Keywords
Citizen science, Sustainable Development Goals, University Libraries, Academic librarians, Volunteerism, Crowdsourcing
Description
Universities play a critical role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their mandate of teaching, education, research, and community engagements. Through their support of the mother body, university libraries provide access to information towards the successful achievement of SDGs. One way of achieving the SDGs is through citizen science. Citizen science is the involvement of community members in scientific research. The success of citizen science projects towards achieving SDGs has been vastly reported in the literature. Data produced from citizen science projects can be used towards achieving SDGs. This is where academic librarians can play a critical role in ensuring that the right information is provided to the right people and is fit for purpose. Academic librarians, as knowledge hubs, have the knowledge and expertise to support SDGs. The aim of the study is to propose a framework that university libraries can adopt to embed citizen science in their service offerings to assist in achieving SDGs. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design to source views from academic librarians in university libraries in South Africa. The study's findings revealed that academic librarians are willing to support and promote citizen science activities. However, there are potential pitfalls which may hamper their intentions. The study developed a proposed framework that academic librarians can adopt and embed citizen science activities.
Rammutloa Paper
Leading the way: University libraries advancing Sustainable Development Goals
Universities play a critical role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their mandate of teaching, education, research, and community engagements. Through their support of the mother body, university libraries provide access to information towards the successful achievement of SDGs. One way of achieving the SDGs is through citizen science. Citizen science is the involvement of community members in scientific research. The success of citizen science projects towards achieving SDGs has been vastly reported in the literature. Data produced from citizen science projects can be used towards achieving SDGs. This is where academic librarians can play a critical role in ensuring that the right information is provided to the right people and is fit for purpose. Academic librarians, as knowledge hubs, have the knowledge and expertise to support SDGs. The aim of the study is to propose a framework that university libraries can adopt to embed citizen science in their service offerings to assist in achieving SDGs. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design to source views from academic librarians in university libraries in South Africa. The study's findings revealed that academic librarians are willing to support and promote citizen science activities. However, there are potential pitfalls which may hamper their intentions. The study developed a proposed framework that academic librarians can adopt and embed citizen science activities.