Understanding the Evolution of the Academic Library Research Commons

Photo by Henry Be

I have been Research Commons Librarian for two-years now, and it's been a wonderful time learning this role and new service in an academic library.   There are only a handful of Research Commons Librarians in the world and as a new functional position that mostly specializes in supporting the research needs of graduate students, faculty, and researchers, every moment feels as if it's an evolutionary process, small steps that took leaps and bounds looking back.   One of the more interesting parts of the role is articulating the role of the Research Commons and how it fits into the existing services of the Library. “Research Commons” may mean different things to different people, but Elliot Felix has argued that if we take it as the umbrella term, we can see seven distinct roles or functions of a Research Commons:

• Club
• Service hub
• Studio
• Lab
• Incubator
• Connector
• Showcase

Research Commons has even entered the moniker of public libraries as evidenced in this update in Russia.   My research over the past two years has been examining the rise of the Research Commons and its evolution on the spectrum of the 'commons'.   Is it just space or a service?   In my view, it's really a careful and thoughtful blend of the two.   Here are some Research Commons around the world.  

---

UBC's Research Commons

“a multidisciplinary hub supporting research endeavours, partnerships, and education. We are a community space that embraces both new and traditional exploratory scholarship and provides access to services and expertise for the advancement of research”

SFU's Research Commons

"Supports the research endeavours of the University community, with particular focus on graduate students during all stages of the research lifecycle - ideas, partners, proposal writing, research process, and publication - and provides easy access to both physical and virtual research resources."

McGill's Innovation Commons

"A technology-enhanced, collaborative space that brings together services and resources to support researchers. The Commons includes spaces, support, and equipment for integrating technology and research."

Duke University's The Edge: The Ruppert Commons for Research, Technology, and Collaboration

"The Edge extends Duke University Libraries’ mission by providing a collaborative space for interdisciplinary, data-driven, digitally reliant or team-based research."

University of Washington's Research Commons

• A place to collaborate and connect with fellow students and faculty on research projects
• A hub of support for graduate student research
• A venue for workshop and presentation opportunities

UCLA's Research Commons

"The center for the Research Library's flexible, technology-enabled spaces in which students and faculty can utilize library resources, conduct research, and collaborate with one another."

The Ohio State University's Research Commons

"Leverages campus partnerships to provide support services at each stage of the research lifecycle. It enhances the Libraries’ mission by providing a hub for collaborative, interdisciplinary research that is both expertise and technology enabled."

University of Illinois’ Scholarly Commons

"Is a technology enriched space for faculty, researchers, and graduate students to pursue research and receive expert copyright, data, digital humanities, digitization, scholarly communications, and usability consultation services. Scholarly Commons services are supported by experts in the Scholarly Commons, subject specialists at the University Library, and partners throughout campus."

Chinese University of Hong Kong Research Commons

"Innovatively-designed and specifically-zoned to meet the research needs of postgraduate students, researchers and faculty."

University of Maryland’s Research Commons

"Including the GIS and Spatial Data Center and the Media Lab, it expands the boundaries of the traditional library through support in core areas such as research organization, statistical and geospatial analysis, data visualization, and media production."

University of New Brunswick’s Research Commons

"A modern, interdisciplinary, research-driven learning environment to further innovation, scholarship, and research at UNB."

New York University's Research Commons

"comprises quiet and collaborative spaces on Floor 5. The staff, technology, equipment, and furnishings you’ll find in the Research Commons ensure that users can work with maximum productivity."