Research Productivity Among Librarians: Factors Leading to Publications at Penn State

Abstract

Librarians at the Pennsylvania State University are consistently among the most published in academic library journals. This study explored the factors contributing to research productivity among a cross section of Penn State librarians. Personal motivation, intellectual curiosity, and education were important factors in practice-, institutional-, and discipline-based research among the 38 librarians surveyed here. However, being part of an institution, where everyone is expected to participate in research, may be the most critical factor.

Using a Blended Group Learning Approach to Increase Librarians’ Motivation and Skills to Publish

“…This confirms that work environment and the expectation to publish have a strong influence on publication output (Hart 1999). After tenure, the expectation to publish continues and research and scholarly publication are an important part of the librarian's annual performance evaluation in the US (Fennewald 2008). …”

Academic Librarians and Research: A Study of Canadian Library Administrator Perspectives

“…7 Joseph Fennewald raises the related issue of whether librarians, in the end, participate in scholarship only because it is required by their institutions. 8 Catherine Coker, Wyoma vanDuinkerken, and Stephen Bales, in contrast, advocate strongly for tenure status for academic librarians arguing that "library faculty members are on par with teaching faculty members in regard to scholarship and service" and, as such, "librarians require the protections offered by tenure to continue contributing to their profession," contributions that ought to be encouraged. 9 However, as we have argued previously, "there is little to be gained by revisiting the long-standing debates about whether or not librarians should or should not do research" when research is currently and will continue to be an expectation for many academic librarians in Canada and elsewhere.…”

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

“…15 In general, librarians and archivists tend to read and publish research that has practical interest and is directly related to their job duties. 16 This is also a factor when academic librarians consider venues in which they intend to disseminate their research; the perceived value of a journal in relation to the profession is seen as one of the most important criteria for selecting a publication venue. 17 Even if academic librarians are not traditionally viewed as scholars, there is much evidence to suggest that such individuals are, in fact, quite productive, particularly when considering that research and publishing are generally considered ancillary to other facets of a librarian's job.…”