Get it from the Source: Identifying Library Resources and Software Used in Faculty Research

Libraries and Information Technology departments aim to support the educational and research needs of students, researchers, and faculty members. Close matches between the resources those departments provide and the resources the institution’s community members actually use highlight the value of the departments, demonstrate fiscally responsibility, and show attentiveness to the community’s needs. Traditionally, libraries rely on usage statistics to guide collection development decisions, but usage statistics can only imply value. Identifying a resource by name in a publication demonstrates the value of that resource more clearly. This pilot project examined the full-text of articles published in 2016-2017 by faculty members at a mid-sized, special-focus institution to answer the questions “Do faculty members have university-provided access to the research tools they need to publish?” and “If not, where are they getting them?” Using a custom database, the presenters indexed every publication by author, publication, resources used, availability of the identified resources, and more. This pilot study can be adapted to projects at other institutions, allowing them to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their own institution’s offerings. In addition, they will be able to identify ways to use that data to negotiate for additional resources, inform strategic partnerships, and facilitate open discussions with the institution’s community.