ACRL invites comment on scholarly communication research agenda

ACRL invites comment on scholarly communication research agenda

CHICAGO - A new report by the Association of College and Research
Libraries (ACRL) explores the gaps in our understanding of the ways that
scholars create and share new knowledge. The report lays out a
preliminary research agenda for creating greater understanding of the
rapidly evolving system of scholarly communication - the way research
results and new knowledge are registered, evaluated for quality,
disseminated and preserved. Meaningful research about the system of
scholarly communication will inform strategic planning for scholarly
communication programs.

The white paper, *Establishing a Research Agenda for Scholarly
Communication: A Call for Community Engagement,* encourages academics,
librarians and their key partners to gather more data on practices that
both enable and inhibit the production of scholarship and its
communication. The report identifies eight themes, with research
possibilities in each area.

The paper resulted from a one-day invitational meeting in July 2007, to
collectively brainstorm the evidence needed to manage and influence the
changing environment. Attendees included representatives from ACRL, the
Association of Research Libraries, the Council on Library and
Information Resources, the Coalition for Networked Information, Ithaka,
the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and
Academic Resources Coalition). ACRL scholarly communication committee
co-chairs John Ober of the University of California and Joyce Ogburn of
the University of Utah convened the meeting and discuss the report at
http://blogs.ala.org/acrlpodcast.php .

The document is available online for public comment at
http://www.acrl.ala.org/scresearchagenda. Please submit comments
that:
 * Refine or expand the need for research, important issues and
possible projects.
 * Identify additional articles and reports that collectively form a
knowledge base from which the research agenda emerges more clearly.
 * Suggest ways to conduct the research.
 * Volunteer to participate or collaborate in a specific research
initiative.
 * Propose additional avenues of distribution for the report.

Confidential comments may be e-mailed to John Ober at
John.Ober@ucop.edu or Joyce Ogburn at Joyce.Ogburn@utah.edu.

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ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA),
representing more than 13,500 academic and research librarians and
interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership
organization in North America that develops programs, products and
services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians.
Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the
role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research
environments.


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