OCLC Research and Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) Partner on Survey to Measure Trends and Priorities in Research Libraries
From OCLC Research:
OCLC Research, in partnership with the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), is currently conducting a survey on innovation trends and priorities in research libraries. The survey is being sent to library directors at 31 institutions in Canada.
The goal of the survey is to gain intelligence regarding trends, capacities, and priorities within the research library community. This will help CARL, OCLC and the OCLC Research Library Partnership to identify strategic opportunities and may reveal areas for possible future collaborations between the partnering organizations. This will inform future joint activities between OCLC and the research library community in Canada, and scope the opportunity space for OCLC Research and the RLP.
“CARL is pleased to participate in this international research effort to explore research libraries’ preoccupations and priorities. We believe the results will be useful to our members individually and to CARL’s strategic planning for the coming years,” stated Donna Bourne-Tyson, University Librarian at Dalhousie University and CARL President.
This survey follows a similar survey that was sent to library directors at 238 institutions in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, France, and Italy in 2017. OCLC Research will also survey research libraries in Australia and New Zealand, under a partnership with the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL).
“OCLC Research gathers critical information from these surveys that help guide us in our work,” said Rachel Frick, Executive Director, OCLC Research Library Partnership. “Working with our partners at CARL, this survey will help us gauge top priorities and areas of interest in research libraries in Canada. When we compare these findings to those from other parts of the world, we will be able to identify regional priorities, allowing us to focus our research and outreach efforts in ways that are most beneficial to research libraries worldwide.”
OCLC Research will be responsible for administering and analyzing the survey results and will share findings with CARL for dissemination to its members. Additionally, OCLC Research will share the data gathered in this survey, so that others can make their own interpretations.
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Associations and Organizations, Data Files, Libraries, News

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.