I expect you're right, Greg, but then my follow-up question
is:
why is there a need for an IR as opposed to departmental or
unit
web sites, which provide the requisite information to
targeted
audiences such as the ones you mention? This is another
variation
of the question whether disciplinary web sites do not better
serve the interests of most faculty than general,
all-inclusive
IRs. Are IRs established as umbrellas with very specific
departmental or unit sites included within them as
subsections?
If they are not, then I don't see how they could serve the
functions you point out here.
Sandy Thatcher
Penn State University Press
>Sandy, this is a good, provocative question: to whom
does the IR
>actually make an institution visible? I suspect this
audience
>goes beyond legislators and other governmental
officials.
>Among the other constituencies an IR targets:
>
>- Private donors. The IR can serve as a valuable
marketing tool
>for alumni associations. It can demonstrate the
vibrancy of a
>particular research unit, department, center, institute,
lab, or
>program. A graduate of Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of
Law, for
>example, might be more inclined to send an annual
donation if
>she were easily able to see the ongoing scholarly output
from
>her alma mater.
>
>- Prospective students, graduate students, postdocs, and
new
>faculty hires. The IR, by rendering visible the
scholarship
>associated with a specific unit, can serve as a valuable
marker
>for individuals potentially interested in intersecting
with that
>unit. What is the focus of a lab's research? What
types of
>dissertations are being authored in a department?
Understanding
>the output of a given unit helps folks make informed
decisions
>regarding the suitability of the fit between institution
and
>individual.
>
>It is true that one might reasonably ask whether IRs are
>resonating with these audiences any more effectively
than with
>legislators. It does seem likely, at the very least,
that these
>constituencies are better equipped to, as Sandy wrote,
"pass
>judgment as to the quality or 'relevance' of such
research".
>
>
>Best, Greg
>
>Greg Tananbaum
>Consulting Services at the Intersection of Technology,
Content, & Academia
>(510) 295-7504
>gtananbaum gmail.com
>http://www.scholarnext.com
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