Librarians may find that they need to work hard to convince researchers of the benefits of publishing in different formats as the peer reviewed monograph or journal article is often seen as the gold standard in publication. However publishing in a range of formats can have many advantages for the researcher such as increasing their reach, upping their citation count and showcasing the research to others who may not have gone looking for it otherwise. There is a large audience for research outputs who do not access the scholarly literature but who will read popular books, pick up magazines and watch the news. Sharing research in these formats can really help to boost the reputation of a researcher and may even save them time as it is often easier to adapt the same piece of work to different formats than starting a new project.

Perhaps the first question that needs to be asked is why do researchers have to publish? If they are staying in academia then publishing will be essential to their career progression. To many in academia, formal publication is seen as the gold standard of sharing research outputs and academics at any stage of their career will be expected to accumulate publications on their CV. 

Publishing (in any form) also helps to provide a record of the work that has been done on a project. If a researcher has received funding to do their work then they may have to fulfil specific obligations which can include making the results available via publication. External pressures such as the need to publish theses and the requirements for the REF also drive researchers to publish their work. Many researchers undertake projects to contribute to a wider body of knowledge on a subject and publishing outputs is one way to contribute to the ongoing scholarly discussion. 

Although researchers have various goals when it comes to undertaking projects, they can also come up against a range of barriers to publication.

Although producing outputs is part of a the role of a researcher this does not mean that they automatically know how to do it. Producing a scholarly publication in particular can be intimidating and researchers may need a great deal of support. Once the work has been completed they may also fear rejection. This is easy to dismiss but when you have spent a lot of time and effort producing something it can be a real blow to confidence if it gets knocked back. There are also more practical constraints for researchers - mainly a lack of time. Unfortunately there is no magic solution to this and researchers will have to find time to build into their routine. A final barrier is the lack of support in the publication process. The journey to publication can be long, hard and filled with rejection which can be demoralising. For some this support comes from a supervisor or colleagues but it also a good role for the library to undertake.