This libguide re-uses content listed on DataONE and MIT Libraries. It is modeled on other libguides at University of Minnesota Libraries and CalTech Libraries.
Research data management comprises of all the activities surrounding the lifecycle of research data which includes collection, organization, description, access and preservation.
Historically, libraries have served as institutions where information is collected, curated, preserved, described, discovered, and accessed. Putting these traditional library activities into data terms illustrates why academic libraries and librarians should be involved in the management of scholarly information and research data. As libraries we recognize research data as a scholarly asset that should be stored and made available for reuse, just as any publication is. This is particularly important as data has become more widely accessible in its digital form and its use for experimental validation and reuse in extending the boundaries of knowledge has become more practical.
As the majority of research data falls into the “long-tail” that encompasses the many disciplines that do not have dedicated repositories1, the role of academic libraries in making sure that these data are findable, accessible, interoperable & reusable becomes more prominent. There are a few reasons why this is a really excellent thing:
These are just a few of the many reasons why academic libraries should be engaged in the challenges of research data stewardship, curation, and management.
Credit: ACRL Scholarly Communication Toolkit http://acrl.libguides.com/scholcomm/toolkit/datamanagement Accessed 2014-09-13