Parallel Session 12 – Connecting with the Young Researchers
Moderator: Matthew Greenhall, Libraries, Museums and Galleries, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Location: Tassos Papadopoulos – Room 202 (2nd Floor)
12.1) An Open Access Toolkit for faculties: an ongoing case study from Utrecht University Library
Presenter: Chiara Livio, Utrecht University Library, The Netherlands
Institutional open access policies have significantly matured over the last decade. To ensure uptake and support by researchers, it is important that these policies reflect the diverse needs and priorities of researchers in all fields. At Utrecht University, faculties have now been given a central role in defining and implementing open science policies and practices, to ensure that open science will not become a mere requirement, but a logical, relevant and necessary means for researchers to achieve their goals.
The University Board therefore decided to end its institution-wide, decade long Open Access Fund. The fund, managed by the Utrecht University Library, aimed to cover gold open access publication fees not covered by read and publish deals. Each of the seven faculties at Utrecht University and the University Medical Center (Social Sciences, Humanities, Law, Economics & Governance, Medicine, Science, Veterinary Medicine) consequently needed to find alternatives for the central OA fund. They were also encouraged to define a more comprehensive vision or strategy for open access of their own. The goal was to address the specific needs of their researchers, whilst fostering a publishing climate where academic authors contribute to fully open access scholarly communications in an equitable and sustainable manner.
To support this goal, Utrecht University Library’s Publishing Support Department, previously in charge of all publication matters, has developed an Open Access Toolkit. The toolkit aims to streamline the decision-making at the faculties and share the Publishing Support Department’s knowledge of the various aspects of open access.
The toolkit introduces and discusses different open access pathways (Diamond, Hybrid, Gold, Green, self-publishing) to publish books, scholarly articles, and chapters in edited volumes. Each pathway is explored in terms of its respective advantages and disadvantages. Particular emphasis is placed on how the library can assist faculties in making informed decisions regarding their open access publishing strategy, managing their individual open access publishing funds, and how to make this a more sustainable pathway forward by promoting more diamond publishing and the use of preprints.
The open access toolkit remains a dynamic document and is updated regularly, for instance with lists of diamond platforms and journals. The Publishing Support Department is currently actively engaging in discussions with the library director as well as faculty representatives, with the intention of soliciting feedback from all faculties in the coming months. During this presentation, the open access toolkit will be presented with a focus on both methodology and content, and we will address the feedback we have and continue to receive along with the challenges and doubts that have arisen during its development. Additionally, we invite and encourage insights and new perspectives from other research libraries.
12.2) A guide for research libraries to engage youth in research
Presenters: Anne Kathrine Overgaard and Thomas Kaarsted, University Library of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Research libraries can play a key role in facilitating the dialogue between researchers and society. As part of the strategy for engaging with the community, the University Library of Southern Denmark (SDU Library) has chosen Citizen Science (CS) as a platform to interact with society, thereby ensuring the empowerment of the citizens, and providing new perspectives and insights for the researchers.
Building on a strong partnership between SDU Library and the faculties, the library facilitates Citizen science projects that engage citizens in research projects. Some of the projects involves a wide range of citizens, while other projects focus on a particular community, e.g. the youth.
Since 2019 74 Danish high school classes (approx. 1850 high school students) have participated in CS projects within natural sciences, social sciences and humanities facilitated by SDU Library. The students participate as part of their education program in high school giving them an insight in the research process through a hands-on, active learning process. Based on the projects – Find a Lake, Our History, Climate Future Fiction and A Healthier Southern Denmark; the High school Panel –, the SDU Library has co-developed a semi-generic model for engaging high school students in research projects.
The scope of this presentation is to present:
- reasons for engaging youth in research
- the semi-generic model, incl. the role of SDU Library in the CS projects
- a discussion of the opportunities for research libraries’ interaction with society
Ad 1) Reasons for engaging youth in research will be based on research on science education and CS combined with evaluations on our CS projects (from teachers and students) and follow-up research based on A Healthier Southern Denmark; The High School Panel (Borch 2022). Our follow-up research shows that the participating students increased their scientific literacy, which is substantiated by Nicolaisen, Ulriksen & Holmegaard (2023) demonstrating that youth engaged in science increase their “science capital”.
Ad 2) Based on relevant literature and experiences from the four CS projects for high schools, SDU Library has co-created with researchers and high school teachers a semi-generic model for implementing CS in high school education. The model includes a co-designing part with teachers and researchers on lessons plans and curriculum-based learning materials (formal learning). The model also includes a masterclass for the teachers, dialogue between the researchers and the K-12 students and a feedback loop (from researchers to students). The semi-generic model has been utilized for the CS projects and adjusted continuously.
Ad 3) This approach appears to be a new road for research libraries. But how does this pertain quality research data, FAIR data and how can this be expanded to all faculties? Also, this approach seems to have the potential to contribute to increased scientific literacy in youth.
12.3) Revitalizing spaces: redefining the role of the library and librarians at the University of Debrecen
Presenter: Edit Gorogh, University of Debrecen, Hungary
The functions and purpose of library spaces have undergone major transformation in the past decades. The changes have been brought on by two major trends: (1) the preference in research resource utilization shifted from printed to electronic, thus the relocation of open shelves frees up spaces, and (2) new generations of students bring new learning and information discovery methods.
The University Library of Debrecen recognizes the students’ and customers’ changing demands and preferences, and transforms services and spaces accordingly. Based on customer feedback and statistical usage data, we can affirm that the students’ motivation to use our libraries primarily determined by the quality of spaces and the connection to fellow students. There is a growing demand for comfortable sitting areas, good atmosphore, possibility for quiet learning, or studying in groups, infrastructure to use own devices, etc. Our data and experiences show that the main designing principles for library spaces are flexibility, possibility to rearrange, fit for independent use and multifunctional support to a variety of learning processes.
At the University of Debrecen the integrated Uni Library comprises nine libraries in four cities. This means that our operational portfolio incorporates and attempts to harmonize different user needs and different user habits throughout a variety of disciplines and faculties. We started to redefine our library spaces in 2019 with the primary goal to transform our libraries for the 21st-century student and user communities. The reevaluation of spaces and librarian tasks, in our case, has contributed to the development of specific organizing principles, which govern our efforts to restructure spaces and services in all our libraries. Furthermore, as library spaces with inventive design and multifunctional setup have evolved into a service on its own leading to the redefinition of functions and roles, innovative library spaces have become and element of strategic planning in the Library’s operation.
The presentation at the LIBER2024 conference provides an opportunity to showcase our new library spaces and to introduce the conceptual framework guiding the remodelling processes. The presentation is also a starting point of discussion to explore the transforming role of libraries, library spaces and librarians in enhancing student achievement.