Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
| Pages | 615-616 |
| Date | 05 June 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-08-2016-0160 |
| Published date | 05 June 2017 |
| Author | Jane Mansfield |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Book reviews
Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
Edited by Moira J. Bent
Facet
London
2016
263 pp.
£49.95 soft cover
ISBN 978-1-78330-017-4
Review DOI 10.1108/EL-08-2016-0160
This book is very useful for those setting out in research support roles, but it is also of
interest to those wanting to develop their research support services. This is a thoughtful
and well-planned resource, with many examples of good practice from other libraries.
Most of the sections have “best for” tips and “examples from practice”, as well as a “to
think about” feature, which highlights any potential pitfalls and issues that may need
further thought. Moira Bent has published other books with Facet, co-authored
SCONUL’s Seven Pillars of Information Literacy, and her experience helps inform this
volume.
I was very interested to hear about other universities’ practices. I think this book
is one of the best that I have read in this area and there will be snippets of
information that most readers will learn from. The structure works well and is
exible, allowing for more examples, more tips or more “to think about” issues as
appropriate. The book adapts to its subject matter and its sources rather than
sticking to a rigid format for each section.
I read it section by section, but it is a book which could be dipped into. There are
eight subject sections along with an introduction and summary. A slight negative
point about the book is that the chapter headings and subsections sometimes do not
reect the topics as well as they might: “Places and Spaces” for instance, covers a lot
of promotions/marketing work which is not named and is not indexed either, but
that is a quibble. The other sections cover: the Research environment; Strategies,
such as collaborations and RDM support; Library staff roles, including the librarian
as potential researcher; Collections, which looks at ways of promoting and
exploiting resources; Interventions in the Research Lifecycle, which covers open
access, systematic reviews, writing support and bibliometrics; and a section on
Teaching mentions “just-in-time” teaching and the use of recordings and bite-sized
sessions, such as Leicester University’s Elevenses, which are planned to t into a
coffee-break. The nal section on Information Literacy discusses workshops. There
are gems of ideas along the way, including looking at ways that the library can
generate income, the use of secret shoppers and the value of involving employers in
teaching.
Book reviews
615
TheElectronic Library
Vol.35 No. 3, 2017
pp.615-618
©Emerald Publishing Limited
0264-0473
To continue reading
Request your trial