RIMS: The Research Impact Measurement Service at the University of New South Wales

Abstract

In 2005, the Library at UNSW began a comprehensive restructuring process that fundamentally changed the provision of services to its academic community. A primary aim of this process was to increase flexibility of service development and delivery and so to improve research support. The motivation for reformed services arose from considerations including the University Library need to realign its services to support the university’s strategic goals, the increasingly competitive nature of the research environment, the introduction of the RQF/ERA, and a renewed emphasis on research outcomes by UNSW. The measurement of research impact using bibliometrics was seen as a strategy for supporting UNSW researchers. University Library staff consulted the bibliometrics literature and apropriate methodologies were devised to measure the impact of publications, authors and departments. The result was the creation of a Research Impact Measurement Service (RIMS) that now produces over 30 reports every month and employs 6–7 full time equivalent staff. Most of the reports are used to support promotion, grants, and institutional comparisons. This research support service also informs and improves the performance of such traditional library activities as collection development. RIMS is now integral to the measurement of research outputs at UNSW, and has significantly raised the profile of the Library throughout the academic community.

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