Over the next year, Ithaka S+R will partner with the academic libraries in all eight New Zealand universities to explore and deepen understanding of scholars’ research and teaching practices and needs.

Ithaka S+R has been examining the attitudes and behaviors of academics nationally in the US and the UK every three years since 2000 and 2012 respectively, and have now partnered with more than 80 colleges and universities to study these topics in the US, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong. We are excited to continue expanding our coverage of these issues in New Zealand through our partnership with the following universities:

  • Auckland University of Technology
  • Lincoln University
  • Massey University
  • University of Auckland
  • University of Canterbury
  • University of Otago
  • University of Waikato
  • Victoria University of Wellington

The participating universities will work with Ithaka S+R to adapt the questionnaire, which contains questions on discovery and access, research practices, scholarly communications, perceptions of student research skills, and the role of the library, for the local New Zealand context. Each university will field a customized version of the survey and receive a local, institution-specific report of findings in addition to an aggregate report of findings across the eight institutions. The reports will identify potential enhancements to individual institutional practices and possible collaborative opportunities among the New Zealand university libraries.

To maximize the impact of the survey findings for each institution, the project will culminate in an on-site engagement in which Ithaka S+R will provide a presentation of findings to the group of participating institutions, enabling attendees to more deeply interact with the results and consider service provision to advance the research and teaching practices of their faculty members, both collectively and individually.

We look forward to supporting our New Zealand colleagues and continuing to extend the reach and impact of the Ithaka S+R local surveys to additional colleges and universities domestically and internationally.