Cox, A. orcid.org/0000-0002-2587-245X, Kennan, M.A., Lyon, E. et al. (2 more authors) (2019) Maturing research data services and the transformation of academic libraries. Journal of Documentation. ISSN 0022-0418
Abstract
Purpose A major development in academic libraries in the last decade has been recognition of the need to support research data management. The aim of this paper is to capture how library research data services have developed and to assess the impact of this on the nature of academic libraries.
Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire responses from libraries in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK and USA from 2018 are compared to a previous dataset from 2014.
Findings The evidence supports a picture of the spread of research data services, especially advisory ones. However, future ambitions do not seem to have seen much evolution. There is limited evidence of organisational change and skills shortages remain. Most service development can be explained as the extension of traditional library services to research data. Yet there remains the potential for transformational impacts, when combined with the demands implied by other new services such as around text and data mining, bibliometrics and artificial intelligence. A revised maturity model is presented that summarises typical stages of development of services, structures and skills.
Research limitations/implications The research models how research data services are developing. It also reflects on the extent to which RDM represents a transformation of the role of academic libraries.
Practical implications Practitioners working in the research data management arena can benchmark their current practices and future plans against wider patterns.
Originality/value The study offers a clear picture of the evolution of Research Data Services internationally and proposes a maturity model to capture typical stages of development. It contributes to the wider discussion of how the nature of academic libraries are changing.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Authors. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article ( for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode |
Keywords: | Information services; Academic libraries; Scholarly communication; Research data management; Data curation; Research data services |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Information School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 16 May 2019 10:17 |
Last Modified: | 10 Sep 2019 08:33 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Emerald |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1108/JD-12-2018-0211 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:145719 |