What 'use' do we make of information and when does this information join together and start to build an evidence base? It is this ‘use' of the real evidence or ‘knowledge assets' that can help us do our jobs more efficiently and effectively - providing ideas for influencing change and changing practice.
Many of the editorials and comments I make in FUMSI and VIP LiveWire are concerned with my belief in building on the evidence base, curating knowledge assets, and specifically not re-inventing the wheel at every turn.
I see FreePint as a portal to enable and facilitate change in that we can exchange and contribute ideas, opinions and research outputs. FUMSI reports very much on case studies from organisations with many of our contributors being library and information professionals. We exchange and contribute ideas, tips and opinions but it can be difficult to gather evidence about LIS research outputs in the UK.
In the UK, up until recently there was a gap with no official single, direct organisation co-ordinating and facilitating the research process and outcomes for the library and information sector. This has now changed.
It was with delight that I learned about the LIS Research Coalition at the Online Conference December 2009. It was founded in March 2009 and its mission is to coordinate a strategic approach to LIS research in the UK.
LIS Research Coalition
The Coalition is governed by a Board of Directors with a representative from each member organisation. There are five founding members of the coalition: the British Library; the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP); the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC); the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA); and the Research Information Network (RIN). In August 2009, Dr Hazel Hall was appointed to implement the plans of the Coalition. She is seconded to this role from her position as Director of the Centre for Social Informatics at Edinburgh Napier University.
Researchers working in the LIS community know that much of the research that has been going on in the past has been done ‘in a vacuum' within organisations. This means that research may have limited use and value to the wider LIS community. Without wider dissemination of LIS research projects there are many one-off projects that fail to build on the evidence base and, of course, this leads to much re-invention of the wheel. In the real world that means that we are unable to capitalise on the knowledge of good practice elsewhere and - equally - learn from the mistakes of others.
There are specific goals that the Coalition wants to achieve.
Coalition will bring together information about LIS research opportunities and results.
Encourage dialogue between research funders.
Promote LIS practitioner research and translation of research outcomes into practice.
Facilitate and coordinate a strategic approach to LIS research.
Articulate a strategic approach to LIS research.
Develop the research capacity in LIS.
Be a central focus for the cross fertilisation of ideas.
The coalition will provide a formal structure to improve access to LIS research.
Relevance and impact of LIS research.
When I spoke to Dr Hazel Hall at Online 2009, she explained that the Coalition has a role as an enabler to address the resourcing issues that the UK LIS sector faces - such as funding, time, and facilitating organisational buy-in. The Coalition understands that fitting research work around demanding job roles, with more pressing internal organisational service priorities, is a big problem. These affect the quality and quantity of research opportunities available for the library and information professional.
Researcher questions
There are also some more basic questions that ‘would-be' researchers have. How do I navigate the current funding maze with each funding body having different requirements? How and where can I get help with making a research proposal? I want to get involved in research but my research skills and experience of methodology are from ‘a class I took at library school' - where do I access and gain the necessary skills and competencies?
In fact there is a more fundamental question to consider - do librarians and information professionals have the correct skills to carry out research? The Coalition believes that indeed they do and that the Coalition has a role in facilitating and supporting all these research processes. During Hazel's presentation at Online 2009 she drew attention to the dominance of particular research approaches in LIS research, and suggested that ‘as a profession there may be a degree of over-reliance on these'.
Maintaining contact with the LIS research community is important to the Coalition in meeting its goal to be a hub of information related to research matters. The main channels for communication are currently the Coalition website at http://lisresearch.org, and the Twitter feed from http://www.twitter.com/LISResearch. The LIS research community is particularly encouraged to follow the Coalition on Twitter either directly, or as an RSS feed from http://lisresearch.org/feed/.
The Coalition tweets information on a full range of issues relating to LIS research. These include, for example, news of funding opportunities, studentships, newly published research reports and calls for conference participation, as well as invitations for researchers to engage in consultation processes and serve on research-related committees.
Engagement with the LIS industry
The Coalition has a mission to be outward facing into the LIS industry. It will be communicating its message outwards, but it is also looking for a communication stream inwards towards the Coalition. There is a need for intelligence from the LIS industry and its professionals - suggestions for content, news of research and help with building the evidence base. The Coalition is looking for engagement from all the LIS industry stakeholders and it would seem to be a win-win scenario for the industry as a whole.
Hazel's Online 2009 seminar presentation is available to view and download at http://digbig.com/5bbhsg
Here is some further information about Hazel - Dr Hazel Hall is Director of the Centre for Social Informatics in the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University. Her main research expertise and teaching interests lie in information sharing in online environments within the context of knowledge management. In 2009/10 she is also leading the implementation of the UK Library and Information Science Research Coalition. Hazel's work with the Research Coalition was recognised in the award of IWR Information Professional of the Year 2009 at the Online Conference at London Olympia in December 2009.
Joanna Ptolomey is a freelance information consultant and analyst. Through her work she helps people to make decisions and reduce risk. Recently she has worked on a health information engine, multilingual information resources, and has been commissioned to write a chapter for a new handbook on government information management around accessibility and digital inclusion issues. She is a contributing editor for FUMSI USE practice area. She is also a contributing editor and product reviewer for VIP LiveWire. Contact her at info@joannaptolomey.co.uk or Joanna.ptolomey@freepint.com or via twitter @chibbie.
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What 'use' do we make of information and when does this information join together and start to build an evidence base? It is this ‘use' of the real evidence or ‘knowledge assets' that can help us do our jobs more efficiently and effectively - providing ideas for influencing change and changing practice.
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