Advice, Advocacy and Support
RPC advises Library Faculty, Academic Professionals, and Civil Service Professionals on the design and execution of their research projects, especially choice of methodology and possible funding sources. Committee members are available to assist Library faculty and AP’s in preparing grant proposals to other campus funding sources. RPC monitors Library and campus policies to ensure that information on strategic and financial support for research is up-to-date.
RPC Funding for Research
Research funded by the RPC from 1990 to the present has covered a wide range of subjects in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences. Library science was the most heavily represented, with bibliographic and collection guides, works in library history and the history of books, and studies of collection development policy, online systems, and users. Research in other disciplines, such as history, art history, and musicology, has also been funded. Research travel and short-term undergraduate/graduate student hourly assistant wages comprise the bulk of funded requests. Take a look at the Policies for Award Approval, for additional information concerning the types of research needs RPC can and cannot fund.
RPC funding focuses on short-term, discrete projects. Start-up funds may also be provided for larger-scale or longer-term projects.
PapersINVITED
The RPC has funded access to this electronic research tool for the entire campus community, but we did it with YOU, the faculty librarian in mind! PapersINVITED is a searchable database of calls for papers, posters and publications from professional bodies, universities, journal editors and other conference organizers. Sign up at the site, and create a customized area with just your research areas listed.
Once in PapersINVITED, click on “Options” to define your research areas, which may be broadly defined using one of their general categories (e.g., Library and Information Sciences) or specifically delimited by keyword (e.g, OAI; Open Access; etc). You may also elect to receive personalized auto-alerts based on your research areas of interest.
Lectures, Colloquia, and RPC Research Brown Bag Lunches
Since 1971, RPC has assisted in the professional development of Library faculty and Academic Professionals by sponsoring lectures, seminars, workshops, and brown-bag series that provide information about research methodologies. The Committee engages in cooperative program planning with other campus units interested in library research to highlight research findings, trends in librarianship, and research techniques.