Librarians hub

On this page, you will find resources that were specifically developed for information specialists, from presentations that you can use to train Research4Life users to exercises on creating a marketing plan for your library. Looking for marketing material to use in your institution? Check our resources.

Training and information literacy

Train-the-trainer: Learn all about using Research4Life

Do you want to give a training on how to use Research4Life at your institution? Download our presentations on everything from logging into Research4Life to tips for searching discipline-specific information. Our workshop plan tool will help you create an outline for your workshop.

Learn about information literacy for researchers

Information literacy means knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use, and communicate it in an ethical manner. This PowerPoint presentation explains the concept of information literacy and dives deeper into information-seeking strategies. Exercises are included.

↓ Download (.ppt file, 3.3 MB)

Promotion, advocacy and marketing

Get support for your library with our Advocacy Toolkit

Advocacy is an effective way to deliver your library’s message to a wider audience and to help librarians become part of larger organizational, local, regional, or national conversations. This toolkit explains basic mechanisms to advocate for Research4Life and other resources. Did you download the Advocacy Toolkit guidebook or presentation? Please take our quick survey to help us improve it!

The guidebook explains advocacy and includes exercises on how to develop an advocacy strategy.

↓ English (384 kB)
↓ Spanish (401 kB)
↓ French (505 kB)

You can use and adapt this presentation to present Research4Life to your stakeholders.

↓ English (3,414 kB)
↓ Spanish (3,352 kB)
↓ French (3,414 kB)

Promote your library with a successful marketing plan

Our PowerPoint presentation and workbook include tips about marketing to educate and inform users at your institution about the full potential of Research4Life and its resources. You will also learn how to develop and implement a marketing plan.

↓ Download module (.ppt file, 516 kB)
↓ Download workbook (.xls file, 60 kB)

Discover how to implement Research4Life at your institution

How changes and innovations are implemented in an organization is critical for the successful introduction of new information resources. This module reviews several models and concepts for managing change and gives strategies on how to apply these methodologies to an institutional setting regarding the adoption of Research4Life.

↓ Download (.ppt file, 424 kB)


Training presentations

Below you will find up-to-date presentations about Research4Life and scholarly communications in general. These can be used by Research4Life trainers (librarians, information professionals, lecturers etc.) in face-to-face or online training activities or presentations. However, they can also be useful for others wanting to learn more about Research4Life.

These presentations build on the material for the Research4Life Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).

The lessons cover essential information for the participants to develop the skills to efficiently and effectively use the Research4Life Content Portal and its resources. Many of the lessons are inter-disciplinary, while some focus on specific disciplines.

The format of each lesson is a PowerPoint presentation that can be downloaded and edited. Individual courses can be developed depending on the participants skills and information needs. Last updated – August 2023.

1: Scholarly communication and Research4Life

2: Discovery and re-use of scholarly literature

3: Collection-specific browsing and searching

4: Additional discipline-specific resources

5: Dissemination of research output

6: Advocate on Research4Life and facilitate capacity development


This material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0). The logos used in the course are exempt. This CC BY-SA 4.0 license allows trainers to modify and adapt the material for specific training purposes at the host institution to meet the group’s specific needs.  By using the training material, individuals do not represent or are employed by Research4Life.

These presentations have been developed by the Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA) with support from the Research4Life Capacity Development SubCommittee and funded by Research4Life and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

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