Virtual Research Environments (VREs) will increasingly change the face of research and librarians have a crucial role to play in their development and use. In the future, VREs should be as fundamentally integrated into the university library information space as Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are now. If VREs are to achieve their potential in supporting researchers, librarians need to ensure that they are involved at this early stage of their evolution so that they can influence their development.
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2.
Genoni, P., Merrick, H. and Willson, M.A. (2006) `Scholarly Communities, e-Research Literacy and the Academic Librarian', The Electronic Library24 (6): 734-46.
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OSI (2006) `Report of the Working Group on Virtual Research Communities for the OSI e-Infrastructure Steering Group', UK Office of Science and Innovation, 31 March, URL (consulted January 2008): http://www.nesc.ac.uk/documents/OSI/vrc.pdf
4.
SCONUL (2005) `E-Research for Libraries: The CURL/ SCONUL Joint Task Force on e-research', SCONUL Focus36 (Winter): 68-71, URL (consulted January 2008): http://www.sconul.ac.uk/publications/newsletter/36/23.pdf
5.
SCONUL (2006) `SCONUL Annual Review 2006', p. 13, URL (consulted January 2008): http://www.sconul.ac.uk/publications/pubs/annual_review/07.01.pdf
6.
Voss, A., Mascord, M., Fraser, M., Jirotka, M., Procter, R., Halfpenny, P., Fergusson, D., Atkinson, M., Dunn, S., Blanke, T., Hughes, L. and Anderson, S. (2007) `e-research Infrastructure Development and Community Engagement', UK e-Science 2007 All Hands Meeting , Nottingham, 10-13 September, URL (consulted January 2008): http://www.allhands.org.uk/2007/proceedings/papers/866.pdf
