Statement on Biden-Harris Administration's Prioritization of Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policy-Making

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) commends the Biden-Harris administration’s intention to rely on scientific integrity and evidence-based policy-making to address its priorities of COVID-19, racial justice, the economy, and climate change. We are 125 major research libraries from across the United States and Canada that are committed to equitable, barrier-free access to information. As trusted stewards of data and information, we work directly with researchers across disciplines and throughout the world.

It is our belief that this is an opportunity for the new administration’s leadership to build on expectations set by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (“Evidence Act”), in particular, to increase access to and reliance on scientific data. We look to this administration to go even farther to connect scholarship and government through the development of collaborative research agendas, build trust and lead to more instances of public engagement, imagine a renewed role for social and behavioral science, and ultimately improve equitable policy development and implementation. As partners in research, we aspire to a research environment in which scholarly societies, higher education, and the research community work with US government agencies and the public to develop research-informed policy.

About the Association of Research Libraries

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in Canada and the US whose mission is to advance research, learning, and scholarly communication. The Association fosters the open exchange of ideas and expertise; advances diversity, equity, and inclusion; and pursues advocacy and public policy efforts that reflect the values of the library, scholarly, and higher education communities. ARL forges partnerships and catalyzes the collective efforts of research libraries to enable knowledge creation and to achieve enduring and barrier-free access to information. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.