Doing Well for Those Doing Good: Supporting Research into Nonprofits at Academic Libraries

Abstract

While the study of nonprofit organizations is not new on university and college campuses, nonetheless many librarians are finding themselves struggling to fully support this area of research. We should not question why this is difficult to support, given the complexity of a sector that in Michigan alone numbers almost 50,000 organizations, employing nearly 435,000 people and generating over $130 billion dollars of economic activity--the importance and impact of this sector, and the research about it cannot be overstated. Complicating matters for academic librarians working in this space are numerous, including the need to use many different types of resources and the interdisciplinary nature of this research. Unlike many subjects, research into nonprofit issues requires a nimble librarian who can move between article resources, monographs, directory resources (such as Guidestar & Foundation Center), filings databases (for IRS 990s reports), and freely available reports on the web. Additionally, researchers approach this work from different orientations depending on which disciplines they are studying. So a student in business might look at the situation differently than a student in public health and seek help with different resources. Using the diverse student body at the University of Michigan, this presentation will explore the nature of nonprofit research and how it is supported at both the main campus library and at the business library. The presenters will explore how academic libraries can support research into nonprofits by examining resources that are available for libraries to license as well as those that are available freely on the Internet. They will also explore the methods that they use to support this worthwhile research that is taking place on virtually every campus in the United States. Also, they will explore the opportunities for community outreach through support of nonprofit organizations and social enterprises.