University libraries all over the world traditionally structure their services around three demographics: faculty, undergraduates and postgraduate students. However, one group of users often falls through the cracks when it comes to library services and support: research staff. This includes research assistants, research associates, research fellows and postdocs.
A reason for this might be that many researchers remain in an institution for a year (or less), often because they are hired based on grant availability. The transitory nature of these roles can lead to their being overlooked – unintentionally – in library service and outreach efforts. And this exclusion is a missed opportunity. Libraries have much to gain from recognising this group not just as users, but as strategic partners.
Research staff are the engine behind research productivity
While the titles and roles of research staff may vary globally, their contributions to the research enterprise are universally critical. From data collection in rural communities to lab coordination, they are often the unsung enablers of discovery. Research staff have specialised skills that are the backbone of many university research projects. They interview participants, solicit survey responses, maintain sensors for field measurements, manage infrastructure or hardware, and analyse data. Their contributions directly impact the quality and output of research projects that in turn influence the university’s academic standing.
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By supporting them, libraries enhance the university’s research profile and reputation. At the same time, by engaging with these research staff in substantive ways, libraries are playing an essential role in their professional development.
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Many research assistants, associates and fellows eventually transition into roles such as faculty members or industry leaders. If libraries provide robust support and foster meaningful engagement with these emerging scholars, they will leave their temporary appointment with a positive impression of the libraries and their associated institutions. This strategic investment in the library’s role is not merely about enhancing individual experiences; this is a worthy investment to cultivate future collaborations, partnerships and advocates within academia and industry sector. By nurturing these connections, libraries can ensure that they are viewed as pivotal players in the academic ecosystem, contributing to knowledge creation, innovation and reputation building for their institutions. At Singapore Management University (SMU), we cultivate this through research-focused initiatives, such as workshops on data carpentry for researchers and AI-powered research tools, some of which are co-taught by librarians and researchers.
Libraries are well placed to connect disciplines
As discipline-neutral spaces, libraries can help break down academic silos. Initiatives such as research staff networks or interdisciplinary workshops co-hosted by librarians can foster valuable peer connections. We have established the SMU Researcher Club, a platform for researchers to grow in both professional and personal capacities. These safe spaces provide an avenue for them to exchange ideas and best practices, hone their skills such as giving presentations or teaching in a low-stakes environment, and connect with other researchers in the university, something early career researchers often seek but struggle to find in fragmented academic structures.
Research staff can provide agile feedback that improves services
Research staff, especially early career researchers, are typically more open to exploring new tools and methodologies. They are also less constrained by disciplinary traditions than more established faculty. This makes them an ideal partner for libraries promoting best research practices such as reproducibility, FAIR data principles (a framework to make research data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable), and open access research tools.
They are also a key partner for resource selection and trials, as they can provide high-quality feedback on relevant resources to support research. Such feedback is critical in helping the libraries attune to the nuances of research and is valuable in driving service improvements. This creates a virtuous feedback cycle: better library support built upon their feedback will support research effectively, which in turn produces more impactful output, not just for research staff but for everyone within the research ecosystem.
Research staff are valuable library partners
The temporary nature of research staff appointments should not diminish their importance within the university’s research endeavour, and university libraries should recognise them as the valuable enablers that they are. By intentionally including them in service planning and outreach – such as involving research staff in resource trials and evaluations (where libraries conventionally reach out only to faculty or students), establishing dedicated liaison librarians for research departments or extending invitations to research staff for relevant research-focused workshops and seminars meant for postgraduates (since these groups have similar profiles and overlapping interests) – libraries contribute to efforts to enhance institutional research, cultivate future collaborations and partnerships, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and improve their own service offerings.
Bella Ratmelia is a senior librarian in Research & Data Services in Singapore Management University Libraries.
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