Enhancing Role and Impact of Librarians in Research Output through Internet Tools: A Case Study Based on Google Scholar Profiles of Engineering Colleges in and around Madurai

Abstract

A librarian in an academic institution plays a potentially very crucial role in the research output of the institution. Digital literacy of the librarian will be of immense help for the researchers and the institution with the ever increasing availability of internet and mobile tools. The wealth of information contained in the publicly accessible Google Scholar profiles is one such useful tool. A case study is carried out by analysing the profiles of research faculty in 12 (twelve) engineering colleges located in Madurai district. The user profiles having verified email IDs with the domain names of these institutions form part of this study. It has been demonstrated that the librarians can play an enhanced role in research output and its impact by effectively using such readily available information in a myriad ways. With the citation indicators viz. citations, h-index and i10-index for different researchers in the institution, the librarian can help the researcher and the institution compare the productivity and impact of research work. The librarian will be able to find out the publications with higher research impact and make informed decisions on subscriptions etc. Such bench marking will also help the institution to attract research talent; to identify and reward impactful works; and to publicize achievements. By creating a tag cloud of research areas in an engineering college derived through Google Scholar profiles it is illustrated how librarian can plan the library resources to be made available to the users. (S)he can further probe the above labels and find out the highly acclaimed journals in the field, post latest developments in the research field, help the users connect with the other leading researchers in the field etc. Similarly, a study of co-authors of a researcher in one of the colleges in Madurai reveals that the collaborative research network extends beyond district / state borders and comprises institutions of countries such as Australia, China and Korea. Having known this, a librarian can understand the research network – physical and virtual – and facilitate further collaboration. The readily available Google Scholar user profiles of researchers of an academic institution give a good deal of information that covers many of the impact indicators used in frameworks such as Becker Medical Library Model for Research Impact. Such possibilities are elaborated using a case study of the profiles of researchers in twelve Madurai based Engineering Colleges.