Abstract
From June 2011 to early 2012 the NCSU Libraries and the UNC Libraries took part in the ARL/DLF E-Science Institute to frame a strategic agenda for supporting research data management and its broader e-science needs at our universities. We conducted an environmental scan, interviewed key researchers and administrators, and participated in capstone meetings with peer institutions. Our two institutions represent two strategies with varying degrees of divergence and convergence. At the NCSU Libraries, with no repository explicitly designed for research data, we are focusing on developing a portfolio of services and partnerships to create a “campus collaborative” of experts, tools, and training to support research data. With limited or unbalanced domain expertise, we are rethinking how subject specialists can be deployed to serve diverse research needs. At the UNC Libraries, we have an institutional repository, but recognize that it cannot serve all data management needs across campus. We, too, are developing a cooperative network of campus partners to guide researchers to various campus services at their point of need. The Carolina Digital Repository, UNC’s institutional repository, is one option among these services as is helping researchers identify disciplinary repositories where appropriate. Both institutions are particularly interested in exploring the long term possibilities of creating cultural shifts in research data stewardship by educating graduate students and early career researchers, and the ways in which regional library consortia can partner in data management support in the same way we’ve partnered on other issues. Reflecting on these two institutions’ goals, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges centered on supporting data-driven research. We’ll share our plans for next steps and invite discussion on how to respond to those opportunities and challenges in practical, achievable, sustainable, and repurposable ways with limited human, technological, and financial resources.
Keeping the Momentum: Moving Ahead with Research Data Support
From June 2011 to early 2012 the NCSU Libraries and the UNC Libraries took part in the ARL/DLF E-Science Institute to frame a strategic agenda for supporting research data management and its broader e-science needs at our universities. We conducted an environmental scan, interviewed key researchers and administrators, and participated in capstone meetings with peer institutions. Our two institutions represent two strategies with varying degrees of divergence and convergence. At the NCSU Libraries, with no repository explicitly designed for research data, we are focusing on developing a portfolio of services and partnerships to create a “campus collaborative” of experts, tools, and training to support research data. With limited or unbalanced domain expertise, we are rethinking how subject specialists can be deployed to serve diverse research needs. At the UNC Libraries, we have an institutional repository, but recognize that it cannot serve all data management needs across campus. We, too, are developing a cooperative network of campus partners to guide researchers to various campus services at their point of need. The Carolina Digital Repository, UNC’s institutional repository, is one option among these services as is helping researchers identify disciplinary repositories where appropriate. Both institutions are particularly interested in exploring the long term possibilities of creating cultural shifts in research data stewardship by educating graduate students and early career researchers, and the ways in which regional library consortia can partner in data management support in the same way we’ve partnered on other issues. Reflecting on these two institutions’ goals, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges centered on supporting data-driven research. We’ll share our plans for next steps and invite discussion on how to respond to those opportunities and challenges in practical, achievable, sustainable, and repurposable ways with limited human, technological, and financial resources.