Promoting Academic Library Research Through the “Faculty-Member-In-Residence” Program

As a means of fostering academic library research, this paper provides an overview of an inaugural “Faculty-Member-In-Residence” program implemented at McMaster University Library, where a non-librarian faculty member from McMaster spent his sabbatical year conducting library research and helping librarians think about research. In addition to providing background on the context of academic library research and the research productivity of academic librarians, the paper describes the objectives, outcomes, and benefits of the program, as well as personal reflections and recommendations on how to move the program forward. Academic libraries are encouraged to launch similar “Faculty-Member-In-Residence” programs at their own institutions.