UWE Bristol

Why is the Library leading on this?Research data management and the academic

library

Judith StewartResearch and Knowledge Exchange Librarian

judith.stewart@uwe.ac.ukUC&R DARTS 3

28th June 2012

Research at UWE

Biomedicine and bio-sensing

Health and social care

Digital creative industries

Robotics

Who is addressing RDM within the universities?

Library

IT

ResearchOffice

Sarah JonesDCC (2012)

This led me to think . . . .

• Why are we as Librarians leading on this? • And why does this cause surprise among

other sections of our academic communities?

Why are Librarians taking the lead in RDM projects?

• we are used to asking the questions that establish information users’ needs

• we manage information, and understand the dangers of not managing it.

• we understand how to ‘curate’ i.e. storing, organising, making accessible and sharing.

• We are used to developing and delivering information literacy guidance

• We are removed from disciplinary or faculty politics

Why are people surprised?

• RDM is so much bigger than ‘library’• Perceptions about library in relation to

supporting research are mixed• Perception that data management is all about

the technical requirements – software and infrastructure

• Because research is trendy – and libraries just aren’t

Benefits and challenges

• Raises the profile of the Library in the institution• Enables relationships across the institution• Shows how the Library is relevant throughout

the full research lifecycle• Can be a steep learning curve• Sustainability

Managing research data : A pilot Study in Health and Life Sciences

http://bit.ly/KvfW1W

What is happening/would happen in your institution?• Who is leading on RDM in your institution?• If the answer to this is – no-one, or not that I know of –

who do think should?• How could the Library/Information Service take the

initiative? Who would you talk to?• If the answer is that the Library service is taking the lead

already – who are the other stakeholders in the process?• What single piece of advice would you give to other

library services who feel motivated to start shaking the institutional tree about data management?