Formalized Curiosity: Reflecting on the Librarian Practitioner-Researcher
There’s a well-documented gap between research and practice. A Google search for scholarly articles using the term “research practice gap” yields 2,530 hits as of this writing, while a search using the discovery layer at the University Library, University of Saskatchewan, for the same search termsyi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Alberta
2013-03-01
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| Series: | Evidence Based Library and Information Practice |
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| Online Access: | http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/18901/14819 |
| _version_ | 1819207644376727552 |
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| author | Virginia Wilson |
| author_facet | Virginia Wilson |
| author_sort | Virginia Wilson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There’s a well-documented gap between research and practice. A Google search for scholarly articles using the term “research practice gap” yields 2,530 hits as of this writing, while a search using the discovery layer at the University Library, University of Saskatchewan, for the same search termsyields 1,038 hits. There are a large number of articles which explore bridging the research/practice gap. So what will fill that gap in librarianship? Partnerships between LIS scholars and librarians have been suggested,and this can certainly help to mitigate the research/practice gap. Each group has things that the other group needs. Practitioners often have funding barriers, a real or perceived lack of research skills, and uneven access to the research literature. Scholars have less access to certain data that can only be obtained from practice situations, and a partnership with library practitioners can provide greater access to real life locations, users, and situations. As well, a partnership can help ensure that what the scholars are researching is relevant to the practitioners. However, scholar/practitioner partnerships sometimes are not practical, even in our age of social networking. In Canada, forexample, there is a dearth of library schools to cover our vast physical space. Physical proximity can play a role in whether or not a partnership is successful. Timeliness also is a factor. Practitioners sometimes need to “hit the ground running" and get their research done in order to inform practice. The logistics of a partnership can be time-consuming. As well, I am estimating that there are far more library and information professionals than there are university library scholars, so it’s really up to us to fill that gap ourselves in many cases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T05:26:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2a251400da9649fd98630aa390cbce01 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1715-720X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T05:26:46Z |
| publishDate | 2013-03-01 |
| publisher | University of Alberta |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evidence Based Library and Information Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-2a251400da9649fd98630aa390cbce012022-12-21T17:58:35ZengUniversity of AlbertaEvidence Based Library and Information Practice1715-720X2013-03-0181111117Formalized Curiosity: Reflecting on the Librarian Practitioner-ResearcherVirginia WilsonThere’s a well-documented gap between research and practice. A Google search for scholarly articles using the term “research practice gap” yields 2,530 hits as of this writing, while a search using the discovery layer at the University Library, University of Saskatchewan, for the same search termsyields 1,038 hits. There are a large number of articles which explore bridging the research/practice gap. So what will fill that gap in librarianship? Partnerships between LIS scholars and librarians have been suggested,and this can certainly help to mitigate the research/practice gap. Each group has things that the other group needs. Practitioners often have funding barriers, a real or perceived lack of research skills, and uneven access to the research literature. Scholars have less access to certain data that can only be obtained from practice situations, and a partnership with library practitioners can provide greater access to real life locations, users, and situations. As well, a partnership can help ensure that what the scholars are researching is relevant to the practitioners. However, scholar/practitioner partnerships sometimes are not practical, even in our age of social networking. In Canada, forexample, there is a dearth of library schools to cover our vast physical space. Physical proximity can play a role in whether or not a partnership is successful. Timeliness also is a factor. Practitioners sometimes need to “hit the ground running" and get their research done in order to inform practice. The logistics of a partnership can be time-consuming. As well, I am estimating that there are far more library and information professionals than there are university library scholars, so it’s really up to us to fill that gap ourselves in many cases.http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/18901/14819practitioner-researcher |
| spellingShingle | Virginia Wilson Formalized Curiosity: Reflecting on the Librarian Practitioner-Researcher Evidence Based Library and Information Practice practitioner-researcher |
| title | Formalized Curiosity: Reflecting on the Librarian Practitioner-Researcher |
| title_full | Formalized Curiosity: Reflecting on the Librarian Practitioner-Researcher |
| title_fullStr | Formalized Curiosity: Reflecting on the Librarian Practitioner-Researcher |
| title_full_unstemmed | Formalized Curiosity: Reflecting on the Librarian Practitioner-Researcher |
| title_short | Formalized Curiosity: Reflecting on the Librarian Practitioner-Researcher |
| title_sort | formalized curiosity reflecting on the librarian practitioner researcher |
| topic | practitioner-researcher |
| url | http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/18901/14819 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT virginiawilson formalizedcuriosityreflectingonthelibrarianpractitionerresearcher |