The libraries initiated this project in their function as information- and knowledge brokers in emerging e-science. Playing a role in the management of research data offers an opportunity to get more thoroughly involved in the scientific process and to interconnect research data with all other sources managed by the libraries.

The project builds on the experience from previous TU Delft research (E-Archive and Darelux). Initial interviews with managers and researchers in leading research areas of the Technical Universities were followed by in-depth investigation of the benefits and barriers for data producers. Additional work with research groups in technology- and engineering science confirmed the need for collaboration in data management. Data producers from these heterogeneous research communities identified benefits for data producers in three clusters: quality improvement, increase in research impact and efficiency (saving time on administration).

Building the data curation infrastructure and setting up the data librarianship were the primary challenges for the library staff. In collaboration with national and international ‘colleagues’ of the data center the project is currently expanding the data set collection and selecting and developing formal license agreements, guidelines and tools, data citability, as well as selection and usage criteria for long-term access to and preservation of research data.

Preliminary conclusions are that while the data curation principle is easily adopted, the data producers will not as easily invest their time in data archiving. Building a data curation facility to meet the diverse needs of heterogeneous research communities requires considerable efforts that can only be realized by (inter)national collaboration between data centers and data users.

• Archiving of the survey data (long-term scientific data archiving)

• Serving up survey data to the public

• Managing the HelpDesk

• Preserving the SDSS Administrative Record

This paper outlines the various aspects of the project as well as implementation.

• A Data Stewardship Report assessing requirements for support of e-science and data services, determining gaps in our capacity, and seeking out opportunities to develop necessary expertise including data curation, data preservation, data policies and virtual organizations.

• A staff education program assessing the needs of libraries staff related to e-science and data services to establish a position description framework that includes E-scholarship: a potential new model for library liaison roles across campus that supports interdisciplinary and data intensive research.

• In coordination with the University’s Research Cyberinfrastructure Alliance (members include the Libraries, Office of Information Technology, Office of the Vice President for Research, and Minnesota Super Computing Institute), a two-phased plan for a Web Development project that defines our core services and areas of expertise in “data services” in the context of other campus services and initiatives.

• Increasing campus awareness of data management issues through the creation of a library Web site and skills-based workshop for faculty, students and researchers about data management best practices and university policies, including those that support open data initiatives.

Research support services provided by the Library include the provision of information resources and discovery services, bibliographic management software, assistance with publishing (publishing strategies, identifying high impact journals, dealing with publishers and the peer review process), citation analysis and calculating authors’ H Index. Research data management services are being developed by the Library and HPC working in collaboration.

The HPC group within ITS supports research computing infrastructure, research development and engagement activities, researcher consultation, high speed computation and data storage systems , 2D/ 3D (immersive) visualisation tools, parallelisation and optimization of research codes, statistics/ data modeling training and support (both qualitative and quantitative) and support for the university’s central Access Grid collaboration facility. Development and engagement activities include participation in research grants and papers, student supervision and internships and the sponsorship, incubation and adoption of new computing technologies for research. ITS also provides other services that support research including ICT training, research infrastructure (networking, data storage, federated access and authorization, virtualization) and corporate systems for research administration.

Seminars and workshops are offered to increase awareness and uptake of new and existing services. A series of online surveys on eResearch practices and skills and a number of focus groups was conducted to better inform the development of research support services.

Progress towards the provision of research support is described within the context organizational frameworks; resourcing; infrastructure; integration; collaboration; change management; engagement; awareness and skills; new services; and leadership.

Challenges to be addressed include the need to redeploy existing operational resources toward new research support services, supporting a rapidly growing research profile across the university, the growing need for the use and support of IT in research programs, finding capacity to address the diverse research support needs across the disciplines, operationalising new research support services following their implementation in project mode, embedding new specialist staff roles, cross-skilling Liaison Librarians, and ensuring continued collaboration between stakeholders.