Skip to content
Tech News
← Back to articles

Stop overlooking librarians’ expertise

read original get Librarian Tech Toolkit → more articles
Why This Matters

Recognizing librarians as experts and active collaborators in research enhances the value of their disciplinary knowledge, leading to more comprehensive and accurate outcomes. This shift in perception can foster better interdisciplinary teamwork and innovation within the tech industry, especially in areas like digital literacy and health information. Valuing librarians' expertise also underscores the importance of diverse skill sets in advancing research and technology development.

Key Takeaways

We agree with your Career feature describing librarians as “key research partners” (see Nature 650, 1063–1065; 2026). We would like to push back against the widespread perception that librarians are only service providers. They should also be valued for their disciplinary expertise and viewpoints. An example is J.E.B., who joined research projects as a team member and co-author owing to their knowledge of content about consumer health and digital literacy (J. G. L. Lee et al. Public Health Rep. https://doi.org/qz3v (2024) and H. Gordon et al. Health Info. Libr. J. 41, 195–200; 2024).

Nature 652, 828 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01217-0

Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests.

Related Articles

Subjects