RESOURCE: Beyond Gatekeepers of Knowledge: Scholarly Communication Practices of Academic Librarians and Archivists at ARL Institutions

A recent article in College & Research Libraries by Cassidy R. Sugimoto, Andrew Tsou, Sara Naslund, Alexandra Hauser, Melissa Brandon, Danielle Winter, Cody Behles and S. Craig Finlay examines the role of librarians and archivists as scholars. The article has implications for librarians involved in digital projects, particularly those who assert that their contribution to DH projects is a form of scholarship, not service. As the authors note,

Although the ACRL provides some basic recommendations, ‘there are no clearcut guidelines among institutions regarding what constitutes scholarship or service.’ (147)

The article goes on to address two research questions that touch on the role of tenure and institutional support for academic librarians and archivists:

1. What are the scholarly communication practices of academic librarians and archivists?

2. What types of institutional support are provided to facilitate the scholarly communication practices of academic librarians and archivists? (146)