Encouraging a research culture in your library

As the work of libraries continue to evolve in response to the demands of the digital age, it is an opportune time to foster a research culture among staff. Encouraging library personnel to become more research-active not only enhances their professional development but also strengthens the institution’s overall impact on the community.

By cultivating a research culture, we empower our staff to engage critically with information, enhance their professional skills, and contribute meaningfully to the broader academic and community landscape. It also enhances the library's role in the academic community and encourages innovation, collaboration, and the development of new ideas and services.

An effective research culture can also underline the library’s place and contribution within the wider research culture. The major UK funders, such as UKRI and the Wellcome Trust, promote research cultures that emphasise inclusivity, integrity, collaboration, and the recognition of diverse contributions (including those of technical staff), and which collectively value a healthier, more equitable research culture that benefits both researchers and society at large.

This guidance, shaped by feedback from library leaders and fellows of the RLUK-AHRC Research Engagement Programme, offers some strategies for encouraging a research culture in your library through promoting research engagement by staff, shifting perceptions about the role of research within the library, and highlighting the significant benefits of such a cultural transformation.

For centuries libraries and archives have been a bridge, connecting people and ideas and information, and all are there to inspire the making of new knowledge. The many technical, curatorial, conservation and all the multiplicity of professional skills that they employ, and which together form a great part of the research culture in the scholarly community.

Jessica Gardner
University of Cambridge

Our curators and specialist staff are researchers. The library exists to facilitate and encourage people to engage with collections, and the creation of new knowledge about those collections is a function of research.

Alison Stevenson
National Library of Scotland

Libraries are integral to research. When we think about what arts and humanities research means in all its forms, it’s based on information and data and insight and librarians and research professionals that work in libraries deliver all of that.

Allan Sudlow
AHRC

Libraries, museums, and galleries have a real wide variety of skills within our staff complement and this can include curatorial skills and a way of presenting complex topics and complex information very broadly.

Matt Greenhall
University of Liverpool

Libraries are the experts in knowledge. We occupy a space between its creation and opening up research and I think that’s the fundamental value of libraries in research.

Rachel Beckett
Manchester Metropolitan University

Define your research culture

Building a robust research culture within libraries requires intentionality and commitment from library leaders.

Developing a clear vision for research within the library that aligns with institutional objectives. Articulate how research contributes to library services and the advancement of knowledge. 

Create opportunities for staff to propose and lead research projects that align with the library’s mission or strategic goals.

Create a supportive environment

Create a sense of community through informal meetings or forums where staff can discuss their research challenges without fear of judgment.

Mentorship schemes or peer support networks can provide a space for staff to find guidance and support throughout the research process.

Encourage an open-door policy where staff can approach management for support or discussion about their research ideas.

Reward and recognition

Develop transparent methods for recognising and rewarding research efforts within the library. This could include incorporating research roles into job descriptions, include awards or public acknowledgment of outstanding research contributions, publications, or innovative projects undertaken by staff members.

Showcase research outputs through  events where staff can present their research findings, promoting a culture of knowledge sharing and community building.

Foster collaboration

Building relationships with research offices and academic departments, through representation on institutional research committees or via joint projects or workshops, can help overcome traditional perceptions of the library's role within the institution.  

Effective collaboration can enhance the visibility of library services and integrate them into the broader research agenda.

Training and development

Support staff in developing new skills and knowledge around research methodologies, publication processes, and open research practices. RLUK provides specialist training under the Research Catalyst Cohort Programme.

More experienced library staff can act as a catalyst for change in the organisation through inspiring peers and sharing expertise with colleagues through informal events and mentoring.

Promote the library's expertise

Libraries should support and enable their staff to effectively communicate the research they undertake and the research skills and expertise their library holds via research profiles, featured staff publications and staff contribution to research seminar series or events. This will help potential research partners, both internal and external, identify expertise held within the library to support research partnerships.

Advice for library staff undertaking research projects

Participation in research projects not only enriches the professional development of library staff but also strengthens the role of libraries within their institutions, promoting a culture of inquiry and innovation that benefits both staff and users alike.

Library staff are able to develop specialised skills in areas such as data management, digital scholarship, and open access, which are increasingly vital in today’s academic landscape. Being research-active helps librarians articulate the contributions they make to institutional goals, particularly in contexts like the Research Excellence Framework (REF), where their efforts can significantly influence assessments of research quality and impact.

Greater library involvement in research can encourage collaboration with faculty and other researchers, enabling librarians to contribute to impactful projects that demonstrate the value of library resources. 

We asked fellows from the RLUK-AHRC Professional Practice Fellowship Scheme (PPFS) to reflect on their experiences of their fellowships and we hope their insights will be useful to those considering embarking on their own research projects.

RLUK-AHRC Fellows advice for those embarking on research projects

Focus on building networks and community at the midpoint of the research project. It’s easy to talk to people at the start or at the end of a project, but keeping conversations going during the middle point of the research journey is also really helpful and useful.

Hope Williard
Utrecht University

Be confident in the project, lean in and expand networks to get support and advice, and reduce the scope of your project and make sure it is going to be manageable.

Amy Campbell
Leeds Beckett University

Plan your research really carefully but also let it go in the direction that it needs to take - don’t stick to your plan too rigidly. And above all, enjoy it!

Amelie Roper
University of Cambridge

Try and be realistic about how to approach each research topic, don’t be too overambitious. Speak to individual academics and librarians and try and get a broad sense of where your topic will fit into the wider discourse.

Jonathan Bush
Durham University

Think carefully about the skills you have and what skills you might need to deliver the project. Think about the project in terms of different stages and particularly understand the process of data preparation, which is messy but a very important part of the research.

Rossitza Atanassova
British Library

Talk indiscriminately to people, especially early on! Some of the best times in the project were when I was collaborating and talking to people, which helped me to ground and shape the project.

Ruth Burton
Dorset History Centre

RLUK-AHRC Fellows on the impact of their fellowships

For me personally it’s really developed my skillset, my confidence, my peer support network, and my career progression. Through this project I was able to secure a much bigger Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship grant.

Alice Corble
University of Sussex

The fellowship has been transformational for me personally. It’s expanded my job role, I lead a whole new service and it has created a new service for the institution.

Amy Campbell
Leeds Beckett University

For my institution (Lincoln) it has led to a significant shift in the way the library is perceived within the research community, not just as a supporter but also as a partner, especially in researcher training and development. Personally it’s also been significant, I turned my fellowship into my current role at Utrecht University.

Hope Williard
Utrecht University

It’s enabled me to learn new research skills that will help in my future career. For my organisation, I have made contacts that will be useful to help us build our collections further and to take various aspects of the running of the library forward.

Amelie Roper
University of Cambridge

It’s given me confidence to go forward and try new projects. For my institution, having the award having ‘fellowship’ attached to it means it’s taken more seriously internally and externally.

Stephanie Boydell
Manchester Metropolitan University

The fellowship has been the start of a bigger project between the University of Leeds and the University of Victoria Canada. Personally, the impact has been huge. It helped me develop in confidence and develop research ideas and research abilities.

Ruth Burton
Dorset History Centre

Personally, I’ve learnt a lot of new skills, such as fundraising, business modelling, and project management. I feel I’ve improved a lot of my existing research skills.

Jonathan Bush
Durham University

RLUK-AHRC Fellows on their future professional aspirations