MLA 2008: The (Research) Culture of Libraries

As I walked around the MLA 2008 poster session this afternoon I noticed that there were a fair number of projects funded by small grants. It seems like five thousand dollars can fund a fairly basic project.

This observation blended nice into the title of a late Sunday afternoon session I attended entitled 'Developing a Research Culture in Your Organization." I arrived to the session late (sorry, Jerry! I missed your presentation!) since I was still down in the exhibit hall for the poster session and kept running into people. Social networking classic, if you will.

I arrived in time to see Susan Whitmore's presentation. Susan provided an overview of a NIH staff survey to uncover what the staff felt they needed in order to move towards a more research oriented organization. Using research to begin building a research culture.

What the research uncovered was the the staff really didn't understand research methods, and requested training. So, the library leadership brought in experts to teach research methods. I understand the presentation was focused on their process and not outcomes. Perhaps it is too early to tell. Still, I walked away wondering about the impact of the training. Has there been a culture shift? Does the staff think in research terms? How many new projects have there been? Was there an increase in research dollars?

I will need to catch up with her on the network.... Sphere: Related Content