The changing scholarly information landscape: Reinventing information services to increase research impact

In an increasingly competitive global knowledge economy the role of the university in a nation’s innovation agenda has taken on greater prominence. Innovation through knowledge creation and application is seen to be the driver of long term national economic and social prosperity. With this recognition comes a growing interest by government in quality assuring and measuring the value of their universities. University league tables have become an accepted part of this landscape, as nations seek to position themselves in a globally competitive environment. A university’s research impact - the extent to which its research informs further research and practise - is a significant component of the innovation system, and of the league table measures. Citation impact is often used as a proxy for research impact, though it only tells part of the story. Against this backdrop the research lifecycle is being transformed by information and communication technologies, fundamentally changing the scholarly information and communication landscape. What once appeared to be a linear process, from research through to publication, has become more complex, more collaborative, challenging the boundaries between disciplines, organisations, nations [1]. Emerging opportunities to leverage research data to increase research impact have yet to be realised. Universities, as long lived institutions, must balance short term utilitarian demands driven by national innovation agendas and league table positioning, with their fundamental mission of knowledge creation, synthesis, transmission and preservation. This is a mission that aligns strongly with the traditional place of the library in providing access to scholarship for current and future generation for all who wish to learn, a role that has been challenged by apparently ubiquitous access to digital content. The complexity of the current environment offers new opportunities for a university’s information service providers to further the

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