Keys to Opening Communication Pathways: working towards a successful Library and Office of Research Services relationship

The Library and Research Office serve separate functions for a university, however, there are key systems and goals shared by the two entities. Through development of a collaborative partnership, the university can better use their systems to meet these goals including recording, tracking and discoverability of research excellence and impact.

At the University of Tasmania, the implementation of a new research management system and institutional repository in 2023 meant that our two worlds are more intertwined. A shift to a people rather than system-reliant approach sparked the early stages of cross-collaboration, which has continued post-implementation. Successful examples include:

·         codesign sessions for the new Research Management platform;

·         revisiting co-design post implementation to streamline workflows;

·         decoding of different team terminology through knowledge transfer workshops;

·         increasing frequency of cross-team catch-ups; and

·         reinvigorating a shared Microsoft Teams platform to communicate between teams.

These improvements have fostered willingness and commitment to further develop the collaborative foundation: facilitating guidance and support between the teams—crucial in striving to provide service excellence to UTAS researchers. In this new environment where the teams are now inherently linked more than previously expected, it’s not the systems, but collaboration between the people, in conjunction with the systems, which is delivering efficiencies. As the teams learn more about their systems and how they support research excellence and impact, the teams continue to discover ways to evolve and engage in further communication pathways.