research communities. Also interested in disciplinary differences.
Has worked closely with AHRC and its panels: has given presentations at AHRC workshops and took part in its recent globalisation brainstorming.
On the national stage, is a member of the JISC geo-spatial committee which has recently drawn up an information landscape profile, and the Digital Research in the Humanities Committee. Chairs the National Co-ordination Committee for Art & Design (ARLIS). Line-management of the National Preservation Office gives a national collection management perspective.
Aware of the international picture and has led workshops on collection development in Latvia , France , the Netherlands , Russia and the USA . Leads for the British Library on The European Library.
Concerned to address future needs e.g. in 2000 produced the first e-strategy for the British Library (including virtual collection development), and began their web-archiving programme in 2001. Leads the British Library's contribution to SHERPA. They are now facing other challenges where the book will be replaced by the chapter (or even paragraph) or by annotations to a database.
At the British Library leads the 21st Century Curator project, partly funded by the Mellon Foundation: this has devised competencies and skill sets for the future.
Currently supervises 4 PhD students.
Brian Clifford, Deputy University Librarian, University of Leeds
Experience as a researcher starting with work at CRUS (Centre for Research on User Studies) where the information needs of a wide range of groups including academics and undergraduates were investigated. Involved in a range of research and consultancy bodies in subsequent posts. Was responsible for the provision of library an information services to researchers at the Work Research Unit, Manchester Business School and The University of Leeds. At MBS was a signatory to a successful SHRIF bid that created a research facility for social science researchers including a Business Information Data Centre that provided support to academics wanting to use commercial and non commercial datasets.
Deputy University Librarian at Leeds , with responsibility for Learning and Research support. Leads the Library's work in providing services to researchers and has recently been charged with developing a new research support framework to explore innovative ways of supporting the University’s revised Research Strategy. Is on the University's Research Board and Chairs the University's RAE2008 Outputs Group. Led the successful bid for the EVIE Project - one of the VRE demonstration projects funded through the JISC VRE programme and Chair the Project Steering Group. The Project has undertaken a user needs analysis that is informing developments and the Project has been asked to lead a supplementary investigation on behalf of the VRE Programme into what collaborative tools should be provided within a VRE.
Worked with colleagues on a preliminary investigation for the White Rose Consortium of the possible role for Libraries in supporting e-research and Grid technology.
Has also been involved in a number of docdel and collaborative collection management initiatives such as Lamda, CoFoR, MIL, the White Rose/BL CCM Project and various initiatives through CALIM.
Liz Davis, Assistant Director: Faculty Support Services for Learning and Research, Imperial College
Has considerable experience of providing support for research gained from current role of leading Faculty Support Services in a research intensive University and also from previous roles, in particular co-ordinating library support for research for the Faculty of Medicine. Developing services to support researchers in scientific disciplines poses particular challenges, not least the difficulty of engaging with a research community of remote users who rely almost exclusively on the virtual library. Some of the recent initiatives involved in are:
·working with the Pro Rector for Postgraduate and International Affairs to identify the library service needs of different user communities, including academics and researchers.
·conducting focus groups with the different user communities in the Faculty of Medicine with plans to expand this to cover other Faculties.
·forming a marketing group with particular emphasis on marketing library services to academics and researchers and equipping library staff to support the needs of researchers.
·securing funding from Roberts money to develop a Web CT information literacy programme for post docs and research postgraduates.
Feels experience would beneficial to the Task Force in exploring ways to increase understanding of the changing needs of researchers and of promoting new models for enhancing support for research. Also welcomes the opportunity to help to identify and map existing provision and to recommend priorities and actions for a national approach to research support.