Save the Date for LIRG's AGM and Assessing and Recognising Research Excellence session, Friday 11th July 13:00 - 14:00

On Friday 11th July, the Library and Information Research Group will be hosting a session on Assessing and Recognising Research Excellence, followed by a short Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The session will include:

What is the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and where do libraries come in?

Dr Martin Brooks, Research Excellence and Research Strategy, Liverpool John Moores University

Martin will speak about the REF at LJMU, including what it is, why we do it, what's involved, and our timeline for taking part. As Martin will discuss in detail, the library is integral to LJMU’s REF preparation, both preparing parts of our submission and enhancing our overall research ecosystem

Recognising all research outputs and everyone involved in their creation

Professor Simon Hettrick, Director of Strategy, The Software Sustainability Institute and Director, The Southampton Research Software Group

If we don't recognise everyone who is vital to research, then we limit our ability to conduct research. Current practices around research assessment focus on publications as the key metric of research success, but there are significant problems with this approach. It incentives amassing publications rather than some of the practices that we would like to see researchers following to produce reliable, reproducible and transparent research. But possibly more importantly, many of the people who are vital to the conduct of research are not typically named in publications and so miss out on the credit that they deserve for research success.

The Hidden REF works to raise recognition for everyone involved in research. It started as a one-off competition but has since transformed into a long-running campaign that works alongside research communities to help their contribution be recognised. The campaign was recently funded by Research England to help raise awareness, increase trust in all research outputs and to help universities implement a research environment that will make research more equitable and, importantly, more effective.

This session will be followed by our AGM, which we encourage participants to stay for. The meeting will be held virtually on zoom and registration link will be available soon. Please note attendance is free. 

RLUK research shift programme

RLUK is delighted to announce the launch of a new Research Shift Programme (RSP) RSP is a series of three interconnected, interactive online events designed to empower and support librarians, archivists, information professionals, and colleagues across the Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) sector to actively engage in research.

Running from April to June 2025, the RSP will foster a collaborative community of practitioners, mentors, archivists, and researchers and explore practitioner research, tackle structural barriers, and provide practical guidance for professionals looking to deepen their engagement in research.  The series is co-created with members of our AHRC-RLUK and TNA (The National Archives) Professional Practice Research schemes as well as our Research Catalyst Cohort programme to ensure it reflects the diverse needs and interests of professionals across libraries, archives, museums, and beyond. The programme is open to both RLUK and non-RLUK member institutions.

Booking for all three sessions is now open, links below.

Building Capacity, Capability and Confidence

RLUK champions the role of academic and research libraries as active participants and leaders in the production of scholarly research and to bring wider recognition to the pivotal contribution libraries make to the research process, as enablers, partners and leaders of research excellence.  The Research Shift Programme support this vision and will help to inclusively develop a growing community of practitioners, mentors and researchers to further build their research capacity, capability and confidence across the sector.

Find out more at libraries X research

Who Should Attend

The RSP is open to librarians, archivists, information professionals, and colleagues across the wider GLAM sector. This includes professionals working in academic and research libraries, public libraries, and special collections, as well as those in archives, museums, and cultural heritage organisations.

Whether you are an early-career researcher looking to get started, a librarian or archivist interested in contributing to scholarly research, or an experienced professional seeking to expand your research engagement, this programme offers valuable insights, connections, and opportunities for professional development.  

Programme Themes and Dates

The Research Shift Programme is structured around three core thematic events, each focusing on a different aspect of research engagement for librarians, archivists, information professionals, and GLAM professionals, with opportunities to meet like-minded colleagues and to share experience and expertise.

1. Defining Practitioner Research

📅 Date: 15 April 2025 🔍 Theme: Exploring the concept and significance of practitioner research within the library, archive, and wider GLAM sectors. This session will define key methodologies, highlight case studies, and examine the evolving role of research within professional practice.

Register for Defining Practitioner Research >>

2. Overcoming Structural Barriers

📅 Date: 13 May 2025 🔍 Theme: Identifying and addressing challenges to overcome structural barriers in research engagement, including institutional policies, funding limitations, and recognition issues. This session will highlight successful institutional strategies to navigate these obstacles and advocate for greater support within libraries, archives, and the wider cultural heritage sector.

Register for Overcoming Structural Barriers >>

3. Engaging in Research

📅 Date: 10 June 2025 🔍 Theme: Providing practical strategies for initiating and sustaining research projects, building collaborations, and effectively disseminating findings. Attendees will gain insight into developing their research profile and making a meaningful impact across libraries, archives, and museums.

Register for Engaging in Research >>

RLUK's Research Shift Programme (RSP)

The Research Shift Programme (RSP) is a new RLUK series of online events designed to empower and support librarians, archivists, information professionals, and colleagues across the Galleries, Libr...

Catalyst Cohort progamme

The third AHRC-RLUK Research Catalyst Cohort programme also opens for applications on the 3rd of April. The RCC will provide a step-by-step overview of the research development process for colleagues who, although interested in developing their research profile, have little or no experience of applying for research funding. The Research Catalyst Cohort programme is open to both RLUK and non-RLUK member institutions and starts in September 2025.

We are excited to invite you to the upcoming Lunchtime Webinar hosted by the Library and Information Research Group (LIRG).

This webinar, focused on Online Interviews, is part of our CPD events series designed to introduce LIS practitioners to workplace research methods.

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, March 1st, 2024
• Time: 12-1 pm
• Topic: Online Interviews with Sheila Webber
• Cost: Free
• Register here: https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1778120&group=
•  

During this session, Sheila Webber, Senior Lecturer at the Information School, University of Sheffield, will discuss characteristics and guidelines impacting research interviews.

She will delve into considerations for online interview settings, explore various online spaces for interviewing, and touch upon choices related to audio, video, and graphics in the interviewing process.

Ethical aspects of online interviews will also be addressed.

About Sheila Webber: Sheila is a Senior Lecturer with extensive experience teaching research methods on the iSchool's master’s programmes. She also serves as the Head of the Libraries, Information & Society Research Group and is an Honorary Fellow of CILIP.

Upcoming Webinars in the "LIRG's Research Methods: Lunchtime events series":

• Thursday 25th April 2024 - Statistical Analysis
• Friday 21st June 2024 - Narrative Inquiry

Stay tuned for more information about these and future sessions in the autumn.

Each session will be conducted virtually on Zoom, starting at noon.

Attendance is free, and the events will be recorded and circulated to those who have registered for the event. 

For additional information, please feel free to contact Ebony Burke

Deadline extended: There is still time to share your views by completing our survey.

The Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) committee are undertaking a project to gain an understanding of Library, Information and Knowledge (LIK) practitioners’ experiences, skills and confidence of taking part in research as part of professional practice.

We invite all LIK professionals (eg in the public sector), to participate in our survey so that we have a complete picture across the UK. You do not need to be a CILIP member to participate and you do not need to have undertaken any research.  

The survey should take no longer than 15-20 minutes to complete

To participate in the survey please click here (Please note the survey will close at midnight Thursday 30th November)

Before participating please read the Participant and Consent Information

Once we have collected and analysed our data, we will be posting our findings on our Blog

The findings will help develop strategy around research for the profession, identify training needs and interventions to encourage research ensuring that key values are embedded in library, information and knowledge practice. 

The LIRG Committee invites applications for the LIRG Research Award 2023. Closing date for applications is 17^th April 2023.

About the LIRG Research Award 2023

The award designed to fund a small project with the aim of identifying the most important and answerable research questions for UK library practice.

In 2008 the Medical Library Association (MLA) undertook a group consensus project to develop a research agenda based on the most important and answerable questions. (Eldredge et al. 2009) A similar study of Swedish librarianship research needs was also conducted in 2008. (Maceviciute and Wilson 2009)  This LIRG research award will update previous research by identifying current and future priority areas for library practitioner research. The results of the project will support research funders and researchers focus their time and funds on questions likely to be of high impact and value to the library and information science community. Without agreed priorities for library research there is a risk of ‘research waste’ where research is funded that is straightforward to do, but has low value to library practitioners and library users.

The award of up to £3000 is open to UK-based applicants with relevant experience or expertise in the library and information profession. Payment will be staggered with funding at the start of the project and the end when the research is accepted for publication in the Library and Information Research (LIR) journal.

The project should use appropriate research methods such as (but not limited to) the consensus methods detailed in research questions and needs studies by Eldredge et al. 2009 and Maceviciute and Wilson 2009.

The project should be completed within a maximum of twelve month period. The project report should be in the form of journal article for the LIR journal. We strongly encourage additional forms of dissemination to reach a wide library practitioner audience e.g. infographic, short video, webinar (online presentation at LIRG event).

The award can be used to fund appropriate research costs e.g. staff time, consumables, travel, licences.

How to apply

Download the application guidance notes and application form or contact Judy Wright, LIRG Awards Co-ordinator.

The submission deadline for the LIRG research award is 17^th April 2023. The submission outcome is expected by the end of April with the project due to start in June or early July 2023.

For guidance on writing a research proposal see:

Eve J. Writing a research proposal: planning and communicating your research ideas effectively. Library and Information Research. 2008;32(102):18-28. https://lirgjournal.org.uk/index.php/lir/article/download/92/136

References

Eldredge, J.D., Harris, M.R. and Ascher, M.T., 2009. Defining the Medical Library Association research agenda: methodology and final results from a consensus process. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 97(3), p.178.

Maceviciute, E. & Wilson, T. D. (2009). A Delphi investigation into the research needs in Swedish librarianship. Information Research, 14 (4), paper 419. http://www.informationr.net/ir/index.html