Finding Your Seat at the Table : Roles for Librarians on Institutional Regulatory Boards and Committees

Service on Institutional Review Boards (IRB) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC) is an uncommon activity for librarians. Even librarians who participate in institutional research activities in a supportive capacity or conduct their own original research as scholars themselves and are familiar with the IRB/IACUC research approval process, they may hesitate to participate more fully with these boards.

There may be a perception that the work of the IRB and IACUC is too scientifically complex for librarians without an appropriate background. Library administrators may not advocate for librarian inclusion on the board for fear of additional burdens on the librarian’s time; and university administrators might need some convincing of the librarian’s suitability to perform this work.

This book provides librarians with foundational knowledge of the IRB and IACUC, describes the work of these important committees, and expands librarians’ conceptualization and knowledge of opportunities to create services and partnerships through participation.

The book provides a progressively more comprehensive understanding of the work of these committees. Parts I and II discuss IRB and IACUC, respectively; their history, functions and membership. Part III highlights expanding roles for librarians on IRB and IACUC; and in institutional research activities. A special feature of this section describes the experiences of librarians, in their own words, who work with IRB or IACUC; what they have learned, how they have used their experiences to create partnerships and market library services; and what role they see for libraries and librarians in institutional research.

Susan M. Harnett, MLS, AHIP-D, is medical information services librarian at Borland Library, University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL. She received her master of library service from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. She has been the non-scientific member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at UF since 2016; she has also served as a voting member of the Institutional Review Board at Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, VA; and as an ex-officio member of both IRB and IACUC at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA. She has been a journal column editor and has published several articles on health literacy.
Laureen P. Cantwell,MSLIS,is the head of access services & Outreach at Colorado Mesa University’s Tomlinson Library. She oversees their Checkout + Reserves service point and staff, as well as their Resource Sharing/ILL staff. Laureen is currently pursuing a PhD in information science from University at Buffalo – SUNY. She also co-edited Memphis Noir (Akashic Books, 2015) and has published book chapters and articles on topics ranging from MOOCs to curbside pickup services, chat reference to digital badging, and more.