Collaborate and Innovate: The Impact of Academic Librarians on the Commercialization of University Technology

Abstract

The University of Arizona Library, in collaboration with the campus commercialization unit, created a partnership that contributes to the early development of inventions in the commercialization pipeline. The library-commercialization business intelligence workgroup was incorporated into the overall campus commercialization business-development workflow in 2014 and is comprised of librarians and commercialization professionals working together to provide insight and decision support for development of commercialization strategies for inventions emerging from university research that aligns with market drivers. These efforts are recognized by university leadership as critical to the strategic plan of the university. This article discusses the impact of the workgroup and how the group of librarians contributed to the development of new companies, new licenses, and financial impact of economic development at a large land-grant university and larger community.