Social Research Collaboration: Libraries Need Not Apply?

Social media was born an efficient method of personal networking. As more and more researchers took to social media platforms, we have witnessed an organic growth of collaboration among scholars, faculty, students, etc. This phenomenon has led us to a profound change in the way we conduct research through social media. Research through collaboration is now increasingly important in order to achieve a higher impact throughout the research community. But where does the library fit into this? The simple answer is that researchers are now bypassing the library.

This presentation will look at the new reality of social research collaboration and discuss what kinds of webbased tools can support the workflow and peer collaboration of researchers. The presenters will also discuss why it is essential for libraries to become part of the solution before they are left out in the cold.