Is it worth it? Weighing the benefits of research data management infrastructure for the library

The Year of Open Science is upon us, with the NIH Data Management and Sharing policy officially in effect from the beginning of the year and deadlines for public access provision fast approaching in light of the OSTP memo.

Reflecting on how different groups are handling these new policies, a recent article in Science Magazine noted that some universities are “beefing up staff who can help, such as IT specialists and librarians who specialize in data.” Some of these investments will be specifically to support the implementation of data capable repositories and the optimization of existing infrastructure.

However, technical investments, across most organizations, require a clear, beneficial end goal as well as internal buy-in. With the overall goal of helping researchers change behaviors and adopt Open Science practices, should libraries invest in data capable repository infrastructure and staffing? Or should they rely on the multitude of third party repositories to support data sharing needs?

Catch up on this ACRL webinar where we were joined by Amy Gay (Binghamton University) and Jon Petters (Virginia Tech) and we discussed the challenges libraries are facing in regards to data sharing, how institutions are approaching them, and, crucially, what the benefits of those approaches really are. We’ll also explore the challenge of garnering internal support and how library-led championing of proficient data sharing can work.

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