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 have one remaining session in our lunchtime series for this period.

Narrative Inquiry with Rebecca Scott - Friday 21st June 2024 - 12-1pm

This session, led by Becky Scott, will explore using narrative inquiry as a qualitative research method and discuss how narratives shape our lives. Participants will embrace their creativity and transform a short narrative into poetic form, amplifying authenticity and depth.

Becky is an academic librarian at the University of Hertfordshire and an AHRC-RLUK Professional Practice Fellow using narrative inquiry in her research.

Attendance is free but please register on the events page to receive the link for the session. Please note the session will be recorded.

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. 

Library Information and Knowledge practitioner's experience of research

Launched at CILIP Conference the Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) committee are undertaking a collaborative project to gain a baseline understanding of Library, Information and Knowledge (LIK) practitioners’ experiences, skills and confidence of taking part in research.

Research is important to library, information and knowledge (LIK) professionals as it has the potential to demonstrate professional value and impact, raise the profile of library and information science (LIS) as a discipline and contribute evidence for professional decision making. However, LIK professionals themselves are often not seen as researchers and little is known about their confidence and skills to conduct research.

The findings of this research 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 research will involve taking part in a survey, and potentially an interview about your experiences of research as a LIK professional. We invite all LIK professionals, across all sectors and from any background to participate so that we have as complete picture as possible across the UK. You do not need to be a CILIP member to participate.

For further information and to access the survey please visit our web pages - please note the survey closes at midnight on Friday 8th September 2023