Moving from piecemeal to systematic: Reprioritizing how academic libraries approach research information management

Abstract

This paper is based on a lightening talk given at the 2023 NISO Plus conference. The authors explore how research information management (RIM) workflows at universities are increasingly intersecting with library workflows, particularly regarding compliance with federal funding and preservation of the institution’s scholarly record. This paper outlines one academic library’s plan to shift from thinking about library-supported RIM services as a piecemeal approach to a more systematic approach that prioritizes open infrastructure. Though in its early stages of implementation, the authors seek to examine current RIM systems and services at their institution, expand on the current findings of U.S. activities brought forth in reports produced by OCLC and Lyrasis, and to identify local opportunities for library-supported RIM tools/services that are open and transparent. Specifically, this paper emphasizes the implementation and adoption of persistent identifiers, such as ORCID, but discussion will also cover other RIM systems and services.