Skip to main menu Skip to content
Learn how to use the new academic search tool, Omni.

University Library Researcher-in-Residence (LRiR)

The University Library Researcher-in-Residence (LRiR) Pilot Program is a one year program designed to foster, enhance and expand the existing culture of collaborative cross-disciplinary research currently active within the University Library and connect it across the broader University research community. This pilot program is open to early career tenure-track faculty researchers (early career RFA faculty researchers who are in a tenure-track)

Participating RFA members will receive funding for course release (approval for course releases must be pre-arranged at your Faculty and Department level)  to provide time to focus on research collaboration with the Library. It is envisioned that one course release per term as needed, per Researcher-in-Residence will be available over the one year position (with appropriate departmental and faculty approvals)

The early LRiR will both share cross-disciplinary expertise with Library researchers and with university-based researchers involved on intersecting research projects, as well as undertake specific initiatives that advance  innovation, partnerships, and collaborative opportunities that align with and support the University Library as an important research and innovation nexus for the University research community. The LRiR will also promote professional development, knowledge sharing, and the creation of innovative SRC projects that utilize the unique expertise and physical and digital collections and infrastructure within the UniversityLibrary.

During their residency, the LRiR will engage in research projects that align with and enhance the Library’s overall mandate and capacity to support SRC and innovation. They will also work collaboratively with, and support  SRC development opportunities for librarians and interested staff. In addition, the LRiR will extend this work to include the broader University community and/or researchers, including graduate students, sessional instructors, and other faculty pursuing SRC activities that have a particular alignment with Library expertise, facilities, resources and collections. Based on the success of the pilot project and upon completion of their terms as Library Researcher-in-Residence, there will be an opportunity to become a Library Researcher-in-Residence emirati, and continue to formally participate in the growth and evolution of this initiative, as well as mentor newer LRiRs. 

Proposed Starting Date/Time: Jan. 10th, 2022

Opportunities for LRiR(s);

  • Focused time to develop a collaborative project connecting your new teaching and research interests with a range of Library enabled SRC opportunities
  • Opportunity to experiment with new methodologies, practices, or research areas, including interaction with library collections
  • Be part of a collaborative interdisciplinary community within the University Library and beyond
  • Shared SRC workspace in the Library 
  • Access to Library-based expertise and support
  • Immersion in the institutional culture of the Library
  • Access to local, regional national and international research library networks

Requirements of the LRiR

During their time as LRiR the faculty member will:

  • Participate in at least one Library-based project or grant proposal (i.e. SSHRC Connections Grant, Insight Development Grant, and Partnership Engage Grant etc.)
  • Give at least two presentation/research seminars about their research to the Library and broader University community
  • Give guest lectures to faculty, graduate students, librarians, and Library staff about ongoing SRC work
  • Advise on (and/or assist in) developing programming or new Library projects 
  • Promote Library research support services such as Research Data Management, Open Scholarship, the Institutional Repository and knowledge mobilization, intellectual property, and ORCID.
  • Help foster a vibrant Library and research community 
  • Make connections between librarians and other faculty, stakeholders, graduate students with related interests
  • Identify and create collaborative SRC  opportunities
  • Advise librarians, faculty, graduate students, about their research and also work towards developing further research skills and knowledge

Per Course Release Estimate

  • $10,000 plus CUPE benefits, currently set at 15.71%, for a total of $11,571 (per course) 
  • Support for participation must be received from a faculty members’ home department or Faculty which will include approval of course release process through the chair or Dean as appropriate.    
  • Please consult the Course Release Policy and Practice for full information.

About the University Library

The University Library is central to ensuring  SRC innovation and success. The Library provides expertise, cross-disciplinary academic perspectives, and a deep understanding of SRC needs and opportunities. It also plays a foundational role in supporting individual researchers, scholars, creators, and students, and in connecting multidisciplinary research teams. In addition, the University Library provides a rich set of resources (digital, data, textual, visual, scholarly, published and community generated) and offers the latest tools and technology-enhanced spaces necessary for the creation of new ideas, knowledge, and understanding. With expertise in research data management, open scholarship and science, intellectual property, knowledge mobilization and community outreach, the Library is critical to advancing the goals of this plan. Sustained investment focused on SRC growth and transformative digital and physical infrastructure will leverage some of the Library’s most successful and SRC endeavours (institutional repository, open publishing, collaboratory, digital preservation, researcher communities, open researcher platform pilot) and allow expansion and creation of innovative new programs and services to meet emerging SRC priorities (Material ConneXion Library, Immersion Studio, Toronto Metropolitan University Law Library, Figshare).

The University Library welcomes those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion and will assist us to expand our capacity for diversity in the broadest sense. In addition, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment in Canada, we encourage applications from members of groups that have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous Peoples of North America, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

To Apply:

Please fill out the Library Researcher-in-Residence Application Form to express your interest in the pilot program.

Support for participation must be received from a faculty members’ home department or Faculty which will include approval of course release process through the chair or Dean as appropriate.  Please consult the Course Release Policy and Practice for full information.

Application Deadline: July 30th, 2021 4:00pm.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact Fangmin Wang fwang@torontomu.ca