We are a multidisciplinary research group at Charles Sturt University.
Our research focuses on key issues affecting the sector, examining the ways in which library and information services can be improved, and library collections enhanced, as well the role of libraries and librarianship in contemporary society.
To do this, we use the strong links CSU’s School of Information and Communication Studies already enjoys with the library and information industry, as well as building on the recent ERA rating of ‘above world average’ for CSU’s Library and Information Studies research.
Research projects involve all segments of the library sector: public, academic, and school libraries, special libraries, state and national libraries, knowledge and information systems.
Aligned with the University’s Research Narrative of developing flourishing communities, we are addressing priority issues for library and their managers. Our aim is to help ensure that library services meet the needs of the communities they serve and contribute to a better informed, and more information literate, citizenry.
Building on CSU’s position as the leading and largest provider of library education in Australia, we are ideally placed to be the group librarians turn to when they need an evidence base for their decisions or new solutions to real-world problems.
The Libraries Research Group accommodates a wide range of epistemological outlooks and investigative approaches, influenced by the different areas of library and information studies in which our members specialise. These include:
- Library users
- Library systems and technologies
- Library policy
- Collection access
- Information cultures
LRG members have an extensive record of collaboration with industry and publish in a wide range of leading international journals in Library and Information Studies.
We welcome comments and inquiries from potential industry partners, researchers and PhD students. Please contact Prof Philip Hider at phider@csu.edu.au.
