Research Support
Over the last decade, academic libraries have built upon their traditional collections and reference service models to incorporate services that include support for digital scholarship, discoverability of research, and identification of funding sources for research (Alexander, Case, Downing, Gomis, & Maslowski, 2014). More recent studies (Cox, 2018; Webb, 2020) reveal considerable value connected to the ways in which libraries and affiliated units can partner with researchers in their efforts to disseminate research through open access, digital scholarship, and more.
The Nancy Thompson Learning Commons (NTLC) serves Kean University’s commitment to research through a Research Support unit that engages with the Kean community as it creates and shares knowledge. While the NTLC provides access to a vast collection of information resources, it also fosters internal and external collaboration and delivers services designed to support the research enterprise and scholarly communication. The Research Support unit endeavors to serve Kean community members through all stages of the research process, with support provided for researchers as they seek and access information, manage citations and data, and seek funding and publishing opportunities. In addition, the NTLC has established Digital Commons as a platform for publishing open access, digital scholarship. Research consultation services, in-person and online workshops, and asynchronous support through videos and online guides are available to faculty researchers, doctoral and other graduate students, and undergraduate researchers.
References
Alexander, L., Case, B. D., Downing, K. E., Gomis, M., & Maslowski, E. (2014). Librarians and scholars: Partners in digital humanities. Educause Review, 22(2–3), 144. http://er.educause.edu/articles/2014/6/librarians-and-scholars-partners-in-digital-humanities
Cox, J. (2018). Positioning the academic library within the institution: A literature review. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 24(3-4), 217–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2018.1466342
Webb, K. (2020). Benchmarking library creative spaces for research support and faculty/librarian partnerships. Journal of Learning Spaces, 9(2). http://libjournal.uncg.edu/jls/article/view/1966/1477
