Survey on the research needs of Finnish university libraries

A final report for the project was completed on 30 April 2008 and published on 9 May 2008.

Background for the project

The most significant research needs concerning the development of Finnish university libraries’ services as a part of a changing information environment and research and innovation system were charted in a survey led by the University of Tampere Department of Information Studies. Based on the evaluation of the research needs, a tentative outline for a research programme was drafted, and the research focus areas were defined.

The survey proposes a wide national research programme, creating a researcher network and acquiring basic funding for coordinating the network.

The survey was conducted by Jarkko Kari (D.Soc.Sc.) from the University of Tampere Department of Information Studies. The most important themes in the survey are the processes of university libraries and the impact of structural changes in the operational environment on these processes. Other core themes of the programme are the impact of structural changes on university libraries’ personnel, the interaction between personnel and library processes, and the impact of the development of these processes on research and teaching. The survey also lists examples for individual research areas.

It is hoped that the research programme will increase cooperation between disciplines in library research. If researcher training is also included in the programme, it will simultaneously serve to advance research activities.

The Ministry of Education supported the survey with 20,000 euros.

The survey was conducted in the following phases:
Evaluating changes in the operational environment (autumn 2007)
Recognising research needs (turn of the year 2007-2008)
Outlining a research programme (beginning of 2008)