Tillit og tverrfaglighet -om bibliotekaren som forskerstøtte

Resumé

Technological advancements and reforms in the university sector have changed the conditions under which researchers and academic staff work. In turn, university libraries need to adapt to the changing needs of this particular user group. This article highlights which competencies and roles the university librarian needs in order to address these changing needs based on an understanding of the researcher’s work context. How can the academic librarian contribute to the research process? The study on which this article is based has applied Institutional Ethnography (IE), as one methodological approach. IE puts focus on the expert knower, in this case the researcher, who can transmit work knowledge specific to the context in which he or she operates. Applying this approach is one way of dealing with challenges concerning tacit knowledge. In addition, IE provides an opening to revealing new knowledge about a well-studied issue. The data material consists of interviews with researchers (individual and group), and a workshop with academic library staff. Findings show that the researchers’ demands of publications governs their prioritization, but also their relationships to technology and people. The informants’ state that they need to be able to trust that librarians contribute added value and substance to the research process – only then can they be part of the research network. The informants would also like librarians to contribute with a transdisciplinary mindset in transdisciplinary research projects, that they coordinate administrative support, and take charge of research dissemination intended to “popularize” research.