What role do university librarians play in access to research? – live chat | Higher Education Network | Guardian Professional

Use the link to access more information about the recent event.  "Librarians have numerous roles to play in the growing digital environment, with the move towards open access prompting a profound change in the way university libraries manage their scholarly communications – not least in how they use online repositories for publishing and opening up access to research. In light of the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) – which seeks to give funding to those universities showing the greatest impact on research over the past six years – how can university libraries make the most of their repositories and ensure they are contributing not only towards better access, but also demonstrating value in terms of research impact? As Simon Bains, head of research services and deputy librarian at the University of Manchester commented on a recent network blog, 'libraries are central to development of services in [the] research area – especially for funders and others interested'. But among so many competing priorities, should research access top the agenda for librarians? And if librarians aren't managing this content, then who will? The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) is one of many institutions where the responsibility of uploading research to the repository falls to academics themselves. Kevin Lalor, editor of Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies and head of school of social sciences and law at DIT, says this has been achieved through a huge change of culture. But success depends on the support of librarians and senior management, he adds. As debate swirls around the wider higher education sector over the relative merits of the 'green' versus 'gold' open access models, one of the biggest challenges faced by libraries, says Stephen Barr, president of SAGE International, will be the 'shift from content ownership which works at the level of an individual institution, to providing services which can only be created and delivered on a larger scale.' What, in your view, are the responsibilities of the university library and librarian when it comes to university research access? How can librarians continue to add value through research repositories? And what support and collaboration do they need from their own institutions and the wider higher education sector? Join our panel of experts to discuss these and related questions on Friday 25 ..."