Data and Information Management, 2019; 3(2): 84–101 Research Article Open Access Rong Tang*, Zhan Hu Providing Research Data Management (RDM) Services in Libraries: Preparedness, Roles, Challenges, and Training for RDM Practice https://doi.org/10.2478/dim-2019-0009 received April 19, 2019; accepted June 9, 2019. 1 Introduction Abstract: This paper reports the results of an international Around the world, research data management (RDM) has survey on research data management (RDM) services in been becoming an increasingly important service that libraries. More than 240 practicing librarians responded a variety of information centers and libraries provide. to the survey and outlined their roles and levels of According to Whyte and Tedds (2011), “Research data preparedness in providing RDM services, challenges management concerns the organization of data, from its their libraries face, and knowledge and skills that they entry to the research cycle through to the dissemination deemed essential to advance the RDM practice. Findings and archiving of valuable results” (p. 1). Two years of the study revealed not only a number of location and later, in the ARL (Association of Research Libraries) organizational differences in RDM services and tools SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit provided but also the impact of the level of preparedness 334 entitled “Research Data Management Services,” and degree of development in RDM roles on the types of Fearon et al. (2013) defined RDM services as “providing RDM services provided. Respondents’ perceptions on both information, consulting, training or active involvement in the current challenges and future roles of RDM services data management planning, data management guidance were also examined. With a majority of the respondents during research (e.g., advice on data storage or file recognizing the importance of RDM and hoping to security), research documentation and metadata, research receive more training while expressing concerns of lack data sharing and curation (selection, preservation, of bandwidth or capacity in this area, it is clear that, in archiving, citation) of completed projects and published order to grow RDM services, institutional commitment data” (p. 12). Within the US, a variety of federal funding to resources and training opportunities is crucial. As an agencies or foundations including National Institutes emergent profession, data librarians need to be nurtured, of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), mentored, and further trained. The study makes a case Department of Energy (DoE), Department of Education for developing a global community of practice where data (DoED), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the librarians work together, exchange information, help one Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Sloan) have started requiring another grow, and strive to advance RDM practice around the sharing of research outputs (National Institutes of the world. Health, 2005; National Institutes of Health, 2008) and mandating data management plan (National Science Keywords: research data management, RDM services Foundation, 2010a, 2010b). Similar mandates from and tools, locations and organizational types, level of funding agencies of a variety of other countries include preparedness, degree of development, evolving roles the UK (UKRI, n.d.), Canada (Government of Canada, 2016), Australia (ARC, 2017), European Union (Shearer, 2015), Japan (JST, 2013), and India (Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, n.d.). In the UK, the first data management plan (DMP henceforth) requirement *Corresponding author: Rong Tang, School of Library and was put in place by the Medical Research Council in 2006, Information Science, Simmons University, Boston, Massachusetts, soon followed by the Wellcome Trust in 2007 (Smale, USA, Email: [email protected] Unsworth, Denyer, & Barr, 2018). The NSF in 2011 was the Zhan Hu, School of Library and Information Science, Simmons first funder in the US to implement a DMP requirement University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Open Access. © 2019 Rong Tang, Zhan Hu, published by Sciendo. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License. Providing Research Data Management (RDM) Services in Libraries: Preparedness, Roles, Challenges... 85 (National Science Foundation, 2010a). In 2013, the Office However, even though there is a growing momentum of Science and Technology Policy released a memo to the in RDM, the level of success in implementing and providing heads of executive departments and agencies requiring RDM services at various data-intensive organizations that each agency develop a plan to promote public has not been consistent. According to Perrier, Blondal, access to research. The public access plan included a and MacDonald (2018), “although libraries play a role requirement that “all extramural researchers receiving in RDM at academic institutions, they have experienced Federal grants and contracts for scientific research and varying degrees of success with the development of RDM intramural researchers develop data management plans, support and services given this expanded responsibility” as appropriate” (OSTP, 2013, p. 5). In August 2017, Smale (p. 173). Furthermore, as noted by Faniel and Connaway et al. (2018) surveyed 16 US national funding bodies and (2018), “research into RDM still is in the early stages, found that 10 required DMPs as did six of seven research and few studies focus on the library community’s RDM councils in the UK (p. 10). experiences” (p. 100). In this study, with a focus on the Given these mandates, universities or research libraries RDM practice in terms of the librarians’ role, their levels from different countries have redefined or extended their of preparedness in providing RDM services, and the role in RDM services. Their efforts have made librarians current RDM services and tools provided, we conducted not only an important contributor to the research process an international survey involving RDM service librarians but also an essential partner in the entire research data around the world who worked in a variety of organizational ecosystem. As pointed out by Choudhury (2008), the types. We also probed into the knowledge and skills new role of librarians in “supporting new forms of data- that respondents deem crucial for RDM services, as well intensive scholarship” (p. 215) has transferred librarians as their vision for RDM roles in the future. Our primary into a “data scientist” or “data humanist.” In such a role, research questions (RQs) were as follows: “they act as the human interface between the library and RQ1. What is the state of current practice of RDM the eScience projects. In a fundamental sense, they may services in libraries? represent the future of subject librarianship and help craft RQ2. What current role do librarians play in providing a new relationship between the library and scientists” (p. RDM services? 217). As an example, in health science libraries, the demand RQ3. What specific knowledge and skills do librarians for RDM services has been very strong. As indicated by believe as needed for RDM training? Martin (2013), “As biomedical science becomes more RQ4. How do participants see as the future evolutions data-intensive, researchers are faced with a range of data of the librarians’ role in providing RDM services? management challenges, problems, and needs. Health sciences librarians are ideal partners for offering scientists at their institutions a range of data management services” (p. 1). Data services provided by health science libraries 2 Literature Review may vary from creating “a comprehensive data dictionary” and “a standardized data request form” (Gore, 2013, p. 2.1 Components and Models of RDM 22) to assign metadata to incoming data, naming and Services labeling research variables, and finding a data repository (Hasman, Berryman, & Mcintosh, 2013). As reported in by Empirical research studies on RDM services in libraries Hanson et al. (2013), librarians are now providing “the tend to use a similar set of definitions for RDM. A deepest and most detailed data management support” to frequently cited definition is by Cox and Pinfield (2014), scientific research teams “to date” (p. 25). which states that RDM “consists of a number of different It should be noted that data services are also provided activities and processes associated with the data lifecycle, in social science and humanities disciplines. In the involving the design and creation of data, storage, security, “Special Report: Digital Humanities in Libraries” by preservation, retrieval, sharing, and reuse, all taking into Varner and Hswe (2016), the authors argue that with the account technical capabilities, ethical considerations, rapid evolution of digital humanities and the uncertainty legal issues and governance frameworks” (p. 300). Both of its future trajectory, “it may be more productive—and this definition and the one by Fearon et al. (2013) as cited more honest—to position the library as a research partner earlier define RDM through a series of activities associated that can explore new solutions with researchers rather with data lifecycle. Meanwhile, the conceptualization of than as a service provider that either has what a researcher RDM is enriched through the development of frameworks is looking for or doesn’t” (para 9). or process models of RDM services. For example, in their 86 Rong Tang, Zhan Hu model of institutional RDM.” The model