Data in context: Using case studies to generate a common understanding of data in academic libraries

Abstract

As new expectations emerge in librarianship, librarians find themselves engaging with researchers throughout the entire research process. This includes during early stages, when research outputs are in their infancy. This shift means that any librarian might be faced with a 'data question' and be able to assist without necessarily being a 'data' expert. As libraries approach professional development in this field, additional difficulties occur as data cannot be easily understood without context. Instead of attempting to comprehensively cover this broad, nuanced, and sometimes vague topic, the authors took a different approach. In order to place 'data' in definable contexts, the authors created local, real-world case studies to introduce this topic to the library. This article describes the professional development event, complete with case studies, their development, discussion questions, and observations. As faculty and staff answered guided questions, they self-identified the value of existing librarian capabilities such as the reference interview, information location, and referral systems. This enabled library faculty and staff from across the library to engage positively and proactively, without any extensive background in this field.

Managing research data at an academic library in a developing country

“…There exist various flavours of data management services offered. Generally, the data service support provided by the library help in crafting data management plans, guidance on data management throughout the lifecycle, and data set archiving and dissemination (Swanson and Reinhart, 2016: 98). RDS include providing to the campus researchers, training or active involvement in data management planning, data management guidance during research, research documentation and metadata, research data sharing, and curation of completed projects and published data (Fearon et al, 2013).…”

The Role of Academic Libraries in Scholarly Communication. A Meta-Analysis of Research

“…They distinguish the following areas where librarians should support the faculty in their data management efforts: providing tools for sharing research data, assisting with describing, fi nding, or accessing research data, providing information on copyright and ownership issues associated with data sets, and assisting with writing data management plans. The same observations are included in the studies of Lafi a, Jablonski, Kuhn, Cooley and Medrano (2016), Cox et al (2017), Swanson and Rinehart (2016), (Naum, 2014), Creaser and Spezi (2013). Wang (2013), describing the case of the Rutgers Library which is one of those pioneering libraries developing institutional data repository infrastructure and services, noticed similar problems to those already mentioned and highlighted the librarians efforts to adjust the support to individual users' needs.…”

Data Stories: Using Narratives to Reflect on a Data Purchase Pilot Program

“…In 2016, after the arrival of a new Vice Provost and Director of Libraries, the Research Data in the Library task force was charged with examining the research data services needs of the OSU campus and making recommendations for potential future support services OSUL could develop and deploy. Although there had been previous discussions at OSUL about data services writ large, 3 particularly through a forum dedicated to the topic in fall of 2014, the task force would provide a more comprehensive environmental scan of campus needs. The task force, chaired by the Data Management Services Librarian, had wide representation from various OSUL departments, including two subject librarians, the Libraries' GIS specialist, the Digital Humanities Librarian, the University Archivist, the Head of Publishing and Repository Services, the Electronic Resources Officer, the Collections Strategist, and a librarian from the OSU Prior Health Sciences Library.…”