Brie Marie M
Brie McConnell, MLIS, is a health sciences research librarian at the University of Waterloo’s Davis Centre Library. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from Western University, with specializations in evidence-based medicine informatics and information technologies. With over two decades of experience in academic, hospital, and public libraries, Brie spent twelve years in clinical research at Western University and London Health Sciences Centre before returning to Waterloo Region in 2020. As a practicing librarian and biomedical database expert, she specializes in review methodologies, research strategy development, and information technologies for biomedical research collaborations and consultations. Brie is currently developing the Records of Research Activities (RoRA) model, a framework for positioning librarians as intentional agents in clinical research. As a co-author on multiple peer-reviewed publications examining clinical outcomes and pharmacological safety, Brie’s work bridges library expertise and biomedical research innovation, demonstrating how libraries exercise intellectual leadership in knowledge synthesis.
Session
Background
Academic health sciences libraries increasingly function as active research partners, yet institutional recognition remains tied narrowly to publishable outputs. Librarians’ intellectual contributions to systematic reviews and evidence synthesis projects are frequently unacknowledged, despite substantial expertise and time investment. Moreover, research engagement across academic institutions typically unfolds in fragmented, ad-hoc patterns that prevent libraries from demonstrating measurable impact and reclaiming their narrative in the research enterprise.
Purpose
The Records of Research Activities (RoRA) model was developed at the University of Waterloo to reconceptualize the library’s role as an intentional steward and agent of information flow. RoRA positions librarians as essential contributors whose expertise shapes research quality throughout the entire project lifecycle—not just at publication. By generating clean, consistent research activity data across five distinct stages of engagement, RoRA enables libraries to demonstrate impact, document professional contributions, and support researcher career development at multiple points beyond final publication.
Description
RoRA employs a river metaphor to frame research as a dynamic and continually flowing process. Librarians serve as expert navigators and guides through complex information currents, exercising agency and professional judgment across five stages: Discovery and Planning (Reading the Waters), Evidence Enablement (Navigating Rapids), Creating and Analyzing (Branching Out), Dissemination (Watershed), and Reflection and Review. The model leverages a SharePoint-based research data registry indexed with MeSH terms to document consultation types, database utilization, search methodologies, and diverse research outputs. Critical to RoRA’s innovation is its reconceptualization of success metrics: research records, protocols, trial registrations, data management plans, and knowledge syntheses represent meaningful research contributions and professional achievements—independent of formal publication timelines.
Conclusion
By generating robust research activity records while maintaining ethical boundaries and institutional privacy, RoRA transforms libraries from reactive service providers into proactive agents of research integrity and innovation. The model demonstrates that research impact extends far beyond publications, enabling libraries to own their data, control their narrative, document their intellectual contributions, and reclaim their rightful position as indispensable partners in advancing research excellence.