oa The role of the modern library in research evaluation

Research evaluation has taken on new significance in recent years due to two main developments. The first is the enormity of data and metadata concerning research outputs making it impractical for large scale subjective peer evaluation of multinational outputs spanning research fields, linguistic barriers and varying geographies. The second is the advent of the digital age in which the medium of communicating, storing and analyzing these data seems to be continuously evolving challenging even the most high tech librarians to keep pace. New electronic resources have led to the development of new analytical and visualization tools from both the public and private sectors and library and information professionals are increasingly required to use state-of-the-art systems to inform decision making at various levels of university and research institutions. In this paper, we present a series of integrated analytical and information management tools that support large and medium sized research institutions in developed countries and that are systematically being rolled out across developing regions that are embracing the shift towards the knowledge based economy and in which libraries are expected to play an important part. Examples from the Gulf region will be demonstrated and compared with other regions and recommendations for development will conclude the session.