2.  Gathering  Informa1on  and  Building  Rela1onships  1.  Founda1ons   3.  Developing  Research  Data  Services      

•  The  prac)ces  and  theories  are  s)ll  evolving  in  this  field,  so  there  are  no  systema)c  paths  for  us  to  learn  and  follow.  

•  As  former  lab  scien)sts,  the  fellows  had  to  learn  new  social  science  methods  such  as  crea)ng  interviews  and  surveys.    •  Administra)ve  decisions  may  change  the  direc)on,  )ming  or  focus  of  a  project.  •  Most  projects  involve  collabora)on,  which  requires  understanding  the  func)ons  of  each  library  group.  

•  For  Lehigh,  determining  the  tools  and  soBware  that  best  address  researchers’  data  management  needs  is  difficult.  

•  For  Michigan,  preparing  librarians  and  infrastructure  requires  )me  and  coordina)on  among  many  people  from  different  units  and  administra)on  levels.  

•  Connec)ons  with  current  and  past  fellows  inspires  collabora)on  and  sharing  of  resources,  work  experiences,  and  career  advice.  

•  Finding  points  of  connec)on  to  people  requires  crea)vity  and  ini)a)ve.    •  Partnering  with  data  champions  helps  build  awareness  of  the  library’s  data  ini)a)ves  and  services.    •  Assessments  revealed  needs  in  metadata,  data  sharing,  and  long-­‐term  preserva)on.  

•  Building  partnerships  and  framing  library  and  campus  services  around  the  research  and  data  lifecycles  are  key.    •  Working  towards  a  sustainable  economic  model  is  important  for  developing  data  services.  

Cha l l e n ge s  

I n s i g h t s  

Background  In  response  to  the  growing  challenges  of  research  data  management,  the  Council  on  Library  and  Informa)on  Resources  (CLIR)  has  partnered  with  academic  ins)tu)ons  to  host  Data  Cura)on  Fellows  for  the  Sciences  and  Social  Sciences.  Through  CLIR’s  Digital  Library  Federa)on  (DLF)  program,  the  fellowship  offers  Ph.D.s  training  in  data  cura)on  and  a  chance  to  develop  research  resources  and  services  while  exploring  new  career  paths.  Two  CLIR/DLF  Data  Cura)on  Fellows  share  their  insights  on  the  process  of  learning  about  the  mul)ple  dimensions  of  data  cura)on  illustrated  below  as  a  successive  3-­‐stage  journey  with  the  goal  of  helping  their  libraries  develop  research  data  services.    

Summary  Drawing  on  their  scien)fic  research  experience  and  newly  learned  concepts  in  data  cura)on  and  social  science  methods,  the  CLIR  fellows  have  been  able  to  help  inform  the  development  of  data  services  at  their  libraries,  while  naviga)ng  unfamiliar  library  culture.  Much  of  their  work  involves  facilita)ng  connec)ons  among  faculty,  librarians,  and  campus  stakeholders.  They  are  helping  librarians  and  researchers  catch  up  to  the  speed  of  data,  so  that  they  would  be  equipped  to  confront  the  many  challenges  in  a  quickly  evolving  research  and  data  landscape.  

Acknowledgements    Work  on  this  project  was  done  under  the  auspices    of  the  Council  on  Library  and  Informa)on  Resources  (CLIR)/Digital  Library  Federa)on  (DLF)  and  with  ac)ve  par)cipa)on  of    University  of  Michigan  Library  and  the  Library  and  Technology  Services  of  Lehigh  University.      Image  credits:  CLIR  Photo  by  Inna  Kouper;  Campus  sketch  hYp://farm4.sta)c.flickr.com/3540/3321940284_05b71589b4.jpg;  Library  123FR.com;  Globe  visualphotos.com.    

Catching Up to the Speed of Data: Insights from CLIR/DLF Data Curation Fellows on Their Journey Towards Developing Data Services

Fe  C.  Sferdean,  University  of  Michigan  Library,  Ann  Arbor,  MI  Ting  Wang,  Lehigh  University  Library  and  Technology  Services,  Bethlehem,  PA  

Library Campus

Lehigh   Michigan  

P l a n n i n g   a r o u n d   t h e   R e s e a r c h  &   D a t a   L i f e c y c l e s  

T h e   N a1on   a n d   t h e  Wo r l d  

D a t a   C u r a 1 o n  Imme r s i o n  

T h e   L i b r a r y   a n d   C ampu s  C ommun i t y  

•  AYended  CLIR/DLF  Summer  2012  data  cura)on  boot  camp    

•  Par)cipated  in  CLIR  monthly  synchronous    sessions  and  bi-­‐annual  mee)ngs  

•  Developed  knowledge  of  data  cura)on  using  books,  journal  ar)cles,  and  online  toolkits  

•  Collaborated  with  librarians  on  data-­‐related  projects  

•  Learned  history  of  library  data  ini)a)ves  and  projects  

•  Mapped  the  data  landscape  and  connected  to  key  data  experts  

•  Assessed  research  data  needs  of  faculty    

•  Assessed  perspec)ves  of  administrators  using  customized  ARL/DLF  E-­‐Science  Ins)tute  interviews  

•  Consulted  experts  about  data  repositories,  tools,  and  soBware  

•  Inves)gated  how  peer  ins)tu)ons  developed  their  data  services  

•  Reviewed  data  needs  surveys  to  help  create  our  own  

•  Learned  new  developments  in  data  cura)on  and  met  data  champions  at  conferences  

•  Monitored  data  ini)a)ves  and  trends  around  the  world  

•  Teaching  and  consul)ng  with  researchers  about  data  management    

•  Crea)ng  learning  resources  e.g.  library  guides  and  customized  DMPTool    

•  Hos)ng  workshops  for  librarians  to  introduce  research  data  concepts  

•  Promo)ng  awareness  of  research  data  services  and  ini)a)ves  in  the  library  and  around  campus  

•  Collabora)ng  with  campus  stakeholders