1.
New Roles / New Rules
Information Professionals in Research Data
Management
Sally Gore, MS, MS LIS
Informationist and Embedded Librarian
Lamar Soutter Library
University of Massachusetts Medical School
HELLO MY NAME IS
Sally

2.
TODAY
In this course you will explore the current relationships between
libraries and their stakeholders seeking institutional support managing
their research data. Data-intensive science and research are providing
opportunities for new roles to emerge for information professionals. This
course explores these roles and services, and uses the case study
method to prepare participants from all academic backgrounds for roles
in scientific research data management. This course aims to help
prepare information professionals for engaging with scientists and for
developing data management plans for their stakeholders' research
projects. The course examines the data practices of researchers in
scientific fields such as biomedicine and engineering to illustrate how
researchers produce data, and how other researchers re-use these
data for purposes of inquiry. We will explore the information tools used
for research data management planning, research, data, and graduate
student lifecycles, and we will explore a variety of strategies information
professionals are using to provide data consultancy services to their
institutions' researchers.

3.
TODAY
 What is the library’s role in RDM?
 What is an embedded librarian?
 What is a data librarian?
 What is an eScience librarian?
 Who is a data scientist? (I really have no idea.)

4.
TODAY
 What do I do?
 How do I do it?

5.
Data-intensive science and research are providing opportunities for new roles to
emerge for information professionals.
e· merg· ing (e-mûr´jing) Newly formed or just coming
into prominence.
e· volv· ing (e-volv´ing) To develop or achieve
gradually.
tran· si· tion· ing (tran-zish´en-ing) Passing from one
form, state, style, or place to another.
Research &
?
Information
Scholarly
Literacy Informationist
Communication
Librarian
s Librarian
2005 2008 2012

6.
… the classic roles of libraries:
• developing and preserving collections
• developing access schema
• developing services to meet information
needs
provide an important base from which to
develop roles in eScience.
The Data Deluge: Can Libraries Cope with e-Scien
Marcum & George, editors

7.
… the classic roles of libraries:
• developing and preserving collections
• of what?
• developing access schema
• what’s metadata?
• developing services to meet information
needs
 Build networks – how?
 “Middle Man” – aren’t we cutting them out?
 Data LITERACY – are we data literate to begin
with?

8.
What do you think?
 Professionals need an array
of other competencies.
 How much do the knowledge
and skills requirements vary
among roles?
Let’s
discuss!

9.
Cynthia Fuhrmann, PhD, Asst. Dean, Career & Professional Development
UMMS Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

10.
Varying Roles / Varying Skills
 Informationist  Embedded Librarian
◦ “Promoting Breast Cancer Screening in ◦ Community Engagement Research Section of
Non-Adherent Women,” R01 CA-132935 UMass Center for Clinical & Translational
Science
 AIMS
 AIMS
• Improve effectiveness and
efficiency of communication w/in  Build a catalog of resources on the
team regarding data topic that will serve as a foundation
for research, program
• Articulate technology issues development, and education.
related to implementation of the
study  Knowledge management services
including lit searches, bibliographic
• Enhance information management, data
organization, management, management, information
utilization and access skills of organization, database design, and
team members knowledge mapping
• Assess value of an  Research and assist development of
informationist to the research tools and/or means to promote
team collaborations between researchers

11.
Skills (usual
suspects)
• Database Management
• Database Design But then what?
• Data Mining
• Information Retrieval Systems • Improve communication
• Natural Language Processing • Articulate problems
• Research Methods • Enhance skills of others
• Statistics • Build catalog of resources
• Digital Preservation • Knowledge management
• Information Architecture • Research & Development
• Information Visualization
What’s in your toolbox?
Subject Knowledge
and/or Expertise?

12.
It is not Apple* that is causing smoking to decline at the
incredible rate that it has over the last 20 or 30 years. It is a
broad network of people - some of them working for
government agencies, some of them just by word of mouth,
some of them philanthropic organizations - that are kind of
spreading the word and getting people to give up this
dangerous habit.
~ Steven Johnson
“Who Needs a Boss When You Have Your Co-Workers?”
Megan Gambino Merto/Portrait by Nina
Jacket design by Alex
Subin
*Read “technology and data”.
Smithsonian.com, September 25, 2012

13.
Kim, Y, Addom, B.K., & Stanton, J.M., (2011) Education for eScience Professionals:
Integrating data curation and cyberinfrastructure, The International Journal of
Digital Curation, 1(6), 125-138.

14.
emerging
evolving Skills +
transitioning
Being entrepreneurial in spirit
o creative
o risk-taking
Being self-confident
Being inquisitive
Being comfortable with ambiguity
People Skills

15.
Traditional Non-traditional
 Take a class  Take a class, but…
 Earn a degree  WHAT ELSE??
 Go to a workshop
 Take CE classes
 Go to professional Let’s
meetings
 Read, write, talk to
discuss!
colleagues
 Job shadow
But…
Time & $$
Getting the Skills You Need

16.
On the horizon…

17.
TOP TIPS
Personalising Library Services in
Higher Education, Priestner & Tilley, eds.

18.
R
E
A
D

19.
WRITE (share)
 Blog posts
 Thoughtful comments
 Questions and discussion prompts on listservs
 Tweets

20.
TRY

21.
Questions?
Comments?
Thoughts?
Ideas?
Cake?
Thank You!
Sally.Gore@umassmed.edu