Data librarianship is a relatively new field that covers activities from teaching research data management skills and data science areas such as coding or cleaning data, to curating and archiving datasets. The Data Services Continuing Professional Education (DSCPE) program has stepped in to fill the critical education gap for data librarians. It…

Science communication has taken center stage in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines in the context of public outreach and citizen science. Developing practical communication skills is imperative for all scientists to be highly successful in their careers and more so for underrepresented and Black, Indigenous, and People…

While the mission of research libraries remains constant, the nature of research libraries and what they do is changing. Research libraries are taking on new roles in digital scholarship, data management, and scholarly communications. More than ever, libraries know they must align their mission with the objectives of key stakeholders. This article…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") focuses on current and emerging topics that are strategically important to research libraries. The articles explore issues, share information, pose critical questions, and provide examples. This issue includes: (1) Editor's Note (M. Sue Baughman); (2) Shooting at Florida State University…

Librarians are excellent research collaborators, although librarian participation is not usually considered, thereby making access to research funds difficult. The University of Michigan Library became involved in the university's novel funding program, MCubed, which supported innovative interdisciplinary research on campus, primarily by funding…

In the future, what role will the academic research library play in achieving the mission of higher education? This essay describes seven strategies that academic research libraries can adopt to become future-present libraries--libraries that foster what Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown have called "a new culture of learning." Written…

What began with a few libraries' early application of ethnographic methods to learn more about user behaviors and needs has grown to become a significant body of work done across many institutions using a broad range of methods. User-centered investigations are increasingly influential in discussions about the shape and future of the research…

This article describes the roles of librarians in a research library, particularly in the digital era. Librarians' roles vary from the custodian of resources to providers of a diverse nature of activities ranging from collection development, organization of knowledge, information services, preservation and conservation, and management. Librarians…

This article describes the fundamental challenges to data curation, how these challenges may be compounded for smaller institutions, and how data management is an essential and manageable component of data curation. Data curation is often discussed within the confines of large research universities. As a result, master's and baccalaureate…

This user's guide was developed to advance local planning at ARL member libraries. It is written for library leaders writ large and for anyone leading or contributing to research library planning processes. Users do not need advanced facilitation skills to benefit from this guide, but facilitators charged with supporting scenario planning will…

This article discusses how college libraries responded to the call of eliminating discrimination and social inequality in campuses where students of color are present. In the late 1960s, many college and university libraries responded to student and faculty demands to broaden the curriculum and opportunities for scholarship by aggressively…

This article describes the expansion of Monash University Library's role to incorporate learning skills services, programs, and resources, within the context of the University's evolving learning landscape. It explains the Library's now holistic approach to students' development of information research and learning skills as interconnected skills…

This case explores various entrepreneurial initiatives introduced by Dr. Ron Dow, dean of libraries, at a private, research-extensive institution in the northeastern United States. The case serves as an example of how entrepreneurial ideas can be applied within educational contexts, specifically, the academic support context of the university…

This article features Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons (IC) at Loyola University Chicago, an all-glass library building on the shore of Chicago's Lake Michigan that is not only a state-of-the-art digital research library and study space--it also runs on cutting-edge energy technology. The building has attracted attention and visitors from…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") is a bimonthly report from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This special issue includes the following articles: (1) Themes within the ARL Strategic Plan 2010-2012 (Charles B. Lowry); (2) ARL…