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Data Initiatives Group - MIT Engineering and Science Libraries (ESL)

Explorations by library, information, and data professionals on the challenges of managing, sharing, and communicating scientific data

About the Data Initiatives Group

Managing and preserving meaningful, long-term access to a growing volume of scientific data is a daunting challenge that faces science and engineering communities and the libraries that support them. In the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere, this issue has attracted high-level attention of science funding organizations and foundations.

New opportunities for funding are emerging, and the role of libraries in emerging experiments and strategies will be tested in the rounds of funding that can be expected in the next several years. Scientific data production and use cuts across all disciplines and domains. While key roles in data stewardship will be played by subject matter experts, librarians can provide important expertise regarding common issues and strategies for data archiving and management. Librarians can identify general technical and business solutions to archiving challenges, ensuring linkages between data across disciplines, and ensuring some degree of interoperability and linkage between data and other genres of the research record, such as texts and multimedia.

The Libraries have already established clear roles and programs of services in two areas of data: Social Sciences Data, and GIS. Meanwhile, several librarians in ESL have begun to develop expertise and understanding of data issues in science, including GIS, bioinformatics, cheminformatics and materials science data, and environmental and climate data.

These experiences have prepared ESL to take a new step towards developing a more coordinated and collaborative approach to addressing the challenges outlined above.

Charge:

The ESL Data Initiatives Group serves as a focus and catalyst for efforts to learn collaboratively about the challenges presented to MIT’s scholars and students by scientific and engineering data management, and to position our organization and staff to provide relevant and needed support to members of MIT’s community who produce, seek, or use scientific or engineering data. This support may range from advocacy, education, research, and referral, to a role in planning infrastructure, to direct assistance with the use and management of scientific and engineering data.

The group’s collaborative approach includes partnering with other members of the MIT Libraries and MIT community who are involved in data stewardship issues, including the Digital Library Research Group; the Metadata Unit; the Dewey Data Services Librarian; and the Head of GIS Services.

The current membership of the group is: Anne Graham (convenor), Erja Kajosalo, Amy Stout, Louisa Worthington Rogers, and Anna Gold (ex-officio).

Activities:

Specific activities of the DIG group aligned with major elements of the MIT Libraries' current strategic plan are the following:

Develop a program of immediate quantifiable benefits for the MIT community:

1. Develop a web site that provides broad navigational guidance to MIT students and researchers concerning access to engineering and science data, data management and archiving issues, and data services. The group will:

* Determine the scope of the site, including disciplinary scope
* Create guidelines for the types of resources to include in the site
* Recommend a process and broad timeline for ongoing evolution and expansion of the site and related services and integration with other library resources, databases, web pages, etc.
* Decide on the appropriate level of service needed in an initial site roll-out and plan and implement strategies for introducing this resource to the MIT community.

Work to shape the future:

2. Participate in planning, developing, and implementing a proposal to undertake an audit or survey of scientific data archiving practices in departments across MIT’s engineering and science schools and centers.

* An early effort will be to partner with the MIT Libraries’ DLRG and DSpace at MIT and other parties with an interest in accessing and managing data, to seek funding for such an audit. This may involve both the step of identifying sources of funding and other external support, as well as engaging directly in interviews, surveys, or analysis.

Leverage expertise:

3. Foster learning within ESL, and within the communities served by ESL, about the challenges and opportunities presented by current practices regarding production and management of scientific and engineering data.

* Collaborate with other MIT Libraries, campus data production and storage centers, and interested campus parties by creating and fostering a diverse program of invited visitors, seminars, research and reading, training, and presentations on data-related activities.

For further information, contact the DIG group at esl-dig <at> mit.edu