Academic Libraries in Supporting Research
A special issue of Publications (ISSN 2304-6775).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 16200
Special Issue Editors
Interests: library quality; library evaluation; library standards; printing history
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In an evolving academic landscape, driven by technological advances and significant changes in scholarly communication, universities are experiencing a paradigm shift. In response, academic libraries are adapting by offering more flexible and diverse research support services tailored to the needs of their institutions. These services range from information literacy and support for research publishing, to increasing the visibility of research, supporting research assessment and improving the position of universities in international rankings.
Libraries are also embracing emerging trends such as Open Science, where they are called upon to play an important role in promoting open practices and facilitating infrastructure development, as ARL's 2024 report on academic library trends and issues notes.
There is an increased focus on tailoring research services to individual researchers, with libraries aiming to be active partners throughout the research process, from design to publication. Bibliometrics and altmetrics are also growing in importance as tools for assessing the impact of research and helping researchers accredit the quality of their publications.
In addition, technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) are expected to revolutionise research support services as they become embedded in research. Libraries need to adapt to these technologies by exploring the potential of AI, creating AI research spaces, and addressing the ethical implications of machine learning. Addressing these changes highlights the increasingly important role that libraries play in fostering innovation and supporting the whole research ecosystem.
This Special Issue aims at bringing together papers that present recent research and contributions in any of these areas, from countries around the world. The topics that papers may focus on include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The role and contribution of academic library services in promoting Open Science;
- Innovative experiences in library services to support research;
- Effects of AI and other technologies on library services supporting research;
- Evaluation of the impact of library resources and services on the research quality of the institution and on research programmes and policies.
Dr. Marta de la Mano
Dr. Beatriz Albelda
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Publications is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- academic libraries
- university libraries
- special libraries
- library research support services
- open science
- research quality
- research assessment
- research programmes and policies
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