Librarian engagement – Why and how to collaborate effectively

Maverick recently introduced its Community Engagement initiative to help publishers, societies, and associations facilitate interaction among stakeholders. In a new post for Maverick, Senior Associate Jenny Drey examines how effective engagement with academic libraries carries benefits across the entire research cycle, including publishers, librarians, and researchers.

The academic library is not just a repository, a service, or a place for study. It is all these things as well as a partner in research and teaching 1. It is the heart of an academic institution.

New roles, new challenges

There is growing awareness of the importance of the librarian’s role in every phase of the research cycle. In the rapidly changing digital environment, this role is now much broader than just providing access to resources. Librarians are expected to be proficient in an array of new skills and competencies whilst continuing to address their users’ information needs.

As well as being expected to navigate a whole new territory of open access, librarians are increasingly embedded in the research cycle itself. They’re assisting researchers from start to finish – from deciding what to research to helping measure the impact of their work once it’s published.

 

Pressures

As library budgets and manpower continue to shrink, publishers have an opportunity to engage with librarians and offer help. Feedback tells us that librarians welcome outreach from- and collaboration with publishers. From the publisher’s point of view, it’s crucial to demonstrate a willingness to support librarians and foster collaboration that is mutually beneficial to all stakeholders, including researchers.

What publishers can do

There are a number of ways that publishers can collaborate with librarians to deliver the help researchers need.

  • Organising digital sessions and events such as short, topic-focused, on-demand workshops:
    • for researchers: subjects such as data analysis, increasing research impact, or effective science communication,
    • for librarians: supporting and delivering SDGs, understanding open access licenses, research integrity, and the challenges and opportunities of AI.
  • Creating bespoke outreach materials – guides and collateral for librarians to encourage researchers to take advantage of their library’s resources.
Let us do the work for you

As part of our Community Engagement Initiative, Maverick offers a range of tools and resources for publishers and societies to engage with librarians and researchers. To find out more, please contact your Maverick representative or email us at info@maverick-os.com for a free consultation.

By Jenny Drey, Maverick Senior Associate

With over 30 years’ experience in the publishing industry, Jenny is a highly accomplished and professional marketer and content creator. She works with publishers to better understand and connect with their customers, through research, analysis, planning and content creation. She has carried out programs for clients in the UK and the US, reaching into Europe with her fluent French and German.

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Further Reading

Fostering community engagement in scholarly publishing

The value of research in serving your stakeholders

Maverick Community Engagement Program service sheet

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