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A series of webinars organised by Dr Beth Montague-Hellen, covering a variety of topics in library and information research. These seminars may be of interest to anyone working in academic or research libraries.
Webinar Schedule:
29th September, 3pm Obstacles to Open Access publishing for researchers with weak institutional ties - epistemic injustice in academic publishing Speaker: Nataliia Kaliuzhna Register & Attend via Cassyni
31st October, 3pm Higher Education librarians and social class background Speaker: Darren Flynn Register & Attend via Cassyni
28th November, 3pm Using visual research methods to explore the student experience – photovoice for research Speaker: Gillian Siddall Register & Attend via Cassyni
All webinars are hosted through Cassyni, which requires a free account to RSVP and receive the webinar link.
On Friday 11th July 1-2pm, 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.
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 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.
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.
📅 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.
📅 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.
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.
A campaign to recognise the ‘hidden’ outputs and roles in successful academic research has been awarded £3.5 million to bring it into the 2029 REF.
The five-year project, called Embedding Trust in Evaluation (E-TIE), will develop recommendations for the sector to embed the formal recognition of support and technical work that underpins research in the next REF (Research Excellence Framework, the national research assessment exercise that determines public research funding for institutions).
The project has been developed by the academics behind the Hidden REF, which was launched from the University of Southampton in 2020. The Hidden REF holds an annual festival and competition to champion ‘hidden’ roles and outputs that enable academic research to happen, such as technicians, research software engineers, librarians, research administrators and managers.
Research England, which manages the REF Team on behalf of all four higher education funding bodies, has awarded £3.5 million to the E-TIE project.
The project will be led by Simon Hettrick, Professor of Software Sustainability at the University of Southampton and chair of the Hidden REF, James Baker, Professor of Digital Humanities at the University of Southampton, and Gemma Derrick, Professor of Research Policy and Culture at the University of Bristol.
As well as making recommendations for consideration by Research England for the REF 2029 Research Diversity Advisory Panel, the project team will share information arising from the Hidden REF and associated research on best practice in submitting non-traditional outputs for assessment.
Professor Hettrick said: “This will make research both better and fairer. There are lots of people without whom research would not be possible, so this is a big step towards ensuring proper and fair recognition and reward during the REF.”
“It feels great that something that was genuinely started at grassroots has gained momentum to get to this stage,” said Professor Baker. “There is a lot of work to do to change the culture, and we are confident that this project will lay the foundations for mainstream recognition of non-traditional research outputs and overlooked roles.”
Professor Derrick added: “The Hidden REF is vital because it shines a spotlight on the often-overlooked individuals and contributions that sustain research. By celebrating all roles and outputs, it champions a more inclusive, equitable, and accurate way of valuing the true fabric of the research ecosystem.”
Professor Mark E. Smith, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, said: “I am really proud that this significant project has launched, thanks to the hard work and vision of a small team here at the University of Southampton. Their work has paved the way for the appropriate and deserved recognition of overlooked outputs and roles in the REF.”
We are pleased to share that Libby Tilley, the winner of our LIRG Research Award has completed her research and has published a paper in the journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice:
Tilley, E., & Marshall, D. (2024). Shaping the Future: A Research Agenda for U.K. Libraries . Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 19(4), 71–107. https://doi.org/10.18438/eblip30577
Libby has also shared with us her reflections on engaging in the research below:
Working with library colleagues across library sectors was hugely rewarding and exciting. Despite professing to know about different sectors to my own, I realised that I really didn’t! Connecting with colleagues in overarching organisations such as SLA and Libraries Connected when sourcing participants from different sectors was such a great help. Those participants in their turn have been remarkably generous with their time.
Being given the time and inspiration to consider what methodology to use for research. I didn’t realise just how interested I would become in the nature of the methodology. There is probably a paper to be written just about this aspect and especially the use that I made of conference programmes to kick-start the research. I would love to talk to others about how this came about and how to improve the use of such data.
I was excited about the outcomes of the research. Even more exciting was the reaction of workshop colleagues who agreed on the outcomes, despite their sector differences! Consensus didn’t seem possible at the outset of the workshop, and yet ultimately, agreement was feasible. (The top-level trends agreed on can be found in the paper) Even more than reaching an agreement through a research process, I could see that colleagues had been able to share their experiences and learn about other sectors, just as I had done.
Writing a research article can (as I understand from others) be quite painful! I certainly found this to be the case. Passive voice and waffling are all things I suffer from when writing. So, through using colleagues to read chunks, my co-author’s readings and written work, and eventually the peer review process I was able to get the paper written in a form that is more readable. Looking back on the process I am excited to think that I DID learn a lot and I hope that it will stand me in good stead in the future!
I was really pleased to be able to undertake this work and I am very grateful to LIRG for providing a grant to support this work. LIRG academic colleagues were supportive in the initial stages of the research work. I am also grateful for the help of David Marshall, an expert in User Experience Research from the University of Cambridge, who supported the face-to-face workshop, especially the card-sorting activities. The Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, and particularly the library were particularly supportive of CILIP research activities and provided space to run the workshop.
Does your work gain the recognition it deserves? If not, we want to hear from you by the 13th of September!
Research organisations use publications as practically the only measure of success, but research relies on a huge range of people and many types of work that are not typically recognised in publications. We can’t advance research if we don’t recognise everyone and everything that we rely on to conduct research.
You can help us shine a spotlight on this issue by taking part in the Hidden REF competition. We want to hear about unrecognised research roles, from technicians to data stewards and more, and your unrecognised outputs, from software to musical compositions to anything else that is important to research. The more submissions we receive, the more evidence we have to continue our successful campaign to increase recognition for everyone who works in research.
The Hidden REF competition 2024 closes for submissions on 13th September at 11.59. Submissions are a maximum of 900 words. If you work in a UK organisation and take part in or support research in any way, you can enter the Hidden REF competition. Your job family, the type of contract you are on, your institution’s approach to recognition: none of these matter to us. If you take part in or support research in any way, you are welcome to take part in the Hidden REF competition.
If you would like to get more involved with the competition, you can apply to become a member of one of our assessment panels. As a panellist you will help review the submissions and contribute to our growing evidence bank on the assessment of non-traditional outputs and hidden roles.
The Hidden REF was launched in 2020 to raise awareness of the research outputs and roles that are vital to research but overlooked by traditional research evaluation. We want to build a more effective and more equitable system for recognising contributions to research success. For updates, visit the Hidden REF website or follow the Hidden REF on LinkedIn, BlueSky or X. Contact us at info@hidden-ref.org.
Join CILIP's Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) and the University of Sheffield's 'Libraries and Information Society' Research Group in a jointly hosted discover research seminar on Wednesday 11th September 2025.
The event takes place from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m at the University of Sheffield (The Wave) and is free to attend.
The seminar will be led by Libby Tilley, winner of the 2023 LIRG Research Award, in which she will present the findings of her 'Shaping the Future' project which involved using a Modified Delphi Study to surface a consensus around sector-wide critical trends to help to focus and prioritise future library and information research.
This will be followed by refreshments and a short Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the CILIP Library and Information Research Group (LIRG).
Posted By Cath Dishman,
31 July 2024
Updated: 26 July 2024
You may have seen Gillian Siddall's post from HLG conference last week, well she also went to CILIP conference 2024, 10th-11th July in Birmingham, to present on the LIRG research project and share her reflections with us.
Gillian is an Academic Librarian at University of Northampton
Presenting at a conference and getting a speaker’s place for a day is a great way to attend a conference you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to. I’m grateful that by presenting on the LIRG research project I was able to attend the CILIP’s conference: uniting the sector’s leaders. I attended the second day of the conference and listened to inspiring speakers. Starting with the CILIP’s new CEO Louis Coiffait-Gunn, who encouraged us to fight for intellectual freedom and use evidence and civil discourse to lean into tricky debates. The conference was filled with interesting presentations that shared ideas to help promote and build our profession and role.
Janet Peden from Ulster University presented her experience as University Librarian, building and developing the staff and library sites. Her fundamental message was that in the current climate of significant digital acceleration and fluid change you must:
Turn the library inside out and become highly visible – you have to be seen, to be valued!
A lesson for us all: we can’t assume everyone understands the purpose or value of a library, we need to make sure it’s clear for all. Janet explained how the library service had moved from collecting resources to connecting the university community. A key change for her department was the move from service and support to partnership and expertise.
Speaking about becoming ‘match-fit for a senior leadership role’ Regina Everitt, from the University of East London, highlighted the importance of building trust in and with your team. As a leader, you set the culture for the department, so you have to be authentic and specifically engage with the digital landscape. Working with IT, rather than against or in isolation from it. Partnerships move everyone forward. From NHS England, Louise Goswami highlighted the importance of skills development to improve your knowledge and experience. In the current tempestuous times, it’s reassuring to hear from someone with experience that redundancy can be a positive step to help you buy time to think about what you want to do next. The knowledge and skills you develop come with you and those transferable skills are highly valuable: influencing, negotiating, and communicating skills. Louise encouraged us to remember that everyone’s a little bit frightened and you are not alone, work with your network, and your team.
Leading and managing a team is helped by understanding the ‘why’ – if you understand why something happens and you understand the language that resonates with the people you’re trying to influence, you can find your advocates. A key tip from both Regina and Louise was to always over-prepare your information and do your homework so you understand your audience and use the language and evidence that is most appropriate. Don’t blind them with library speak! In response to questions in the room, self-care came up as a key part of leadership. Leading by example (allowing people to say no, to have down-time and be honest) helps your team. If you look after yourself, your team will see it’s ok for them to look after themselves too and know that you’ll do your best to look after them as well.
Considering the entrepreneurial leader Tom Penford and Zak Mensah presented different ways of understanding and building your core ‘business’. From his role in Birmingham Museum’s Trust Zak encouraged the audience to look at the lifetime value of our customers, what can we do to support those true fans who will support us in return. Suggesting we consider how far we can push things without getting fired! Framing changes and developments in terms of the needs of your true fans (or community):
As a …
I need …
So that …
To understand and then justify the changes that need to be made.
Tom Penford explored the Lego story to help us understand why we need to think ‘around’ the box. To look at what our core values are and build on those (rather than trying to create something completely different or simply maintain the status quo). Linking back to Janet’s presentation – we need to be part of the conversation, visible to our community to help them understand the value we bring. Discover and demonstrate why you are key to the community you are in.
The inspirational talks continued after lunch when I went to a talk discussing inclusive collections. A really interesting point was the fact that the majority of libraries are outsourcing key library skills, such as acquisitions and we’re also not training people in them. If we’re to make a difference and make a coherent and relevant collection for our communities, we need to be clear about how and why we are purchasing (or subscribing) to resources. We should avoid being passive consumers and re-invigorate our skills with acquisitions and cataloguing – understanding the data (and the power it holds).
Presenting at a conference can be a nerve-wracking experience. However, Louise and Regina’s point about over-preparing really helps. The more confident you are in what you’re saying, the easier it will be to stand up and feel confident in what you have to share. Most library conferences I have been to have been incredibly friendly and supportive, attendees want to learn, and they want you to succeed. Hopefully if you keep that in mind, it will help you conquer your nerves. In my case, the value I took from the conference presentation was the breadth of ideas and expertise of the audience we were presenting to. It’s reassuring that even though we work in different sectors, we are all keen to see the profession grow and succeed. Sometimes we may only be making incremental steps, but we are moving forward and that is something to celebrate.
Gillian Siddall, Academic librarian at University of Northampton shared with us her reflections on attending and presenting at HLG Conference 2024. The conference was held at the Royal College of Physicians in London on 20th - 21st June.
Attending the biennial HLG conference is always a welcome opportunity for me to catch up and engage with the wider health library community. As an Academic Librarian supporting health programmes, it’s essential to understand the developments within the health sector. This year, the theme of the HLG conference was “Connecting”, and I was attending for my own professional development, as well as to present on the LIRG research project.
Reflecting on the presentations at a conference is always an interesting process. Thinking about what stands out in your memory and what you picked out in your notes. Even before the conference began, I really enjoyed the pre-conference networking event and drinks reception. It gave me a chance to get familiar with the Royal College of Physicians and hear about the history of the organisation. It helped to understand the context of the institution and was great to hear that there’s a book in the collection about French country dancing. Clearly, exercise has always been recognised as beneficial to health.
For me, I really enjoyed the variety of talks, but the key notes really stood out, helping to underpin the importance of evidence-based practice to the profession and the sector we work within. How information and health literacy are essential to supporting our global community to improve their health and wellbeing. Presentations highlighted the expertise and innovation within the sector. Sue Lacey-Bryant’s talk highlighted the potential of librarians as agents of change. Ruth Carlyle outlined some strategies we could use to use policy to our advantage. The benefits of CILIP membership were celebrated by Jo Cornish. The HLG Conference was also my first opportunity to hear from CILIP’s new CEO Louis Coiffait-Gunn, who shared his hopes for CILIP and his interest in listening to and learning from the health sector.
The biggest highlight for me was hearing Michael Rosen speak. Listening to a man who ‘paints with words’ was a wonderful experience. It was my second time hearing Michael speak. The first time was ‘ahem’ a few years ago whilst I was at school. I remember then his joy and the rhythm of his words. Now, as an adult to hear about his experiences of the NHS during COVID and his passion for libraries was very moving. As a librarian, when I wasn’t laughing or crying, I was making notes of lots of his new work to add to our library. Michael Rosen is a brilliant advocate for literature, poetry, the NHS and libraries, and it was a pleasure to hear him speak at HLG.
Presenting alongside Professor Alison Brettle was a great experience. We were presenting the results of the LIRG research so far, with a specific focus on the responses from health libraries. We were speaking to a friendly audience, both online and in-person. It’s always difficult to know how the session goes when you’re presenting as I’m focusing on the timing, the content and making sure I’m connecting with those listening. Basing it on anecdotal feedback, the session was well received and there were some insightful and useful questions for the audience. Hopefully, we did justice to the research and offered our audience some food for thought.
Overall, the HLG conference was an opportunity to expand my awareness of developments and innovations within the health library sector. I also got to meet new faces and hopefully make connections for the future. To summarise my experience, HLG Conference is a friendly and informative conference that connects people across the profession.
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