A day in the life of a data librarian

Jane Frazier

Data Librarian @

jane.frazier@ands.org.au @mignon1915

Data librarianship?

“[Using] traditional skills and strengths of the librarian to

enable researchers to manage, share, publish and/or preserve

their outputs in a connected way”@groenewegendave

“Professional library staff engaged in managing research data, using research data as a resource, or supporting researchers in these

activities”@andsdata

“Application of traditional librarianship principles and practices to data resources… involves

acquisition (collection development), organization (cataloging and metadata), and the

implementation of appropriate user services”IASSIST iBlog

My job responsibilities

ANDS Vocabulary Service

● Support users● Give demos● Write help documentation● Write internal policy documentation● Work with devs to improve service

Outreach officer at ANU

● Provide RDM support to library, IT and research office● Let library, IT & research office know of new services/tools

that ANDS can provide or recommend● Provide RDM support to RSPE Plexus project

Metadata & vocabulary expertise

● 23 Things expert on metadata & vocabs● Run RIF-CS/metadata training● Metadata mapping/XSLT for partners

Sit on various committees

● Metadata Advisory Group● Business Solutions Working Group Participate in international RDM

● Research Data Alliance Vocabulary Services Interest Group

Music performance & Musicology research

How I got to my current position...

● Undergrad and Masters degrees in Opera Performance● ‘Soft skills’

○ Collaboration & communication○ Self-motivation○ Performance under pressure○ Networking○ Giving & receiving constructive criticism

● Humanities research & academic writing

Traditional cataloguingMusic performance & Musicology research

How I got to my current position...

UNC-Chapel Hill Music Library

● Grad student assistantship● Traditional MARC cataloguing● Processing & binding of periodicals● Curation of library exhibit Curating Sound: 75 Years of Music Collections at UNC

Digital curationDigital curation

Traditional cataloguingMusic performance & Musicology research

How I got to my current position...

● Digital data repository environment● Managed datasets underlying biosciences publications● Data curation lifecycle

○ Metadata quality, DOI minting, data citation○ Rights & licensing issues○ Data repository software workflows○ Communication with researchers & Dryad developers

How I got to my current position...

UNC Metadata Research Center

● Project: Redesign & rebuild MRC website● Project: Evaluation of automatic subject indexing of Dryad datasets

○ Conceptual mapping between controlled vocabulary terms & subjects found in Dryad metadata

● Project: Research on Dryad user-provided subject metadata○ Recommendations for metadata best practices for Dryad scientists

<MRC>

Metadata research

Digital curation

Traditional cataloguingMusic performance & Musicology research

Private sector software dev

Metadata research

Digital curation

Traditional cataloguingMusic performance & Musicology research

How I got to my current position...

● Private sector/startup/agile environment● Building non-traditional cataloguing systems outside of libraries● Software development, systems analysis, user testing● Requirements gathering, documentation of legacy business rules, crosswalking● Worked with developers & non-libraries colleagues● Communication

○ Translating between technical & non-technical language

Data librarianshipPrivate sector software dev

Metadata research

Digital curation

Traditional cataloguingMusic performance & Musicology research

Data Librarian @ ANDS

● Metadata for Research Data Australia training● ANDS Vocabulary Service development & user liaison● ANDS partner institution data consultancy● RDA metadata consultancy

My day-to-day role as data librarian● Communication with ANDS & external colleagues● Identify possible connections & duplicated effort within & outside of ANDS● Requirements gathering & analysis● Systems & business analysis● Crosswalking for interoperability● Metadata schema research & development● UI design & mockup work● Writing user support documentation● Metadata creation best practice training & support● Research!

my (current) toolkit

The main challenges in my work

● Translating ideas from a technical perspective to a non-technical one

(and vice versa)

● Keeping both the user & system perspectives in mind

● Quickly switching gears from one project to another

● Learning to work with external stakeholders

● Learning about the Australian research landscape

How I develop my skills...

● Use data as a vehicle to learn about new disciplines & technologies

● Ask questions

● Be extroverted at conferences

● Overcome fear of things ‘above my skill level’

● Google/Wikipedia/Stack Exchange/W3C/ISO are my friends

● I ❤ developers

Thinking of moving into a data librarianship role?My two cents...

● Look past job titles● Learn how to describe your skills in language that will be meaningful to the

people interviewing you● Prepare to learn & adapt to emerging technologies● Be proactive in developing your skills:

DatabrariansResources for Data Librarianship: http://databrarians.org/resources-for-databrarians/

Data @ LibsData Librarianship educational resources: http://data.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/data-librarianship-educational-resources.html

Oz Data Librarians Google+ Grouphttps://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/105455769899183786145

Metadatalibrarians mailing listhttp://lists.monarchos.com/listinfo.cgi/metadatalibrarians-monarchos.com

http://jobs.code4lib.org/@code4lib

https://rd-alliance.org/

Twitter feeds related to data librarianship

● https://twitter.com/petahopkins/lists/23rdthings● https://twitter.com/HughRundle/lists/data-information● https://twitter.com/sallysetsforth/lists/ozlibrarypeeps● https://twitter.com/TheStacksCat/lists/library-infosci-ppl● https://twitter.com/katreeeena/lists/oa-sc-data● https://twitter.com/1n9r1d/lists/datadata

...to follow, click “subscribe”

Thank you!

jane.frazier@ands.org.au @mignon1915

*these slides are available at http://www.slideshare.net/mignon1915