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​Transformers: Research libraries in the 21st century
17-18 November 2011

The Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service takes pleasure in once again presenting the Stellenbosch University Annual Library Symposium in its usual spot on the academic library calendar this year. The Symposium has been an important platform for the deliberation of library and information service trends and issues, and for networking and professional development for the last 12 years. This legacy will continue as we, in 2011, turn our attention to the changing research environment in which we as libraries currently find ourselves.“Today, the research library is at an inflection point”. With this statement, Rick Anderson captures a dilemma that has been echoing through the LIS literature in recent years; a dilemma born from various elements characteristic of the contemporary academic research environment.

Emerging new modes of research is one element. Research practice today is increasingly diverse in location, increasingly interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary with great emphasis on collaboration. More diverse and informal modes of communication are used; there is a heavy dependence on information in digital format and researchers have access to vastly improved processing power.

At the same time, scientific and scholarly publishing are evolving along two distinct paths - one in which large multinational commercial publishers are increasing their dominance in such areas as branded journal titles and access to scientific publication, and the other in which a variety of open access initiatives is emerging.

Based on the premise that the production and dissemination of knowledge will lead to economic benefits such as the reduction of poverty and unemployment, building research capacity has become a key strategic activity for most higher education institutions in South Africa. Within this context, academic libraries are increasingly called upon to provide the resources and tools to enable their institutions to successfully reach their targets for student and research output, to measure their research and to identify opportunities for collaboration.

This leaves academic libraries with the question: What are the services required from librarians to meet the emerging needs of a new cadre of researchers? And moreover, what skills should we cultivate and develop in meeting the challenge?

Anderson, R. 2011. The crisis in research librarianship. Journal of Academic Librarianship, July 2011 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2011.04.001

Houghton, J.W. 2004. Research practices, evaluation and infrastructure in the digital environment. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 35(3):161–176.​