Research as a strategic tool for a research library

Abstract

The increasing availability and use of digital corpora and computational methods brings fundamental changes to academic research and the role of research libraries, much in the same way that modern digital content is changing the operating environment of public libraries. In order to justify their continued existence libraries need to participate actively in this electronic re-evolution, and on the other hand the academic community needs close collaboration with libraries to be able to successfully transition from paper-based research methods to the new era. To address these issues, the National Library of Finland is currently working towards founding a new professorship in the use of digital content.

During the initial survey, several research directions were proposed ranging between digital image processing, automatised collection of metadata, and the usability of library systems. The direction that emerged as most promising concentrates on the availability, distribution and use of digital material, with a strong emphasis on the needs and preferences of the customers. It appears that a professorship focussed along these lines would not fit very well within any of the existing departments or even faculties, but instead would best work as a hub in a multidisciplinary research network.