Resources, networks and research centres
Resources to support LIS researchers
- HEALER research toolkit: The toolkit is intended as a starting point for those wishing to undertake a research project, highlighting issues to consider and signposting resources. Although primarily aimed at those working in health librarianship it is of value to LIS researchers across sectors.
- RUSA Research and statistics page: The American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Association maintains a page on research and statistics. At the bottom of this page there are links to multiple resources on doing quantitative research, doing qualitative research, project assessment and evaluation, US data source sites, and data gathering and evaluation.
- DREaM project resources: the five Developing Research Excellence and Methods (DREaM) project events, which take place between July 2011 and July 2012, are generating resources to support LIS researchers. These can be accessed from the DREaM project web pages.
UK networks associated with LIS research in the UK
- British Association for Information & Library Education and Research (BAILER): teaching and research staff in the Information and Library Schools and Departments in the UK and Ireland.
- Developing Research Excellence and Methods (DREaM) project and the DREaM online community: the DREaM project’s aim is to develop a formal UK-wide network of Library and Information Science (LIS) researchers.
- Health Information and Libraries for Evaluation and Research (HEALER): HEALER aims to increase the production of good quality health information management research, and to ensure that a co-ordinated approach to research into health information management is established so that it is clear what research is taking place and where the outputs are stored.
- Library and Information Research Group (LIRG): special interest group of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) concerned with library and information research.
- Strategic Health Authority Library Leads: library leads from each of the 10 strategic health authoritiess in England, and representatives from higher education, social care, independent health libraries, he Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and key National Health Service (NHS) bodies.
Individual research centres
- Centre for Health Information Management Research (CHIMR), Sheffield University
- Centre for Information Literacy Research (CILR), Sheffield University
- Centre for the Public Library and Information in Society (CPLIS), Sheffield University
- Centre for Research in Library and Information Management (CERLIM), Manchester Metropolitan University
- Centre for Social Informatics, Edinburgh Napier University (Twitter @CentSocInfo)
- LISU, Loughborough University
- Scottish Centre for the Book, Edinburgh Napier University
Major projects
- Case Research programme (DCMS with MLA input)
- Europe’s New Libraries Together In Transversal Learning Environments
- Lib-Value project (US study on the value, outcome and return on investment of academic libraries)
