The types of RDM services identified in this study encompassed both consultative and technical services. The concept of the research data lifecycle played a central role in organizing and structuring services. All professionals participating in this study were engaged in consultative services, outreach, and open access advocacy. The consultative, informational services were typically offered at the beginning of the research cycle in the form of one-on-one consultations, workshops and seminars for faculty and graduate students, or online tutorials and guidelines. The consultative services focused on offering guidance and support in:
Meeting compliance with funders’ requirements
Developing data management plans (DMP)
Following data management best practices
Adhering to data citation standards
Promoting open access and data sharing
A smaller number of participants assisted researchers with technical aspects of depositing data in repositories and archival storage. Technical services were usually offered at the end of the research data life cycle. Technical infrastructure and the level of support depended on institutional settings. Technical services involved offering support in:
Data management
Data formats and file naming conventions
Data cleaning and verification
Data conversion
Data description and documentation
Metadata creation using standardized schemas
Data deposit/publishing
Ingest into repository systems
Assigning identifiers
Data anonymization
Data security
Archiving and preservation
The participating information professionals often acted as mediators between different stakeholders building networks of expertise and community around good research practices. Their work required some technical skills and knowledge of new technological solutions since they often made recommendations to researchers and led RDM initiatives at their institutions. The new and evolving character of the positions required expertise in multiple areas and the ability to adapt to the changing environment. Specific technical expertise and the level of required skills depended on institutional settings. The study participants emphasized that it’s often impossible for one person to fulfill all the necessary skills and competences found in job descriptions. The lack of technical skills and hands-on experience with databases and scripting was mentioned for professionals with library backgrounds.
RDM services were primarily located in academic libraries as part of research and consultation departments or digital scholarship units. University libraries represented that largest group in the sample but the type of services, the stage of its development, and the level of support for researchers varied greatly between the sites. In the early stage of RDM development, academic libraries usually focused on needs assessment, outreach, training, and open access advocacy and provided consulting services on developing DMPs, metadata, and data curation practices. Academic libraries with more advanced RDM services offered not only assistance with DMPs, metadata, but also with data citation, data sharing and with technical aspects of depositing data in repositories.
The study, however, demonstrated that academic libraries are not the only centers of RDM services on university campuses. It identified new organizational strategies, including embedded services, distributed networks of RDM expertise, and multi-purpose research data services centers. In the embedded model, librarians were working on the faculty-led research projects and research labs throughout the university. They provided support not only at the beginning and end of the research cycle, but also shared expertise and advice on best data management practices throughout the research projects. Distributed networks often had formal structures and were comprised of professionals with expertise in RDM, IT, copyright, research ethics, and scholarly communication. Academic librarians often served as coordinators and referred researchers to the relevant “pockets of expertise” in the campus network. Distributed networks represented efforts in community building around improving data management practices and opening data.
Campus-wide research data service centers represent a new model that reflects an evolution of services and recognition that a more comprehensive suite of skills and expertise is necessary to support data management. Three cases were identified in the sample – one in the United States and two in Europe. Both European data service centers have evolved from RDM services originally located at academic libraries. These new interdisciplinary initiatives involved cross-campus collaboration and cooperation of several units, including the university library, IT department, legal services, and office for research. Research data service centers tended to be multi-purpose and provided university research communities not only with the expertise, tools, and infrastructure necessary to manage research data but also offered support for other forms of scholarly activities. Academic librarians were employed there along IT specialists and legal experts.
The findings of the study indicate that RDM is an evolving sociotechnical practice that involves not only technical systems and services structured around research data life cycle but also a range of social activities. The work of RDM professionals in improving data management practices and advocating open access occurs on multiple levels, starting with individual researchers and their teams, building networks at their institutions, and then expanding to regional, national, and international communities. The theme of shared values and changing research culture was discussed by participants from multiple countries, pointing to the emerging international character of the RDM profession. Community building emerged as an essential requirement for research data management and involved a shared understanding of the benefits of managed data and the impact of open data on scholarship and society.
CONCLUSION: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE LIBRARY FIELD
The role of academic libraries in leading and developing RDM services emerged as an important theme in the IFLA Data Curation project and in prior research (Cox & Pinfield 2014; Cox et al. 2017; Tenopir et al. 2015; 2017). The library and information science (LIS) field can take advantage of the demand for information professionals with knowledge of the research process and skills in managing and curating data. The report prepared for the European Open Science Cloud points to a shortage of data experts, estimating that half a million specialists with expertise in managing data will be needed to support researchers in the European Union (Ayris et al. 2016). The new data-intensive research environment and the global Open Science movement offer opportunities to expand library services beyond the traditional service roles in reference and instruction. Librarians can actively participate in the research process and contribute their unique expertise in information organization, metadata, and archiving. RDM services can also utilize library experience in outreach, open access advocacy, and training.
RDM also poses a set of new challenges for libraries as the field is still in an emergent phase. The development of RDM services at academic libraries involves restructuring and substantial investment in staff and resources. It requires building technical infrastructure for data storage and publishing and forming collaborative partnerships with multiple stakeholders on campus. The model of academic libraries serving as a center of RDM services is prevalent but not the only one. As the findings of the IFLA Data Curation project indicate,