SPEC Kit 334: Research Data Management Services · 101
planning service, I cannot say exactly where research libraries will find themselves when it comes to data management
planning. So much of where libraries will go depends on the university in which the library is operating. I see universities
as being unique, each university having its focus and individual culture. To say that every university library will offer RDM
services in the future is a stretch. Unlike book loaning or providing catalog searching services, RDM services do not have
to be offered by a library. In fact, there’s no universally accepted expectation that libraries will be offering RDM services.
RDM planning, for example, could be offered by an office of research just as easily as a library. The question comes
down to partnerships because RDM services touch so many stakeholders on campus, and no one campus department,
unless it has been designed specifically for the purpose, will provide every RDM service a researcher could possibly hope
for. Thus, partnerships must be formed and agreements made on who will offer these services on a research campus.
However, I am of the opinion that libraries will be the future service providers of RDM resources and RDM plan writing,
due to the fact that it is the one place where they can establish a foothold without too much investment in the changing
research paradigm.
Based on survey responses and interactions with researchers I’ve had during our campus-wide study thus far, I see
opportunities for libraries to support RDM through DMP consulting (with certain disciplines), data archiving (in
institutional or disciplinary repositories), and perhaps licensing of datasets. I believe instruction and liaison librarians
can play a role by promoting resources and incorporating data literacy in their instruction. Many researchers, however,
would not be best served by the libraries or they would prefer to find assistance elsewhere. Any success in RDM
services will come from active partnerships with existing research services on campus, such as IRB, central IT, research
administration, and designated research support services within colleges or departments.
Continue to provide service, support and training for data management.
Faculty rarely physically visit the library now online resources provide easy access from anywhere. If the library is to stay
relevant to faculty research, this is an area we must expand into in a significant way.
For our university, the library is one branch in a tree of research data management support that spreads across our
entire campus. By working with other campus providers such as IT, the Center for Advanced Computing, the Institute
for Social and Economic Research, and the faculty themselves, the library is part of a collaborative system that strives to
offer services and expertise to fill research data management needs throughout the full data lifecycle.
I believe libraries have a significant role to play in the development of research data management, but finding the right
skill set will be difficult. We will need to look for expertise outside of the profession. Collaborations and partnerships will
be essential to create a useful plan for the campus.
I see libraries assisting researchers with metadata issues, planning for ongoing access, archiving of data, and referral to
additional services offered by the university or external entities.
I see research data management training belonging within the purview of libraries. I see data archiving, at least for
some data, also within the purview of libraries however, domain repositories and perhaps publishers also playing a part
in archiving of research data. Regardless of where data are archived, a library should at least have a catalog of data sets
generated under that university/college, which points to the archived location of that data set. Public funders may be
pushing changes in the near future and are looking to libraries to help.
I think it will only increase.
Independent of infrastructure for data management: education and training (students), policies (interpretation and
development), data management planning support, and partnering with archives.
It is already abundantly clear that research libraries can play a major and important role in supporting research data
management, to the benefit of researchers and the library alike. Research libraries, in fact, *must* enhance their
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