This document discusses building research data management services from a data librarian's perspective. It defines research data management and outlines developing an institutional RDM policy involving researchers, librarians, and IT staff. The author discusses the University of Edinburgh's library-led RDM policy as an example. The document also covers supporting researchers through training, guidance, and tools for data management planning and sharing. It proposes additional library RDM services like data repositories, archiving, and metadata standards expertise. Challenges for librarians expanding into this new domain are also addressed.

1. Building research data management
services:
a data librarian’s view
Robin Rice
Online Information
London: Nov 21, 2012

2. Overview
• Defining research data management
• Developing a Research Data
Management Policy at your institution
• Researcher vs institutional responsibilities
• Supporting and training researchers
• Other candidates for library-based RDM
services

3. Defining RDM
• An umbrella term to describe all aspects
of planning, organising, documenting,
storing sharing, and preserving data.
• It also takes into account issues such as
data protection and confidentiality.
• It provides a framework that supports
researchers and their data throughout the
course of their research and beyond.

4. University of Edinburgh Research
Data Mgmt Policy
• Passed by Senate in May, 2011
• Library-led: developed by committee led
by Library & Collections Director
• Involved academic champions
• Written by ex-DCC consultant
• Deemed ‘aspirational’
• Complimentary to
funders’ policies

5. Edinburgh policy content: worldle

6. Roles & Responsibilities
• Who will support your researchers’
planning?
• Who has responsibility during the research
project? Who has archival responsibility?
• Who has rights in the data?
• Are students considered?

7. Tips for policy development
 Know the drivers for your own institution.
 Practice the art of persuasion.
 How big is your kirk? Seek alliances.
 Who is your high-level champion?
 Agree a style – mandate or enabling?
 Postcard from the future: what will it
achieve?

8. Supporting and training
researchers
• Online guidance for academic staff
• Embedding RDM training into
postgraduate programmes (MANTRA)
• Tailored support for Data Mgmt Plans
(customising DMP Online tool)
• Training librarians & IT staff
• Awareness-raising across
schools and departments

9. RDM guidance for academics

10. MANTRA online training course

11. DCC’s DMP Online tool

12. Training liaison librarians
• DIY training facilitated by data librarians:
Topics:
• Data management planning
• Documenting & organising data
• Data storage & security
• Ethics & copyright
• Data sharing

13. Other candidates for library-based
RDM services
• Data discovery – portals, catalogues
• Open data repositories
• Archiving and preservation services
• Metadata & standards (curation)

14. Data discovery (and use)

15. 15

16. Archiving and preservation
services for research data
• Should the institution be doing this?
– EPSRC says so
“Research organisations will ensure that EPSRC-funded research
data is securely preserved for a minimum of 10-years from the
date that any researcher ‘privileged access’ period expires or, if
others have accessed the data, from last date on which access
to the data was requested by a third party.”
• How to do digital preservation: “Know what
you’ve got and keep the bits safe.”
• – Tim Gollins, TNA

17. Metadata & standards (curation)
• Librarians are more interested in (at least
some kinds of) metadata than
researchers.
• Librarians are in a position to bring to light
emerging standards for data types to
researchers and benefits of use.
• Librarians have a natural ‘cross-
disciplinary’ viewpoint.

18. Challenges for Librarians in RDM
• Finding time to pursue new activities
• Developing new kinds of partnerships
• Establishing credibility in a new area of
expertise
• Learning new skills; ‘getting techie’
• Getting hands dirty with unpublished
material
• Adapting rapidly to opportunities

19. Links
• University of Edinburgh policy
– http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/research-data-policy
• Research data guidance
– http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/data-management
• MANTRA online training
– http://datalib.edina.ac.uk/mantra/
• UoE Data Library
– http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/data-library
• Edinburgh DataShare
– http://datashare.is.ed.ac.uk/