33 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 296 — 2018 Archives and Data Management: The Purdue Story Carly Dearborn, Digital Preservation and Electronic Records Archivist, Purdue University Libraries Purdue University archivists were involved in some of the earliest discussions on campus around data management, thanks to the vision of former dean of libraries, James Mullins. When Mullins first began as dean in the early 2000s, he toured campus to find out how the libraries could meet the needs of campus departments, faculty, and students. Data management was a need quickly identified by the chief information officer at the time however, faculty and department heads struggled to see how the libraries could help with data. They viewed the library as a place where ideas and research were shared openly and freely, often unattractive concepts to research scientists prior to national data-sharing initiatives. Hearing this, Mullins realized that the archives was especially equipped to handle the concerns of these researchers. Archivists are specifically trained to handle sensitive information and work with donors from a variety of disciplinary and professional backgrounds who may need portions of their collections restricted or embargoed for personal, proprietary, or security reasons.1 Furthermore, archivists have always been involved at every stage of the research process—from data collection to preservation and reuse— and are familiar with raw data (even if that data has historically been analog) and its challenges.2 After Dean Mullins identified data management as a space where the libraries could add value, Purdue established a series of committees to think through the issue of data management at an institutional level. These committees included librarians, computer engineers, IT professionals, and domain scientists. Conversations were led by the vice president for research, and chaired by the dean of libraries and vice president for information technology and research, a trio that would oversee the creation of the Purdue University Research Repository (PURR) and make up the PURR Steering Committee. In 2010, the steering committee created the PURR Working Group to