Roles of the Faculty and Librarian in the Collaborative Relationships at Vietnamese Universities: A Qualitative Methodology

Abstract

This article is a part of a doctoral research project on developing the faculty-librarian collaboration model to support learning and research at Vietnamese universities. The findings of this study have crucial significance in drawing a broader view of the importance of faculty-librarian collaboration and the roles of such collaborators at Vietnamese universities. Qualitative methodology was used to formulate related topics and achieve these research objectives. Semi-structured interviews were carried out at four universities in Vietnam with three key informants, including the faculty, librarian, and administrators (dean/vice dean of faculty, director/deputy director of the library). From March to April 2019, researchers conducted 29 interviews with three participant groups. The striking results of this research showed that the faculty and librarians realized the significance of a collaborative relationship and expect that Vietnamese universities will design and deploy a model to boost the effectiveness of this collaboration. Besides this, the study found that the collaborators play certain important roles within the collaborative relationship, for instance, that of reference, coordinator, special lecturer, cooperator, and information user.