As Vietnamese universities have gradually shifted their investment into research development, the roles and duties of librarians have also changed. Academic librarians not only provide research support but also can contribute to the research performance of their university. This study explores the research participation of librarians at Vietnamese universities and the perceptions of library directors and librarians about librarians doing research. The authors reviewed 1,350 articles in two major Vietnamese library journals to identify academic librarians and followed up with questionnaires and interviews with 36 librarians from 14 universities and 17 directors from 17 universities. While most librarians feel "encouraged" to do research, only five universities have research as a "planned activity" of the library, and only two designated research as a "duty." Becoming aware of the benefits of research and the factors that prevent librarians from doing research, the authors propose some recommendations for improving the research participation of academic librarians in Vietnam.