ALIA Research Agenda

ALIA conducts, commissions and contracts, supports, encourages and promotes research to move library and information services profession and industry forward.

In particular ALIA seeks through an evidence-based approach to

  • Inform its policy development, strategic planning, marketing and advocacy.

  • Underpin innovation and improvement in professional practice and professional development.

  • Underpin innovation and improvement in service delivery in libraries and information agencies and in the information industry. 

  • Build the evidence base for the determination of the value and impact of library and information services in Australia. 

  • Provide input to curriculum design and development in schools of library and information studies.

ALIA’s research agenda is informed by its strategic objectives and the 2014 Middleton report, and is currently focused on the following areas: 

  • Industry metrics and employment trends (workforce planning; employment trends, broad brush industry intelligence and statistics).

  • Profession metrics and trends highlighting new skills and knowledge requirements e.g. data management, digital humanities, social media, digital literacies, bibliometrics, working with linked data, digital curation. 

  • Demonstrating the value of LIS research to parent organisations.

  • Understanding how the evolving digital environment changes professional practice. 

  • Identification and remediation of skills gaps as professionals continue to transition within the digital environment.

  • Research skills required in the 21st century.

  • Professional development opportunities and emphases. 

  • Likely professional futures for LIS graduates.

  • Requirements for LIS education programs to prepare graduates for their professional futures.

  • Innovation in service delivery. 

  • Benchmarking of excellence and best practice in libraries and information agencies.

  • Analysis of social demographics.

  • Working with social data (new conceptual frameworks, new methodologies required for learning from social data; ethics of working with social data).

  • Collaboration with related sectors such as the museum and gallery sector, business organisations, publishing and bioinformatics fields, new modes of scholarship, digital humanities.

  • Demonstrating the value and impact of LIS professionals, making their invisible work visible.


September 2015