Training from the MLA Research Training Institute (RTI) has come in handy again! I am a fellow in the 2019 cohort, and my project is currently in the final draft stages.
I know one of the goals of the RTI is to equip librarians with tools to do research on an ongoing basis, so I am sharing an additional research project of mine that just got published! A few months ago, as we were settling into quarantine, a few colleagues and I discussed the changes our library was going through and wondered how other libraries were handling quarantine. We decided to research this, and to be honest, we would not have done this project were it not for my RTI training. Because of the RTI, I had experience constructing a survey and completing an institutional review board (IRB) application, and familiarity with using the software we used to administer the survey and collate the results. We were able to move quickly on this new project, and the highlights of our research were recently published on MLAConnect.
I am 100% confident that if it were not for the RTI, I would not have had the skills and experience to conduct this research. By the way, this is the first published article for one of my coauthors, an example of the “ripple effects” of the RTI training! I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate and wanted to share that what I learned is enabling me to do research beyond my original project.
* Jennifer C. Westrick, AHIP, is a fellow of the 2019 MLA Research Training Institute (RTI). Training and confidence acquired as part of the RTI program contributed to the development of her research. The RTI project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (RE-95-17-0025-17).