Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it is finally feeling like spring with warming temperatures and flowers blooming; for our Partners in the Southern Hemisphere, I hope you are easing into autumn. Both equinoctial periods bring a sense of change but also continuity.
With the OCLC RLP, we are humming along with exciting research and programs underway while continuing our steady support and care for our institutions.
The RLP inspires—and benefits from—research
Our staff repeatedly draws on the RLP for inspiration and insight, returning that inspiration to the Partnership in synthesized research findings that inform forward growth and momentum. Examples I am proud to share include the recently published Sustaining Art Research Collections: Using Data to Explore Collaboration and Sustaining Art Research Collections: Case Studies in Collaboration, reports from OCLC Research that explore collaboration opportunities between art, academic, and independent research libraries.
The concept for these reports originated in a 2019 discussion of challenges facing art research libraries between members of the RLP, including an acute lack of space (including off-site storage), a lack of knowledge about the overall contours of peer institutions, and the value of partnerships between dissimilar library types. The reports present models and other findings that help support art libraries in providing access to materials and resources for the continued advancement of art scholarship.
A May webinar focused on findings and next steps based on this report for the OCLC RLP, and we invite you to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about this research.
The RLP holds space for shared understanding, and action
The RLP uses its “power to convene” to bring together our partner institutions around new and evolving areas of focus in research libraries. We have recently convened partners around critical new areas: bias in research analytics and collections as data. In January, we collectively explored the topic of bias in research analytics. This is an important area to investigate as institutions increasingly rely on big data to power an array of indicators about research activities to support decision-making, competitive analysis, economic development, impact assessment, and individual and institutional reputation management. A recent blog post guest-authored by RLP Partners describes our discussions on this topic and issues “a call to action” for institutions to join the RLP in examining scholarly communications and research impact activities critically.
In March, we convened around collections as data, making collection materials held in libraries, archives, and museums available for computationally driven research and teaching, an evolving practice. Chela Scott Weber represented the realities and aspirations of RLP institutions on this topic at Collections as Data: State of the Field and Future Directions, a Mellon Foundation-supported symposium that will help chart prospective ways forward.
Following up on our work around diversity, equity, and inclusion, we have seen institutions seeking to diversify their collections. Once again, we drew from the RLP to discover how institutions are approaching diversifying collections, what challenges they face in doing so, and what the future looks like. As an outcome, we summarized the findings in a blog post and hosted a well-attended panel discussion at ACRL (watch the recording). We will plan additional programming around this topic in the coming months.
Looking forward
I know you look to the OCLC Research Library Partnership as an avenue for innovating in libraries. As we move into this new season of the RLP, we are dedicated to ensuring a strong and secure future for our organization. We are so grateful for your support.
If you want to learn more about the OCLC RLP and how your institution can take part, please contact me, or anyone on our talented team.
Rachel Frick directs OCLC’s work and engagement with the Research Library Partnership, a venue for research libraries to undertake significant, innovative, collective action to benefit libraries, scholars and researchers everywhere.