Data Information Literacy ─ Librarians, Data, and the Education of a New Generation of Researchers

Given the increasing attention to managing, publishing, and preserving research datasets as scholarly assets, what competencies in working with research data will graduate students in STEM disciplines need to be successful in their fields? And what role can librarians play in helping students attain these competencies? In addressing these questions, this book articulates a new area of opportunity for librarians and other information professionals, developing educational programs that introduce graduate students to the knowledge and skills needed to work with research data. The term “data information literacy” has been adopted with the deliberate intent of tying two emerging roles for librarians together. By viewing information literacy and data services as complementary rather than separate activities, the contributors seek to leverage the progress made and the lessons learned in each service area. The intent of the publication is to help librarians cultivate strategies and approaches for developing data information literacy programs.

Jake Carlson is an associate professor and data services specialist with the Purdue University Libraries. He pursues innovative solutions for organizing, preserving, and providing access to research data collections. He has worked extensively with faculty at Purdue in crafting data management plans, and in developing workflows to support data sharing and curation. Lisa Johnston is the research services librarian at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She also is codirector of the University Digital Conservancy, the UMN institutional repository. Her research focus is e-science, scientific data curation, and citation analysis. She has led the libraries in research data management since 2008 by creating an outreach and instruction program for researchers, and she works closely with university leaders toward developing a campus research cyberinfrastructure.