Developing Academic Engagement: A Qualitative, “Ethnographish” Study of a Devolved Library Structure at the University of Cambridge

abstract

An ethnographic research project undertaken by the libraries of the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Cambridge sought to understand the impact of academic/library relationships in a devolved institutional structure. The results of the research provided clear evidence of the high regard in which academic engagement with libraries is held by both academic and library staff in Arts and Humanities subjects. It underlined the academic perception of library staff as colleagues and confirmed the advantages of the current devolved structure. As subject libraries are inextricably bound up with Faculty matters, academic, administrative, or library-related, this familiarity and the contextualized knowledge it affords can be beneficial for academics with limited time. In addition, it means local libraries are able to provide the wider University library services with a head start in implementing new initiatives. The principal findings highlight collaboration, context, and empowered staff as underpinning successful academic engagement.

Keywords:

• Academic engagement
• subject libraries
• impact
• relationship building
• ethnography

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to the thank all staff of the Arts and Humanities Libraries at the University of Cambridge for their contribution to the research project

Notes

1 By academics we mean University Teaching Officers, College Teaching Officers, Honorary Profs, Junior Research Fellow, and postdocs (NOT POSTGRADS).