The Reproducibility Crisis and Academic Libraries

Abstract

In recent years, evidence has emerged from disciplines ranging from biology to economics that many scientific studies are not reproducible. This evidence has led to declarations in both the scientific and lay press that science is experiencing a “reproducibility crisis” and that this crisis has significant impacts on both science and society, including misdirected effort, funding, and policy implemented on the basis of irreproducible research. In many cases, academic libraries are the natural organizations to lead efforts to implement recommendations from journals, funders, and societies to improve research reproducibility. In this editorial, we introduce the reproducibility crisis, define reproducibility and replicability, and then discusses how academic libraries can lead institutional support for reproducible research.