scholarly journals Dealing with Data: Science Librarians’ Participation in Data Management at Association of Research Libraries Institutions

2014 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Antell ◽  
Jody Bales Foote ◽  
Jaymie Turner ◽  
Brian Shults
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Institutional Repositories ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Association Of Research Libraries

As long as empirical research has existed, researchers have been doing “data management” in one form or another. However, funding agency mandates for doing formal data management are relatively recent, and academic libraries’ involvement has been concentrated mainly in the last few years. The National Science Foundation implemented a new mandate in January 2011, requiring researchers to include a data management plan with their proposals for funding. This has prompted many academic libraries to work more actively than before in data management, and science librarians in particular are uniquely poised to step into new roles to meet researchers’ data management needs. This study, a survey of science librarians at institutions affiliated with the Association of Research Libraries, investigates science librarians’ awareness of and involvement in institutional repositories, data repositories, and data management support services at their institutions. The study also explores the roles and responsibilities, both new and traditional, that science librarians have assumed related to data management, and the skills that science librarians believe are necessary to meet the demands of data management work. The results reveal themes of both uncertainty and optimism—uncertainty about the roles of librarians, libraries, and other campus entities; uncertainty about the skills that will be required; but also optimism about applying “traditional” librarian skills to this emerging field of academic librarianship.

scholarly journals Lack of Annual Reports Make it Difficult to Analyze Library Strategic Credibility

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Kirsty Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Institutional Repositories ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Association Of Research Libraries ◽  
Training Development ◽  
Strategic Plans ◽  
New Buildings ◽  
American Academic

Objective – To investigate whether libraries achieve strategic credibility by assessing if strategic planning goals match the achievements described in annual reports. Design – Content analysis of annual reports and strategic plans from a sample of Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Setting – Academic libraries in Canada and the United States of America. Subjects – A random sample of 12 Canadian and 16 American academic libraries. All libraries were members of ARL. Methods – The researcher contacted the directors of 28 ARL libraries and asked for copies of their strategic plans and annual reports. She also visited the websites of libraries to obtain the reports. The contents of the strategic plans and annual reports were analyzed, and trends in the Canadian and American strategic plans were identified. Main Results – This study found that only 39% of ARL libraries produce annual reports, making it difficult to assess if libraries have strategic credibility, as their strategic plans cannot be assessed against annual reports. The strategic plans gathered in this study were analyzed and emerging themes were identified. These included physical library space (renovations, expansions or new buildings); offsite storage; assessment (both of the libraries’ services, and of information literacy training); development activities such as fundraising and marketing; and personnel issues. Cultural differences also were found in the strategic plans, with American libraries being more focused on trends such as digitization and institutional repositories, and Canadian libraries’ plans being more focused on users’ needs. Trends in annual reports were not reported due to the small number of annual reports in the sample. Conclusion – This study gives a snapshot of the trends in strategic plans of ARL members. It shows that many ARL members do not produce an annual report, and that it is therefore difficult to assess if their strategic plans are implemented successfully. The article hypothesizes that the communication of achievements may now be part of development and marketing efforts, rather than traditional annual reports.

Changes in academic libraries in the era of Open Science

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-299
Author(s):  
Stefka Tzanova
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Data Management ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Library Services

In this paper we study the changes in academic library services inspired by the Open Science movement and especially the changes prompted from Open Data as a founding part of Open Science. We argue that academic libraries face the even bigger challenges for accommodating and providing support for Open Big Data composed from existing raw data sets and new massive sets generated from data driven research. Ensuring the veracity of Open Big Data is a complex problem dominated by data science. For academic libraries, that challenge triggers not only the expansion of traditional library services, but also leads to adoption of a set of new roles and responsibilities. That includes, but is not limited to development of the supporting models for Research Data Management, providing Data Management Plan assistance, expanding the qualifications of library personnel toward data science literacy, integration of the library services into research and educational process by taking part in research grants and many others. We outline several approaches taken by some academic libraries and by libraries at the City University of New York (CUNY) to meet necessities imposed by doing research and education with Open Big Data – from changes in libraries’ administrative structure, changes in personnel qualifications and duties, leading the interdisciplinary advisory groups, to active collaboration in principal projects.

scholarly journals Research data management and services: Resources for different data practitioners

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert Mushi
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Research Data Management ◽  
Metadata Standards ◽  
Training Resources

The emergence of data-driven research and demands for the establishment of Research Data Management (RDM) has created interest in academic institutions and research organizations globally. Some of the libraries especially in developed countries have started offering RDM services to their communities. Although lagging behind, some academic libraries in developing countries are at the stage of planning or implementing the service. However, the level of RDM awareness is very low among researchers, librarians and other data practitioners. The objective of this paper is to present available open resources for different data practitioners particularly researchers and librarians. It includes training resources for both researchers and librarians, Data Management Plan (DMP) tool for researchers; data repositories available for researchers to freely archive and share their research data to the local and international communities.   A case study with a survey was conducted at the University of Dodoma to identify relevant RDM services so that librarians could assist researchers to make their data accessible to the local and international community. The study findings revealed a low level of RDM awareness among researchers and librarians. Over 50% of the respondent indicated their perceived knowledge as poor in the following RDM knowledge areas; DMP, data repository, long term digital preservation, funders RDM mandates, metadata standards describing data and general awareness of RDM. Therefore, this paper presents available open resources for different data practitioners to improve RDM knowledge and boost the confidence of academic and research libraries in establishing the service.

Assessment committees: good practices from ARL libraries

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle H. Brannen ◽  
Sojourna J. Cunningham ◽  
Regina Mays
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Good Practices ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Association Of Research Libraries ◽  
Library Assessment ◽  
Current State ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Assessment Activities

Purpose Assessment activities in academic libraries continue to grow as libraries explore assessment endeavors. Ranging from basic stats gathering and reporting to surveys, focus groups, and usability studies and beyond. Many practitioners are finding it necessary to create new processes and programs, with little guidance. The purpose of this paper is to paint a broad picture of assessment activities in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) university libraries with the goal of creating a resource for libraries developing or improving their assessment programs. Design/methodology/approach A survey was developed that asked questions about assessment personnel, activities, mission, and website. A total of 113 surveys were sent to academic library members of ARL. Survey results were analyzed to compile a list of recommended good practices for assessment and working with assessment committees in academic libraries. Findings The investigators had a response rate of 43 percent. The open-ended nature of the survey questions allowed for the respondents to specifically narrow down the problems and opportunities inherent in library assessment committees. Originality/value This study takes the temperature of the current state of assessment programs in ARL libraries, demonstrating the growth of assessment programs. It begins to document the practices of these libraries, particularly in regards to the sometimes informal and hard to track use of committees and other in-house collaborations, as a first step toward developing best practices for the field. The results illuminate productive areas for further study, including investigating how to measure a culture of assessment and maximizing impact of assessment information presented on assessment websites.

scholarly journals NFDI4Chem - Towards a National Research Data Infrastructure for Chemistry in Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Steinbeck ◽  
Oliver Koepler ◽  
Felix Bach ◽  
Sonja Herres-Pawlis ◽  
Nicole Jung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Data Standards ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Data Infrastructure ◽  
Research Data Management ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Chemistry Community

The vision of NFDI4Chem is the digitalisation of all key steps in chemical research to support scientists in their efforts to collect, store, process, analyse, disclose and re-use research data. Measures to promote Open Science and Research Data Management (RDM) in agreement with the FAIR data principles are fundamental aims of NFDI4Chem to serve the chemistry community with a holistic concept for access to research data. To this end, the overarching objective is the development and maintenance of a national research data infrastructure for the research domain of chemistry in Germany, and to enable innovative and easy to use services and novel scientific approaches based on re-use of research data. NFDI4Chem intends to represent all disciplines of chemistry in academia. We aim to collaborate closely with thematically related consortia. In the initial phase, NFDI4Chem focuses on data related to molecules and reactions including data for their experimental and theoretical characterisation. This overarching goal is achieved by working towards a number of key objectives: Key Objective 1: Establish a virtual environment of federated repositories for storing, disclosing, searching and re-using research data across distributed data sources. Connect existing data repositories and, based on a requirements analysis, establish domain-specific research data repositories for the national research community, and link them to international repositories. Key Objective 2: Initiate international community processes to establish minimum information (MI) standards for data and machine-readable metadata as well as open data standards in key areas of chemistry. Identify and recommend open data standards in key areas of chemistry, in order to support the FAIR principles for research data. Finally, develop standards, if there is a lack. Key Objective 3: Foster cultural and digital change towards Smart Laboratory Environments by promoting the use of digital tools in all stages of research and promote subsequent Research Data Management (RDM) at all levels of academia, beginning in undergraduate studies curricula. Key Objective 4: Engage with the chemistry community in Germany through a wide range of measures to create awareness for and foster the adoption of FAIR data management. Initiate processes to integrate RDM and data science into curricula. Offer a wide range of training opportunities for researchers. Key Objective 5: Explore synergies with other consortia and promote cross-cutting development within the NFDI. Key Objective 6: Provide a legally reliable framework of policies and guidelines for FAIR and open RDM.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Academic Libraries’ Participation in 21st Century Library Trends

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Jo Catalano ◽  
Sarah Glasser ◽  
Lori Caniano ◽  
William Caniano ◽  
Lawrence Paretta
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Library Directors ◽  
Teaching Technology ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Association Of Research Libraries

Abstract Objective – As academic libraries evolve to meet the changing needs of students in the digital age, the emphasis has shifted from the physical book collection to a suite of services incorporating innovations in teaching, technology, and social media, among others. Based on trends identified by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and other sources, the authors investigated the extent to which academic libraries have adopted 21st century library trends. Methods – The authors examined the websites of 100 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries, their branches, and 160 randomly selected academic libraries to determine whether they adopted selected 21st century library trends. Results – Results indicated that ARL member libraries were significantly more likely to adopt these trends, quite possibly due to their larger size and larger budgets. Conclusion – This research can assist librarians, library directors, and other stakeholders in making the case for the adoption or avoidance of particular 21st century library trends, especially where considerable outlay of funds is necessary.

Qualitative Data Management and Analysis within a Data Repository

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 640-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcy G. Antonio ◽  
Kara Schick-Makaroff ◽  
James M. Doiron ◽  
Laurene Sheilds ◽  
Lacie White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Management ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Research Teams ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Period Data

Data repositories can support secure data management for multi-institutional and geographically dispersed research teams. Primarily designed to provide secure access, storage, and sharing of quantitative data, limited focus has been given to the unique considerations of data repositories for qualitative research. We share our experiences of using a data repository in a large qualitative nursing research study. Over a 27-month period, data collected by this 15-member team from 83 participants included photos, audio recordings and transcripts of interviews, and field notes. The data repository supported the secure collection, storage, and management of over 1,800 files with data. However, challenges were introduced during analysis that required negotiations about the structure and processes of the data repository. We discuss strengths and limitations of data repositories, and introduce practical strategies for developing a data management plan for qualitative research, which is supported through a data repository.

scholarly journals Fostering Research and Publication in Academic Libraries

2014 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 458-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Sassen ◽  
Diane Wahl
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Association Of Research Libraries ◽  
Support Measures ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Faculty Status ◽  
Over Time

This study concerns administrative support provided to encourage the research and publishing activities of academic librarians working in Association of Research Libraries member libraries. Deans and directors of these libraries were asked to respond to an online survey concerning the support measures that their libraries provide, as well as their thoughts on support measures that academic libraries should provide. When compared to earlier studies, the survey results indicate that most support measures have grown over time. Results also suggest increases in the requirements for publication in academic libraries, as well as in the number of libraries at which librarians have faculty status.

scholarly journals A Report of Data-Intensive Capability, Institutional Support, and Data Management Practices in Social Sciences

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Jeng ◽  
Liz Lyon
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Data Management ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Data Intensive

We report on a case study which examines the social science community’s capability and institutional support for data management. Fourteen researchers were invited for an in-depth qualitative survey between June 2014 and October 2015. We modify and adopt the Community Capability Model Framework (CCMF) profile tool to ask these scholars to self-assess their current data practices and whether their academic environment provides enough supportive infrastructure for data related activities. The exemplar disciplines in this report include anthropology, political sciences, and library and information science. Our findings deepen our understanding of social disciplines and identify capabilities that are well developed and those that are poorly developed. The participants reported that their institutions have made relatively slow progress on economic supports and data science training courses, but acknowledged that they are well informed and trained for participants’ privacy protection. The result confirms a prior observation from previous literature that social scientists are concerned with ethical perspectives but lack technical training and support. The results also demonstrate intra- and inter-disciplinary commonalities and differences in researcher perceptions of data-intensive capability, and highlight potential opportunities for the development and delivery of new and impactful research data management support services to social sciences researchers and faculty. 

scholarly journals Information Integration for Machine Actionable Data Management Plans

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Miksa ◽  
Andreas Rauber ◽  
Roman Ganguly ◽  
Paolo Budroni
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Information Integration ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Reproducible Research ◽  
Free Form ◽  
Text Documents ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Standard Data ◽  
Management Plans

Data management plans are free-form text documents describing the data used and produced in scientific experiments. The complexity of data-driven experiments requires precise descriptions of tools and datasets used in computations to enable their reproducibility and reuse. Data management plans fall short of these requirements. In this paper, we propose machine-actionable data management plans that cover the same themes as standard data management plans, but particular sections are filled with information obtained from existing tools. We present mapping of tools from the domains of digital preservation, reproducible research, open science, and data repositories to data management plan sections. Thus, we identify the requirements for a good solution and identify its limitations. We also propose a machine-actionable data model that enables information integration. The model uses ontologies and is based on existing standards.

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