Click U Live! Introduction to Institutional Data Repositories

20 February 2008
2:00-3:30 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time
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Institutional repositories- which are becoming commonplace at academic and research libraries, corporations, and government agencies-provide a platform for collecting, preserving, and providing access to publications electronically. As librarians move farther upstream in the research cycle, they find that many of the same skills and technologies can be applied to curating and archiving research data. Networked instrumentation, simulations, and other devices of computation are generating unprecedented amounts of data and information-much of which is poorly described and preserved, if at all-and potentially lost forever.

This seminar will use institutional repositories as a backdrop for learning and applying basic data curation concepts. Participants will explore a rationale for archiving and sharing data and a role for librarians in collaborating to address the data deluge. We will examine current, general-use data-sharing services such as Swivel and Freebase, as well as a variety of specific disciplinary and institutional data archives and projects. Participants will be able to determine if an institutional data repository is appropriate for their organizations and get tips for starting one.

Presenter

Michael Witt, Interdisciplinary research librarian, assistant professor of library science, Purdue University

Who Should Attend?

This seminar is designed for info pros whose work supports research and development and who are interested in curating science data as a part of their institutional repository and collection or knowledge-management responsibilities. Participants do not need to have experience with institutional repository software or programming to particpate. Familiarity with institutional repository and digital library concepts and principles is helpful but not required for this introductory seminar. 

Critical Learning Questions

What are the basic concepts of institutional data repositories?
What is the rationale for archiving and sharing research data?
How are new technologies affecting science and knowledge generation, and what is cyber infrastructure?
How can librarians collaborate to meet the needs of researchers by collecting, preserving, and providing access to research data?
What are some of the issues and challenges related to institutional data repositories, including metadata, ingest and scale, preservation, intellectual property, access control, and policies?
Does my organization need an institutional data repository?

Additional Reading

Before the presentation, attendees should read The Power of Babble, by Jonathon Keats, Wired issue 15.04.

Other Suggested Reading

To Stand the Test of Time: Long-Term Stewardship of Digital Data Sets in Science and Engineering, Association of Research Libraries, ARL/NSF Workshop on Long-Term Stewardship of Digital Data Collections, September 2006.

Towards 2020 Science, Microsoft Research, March 2006.

Tony Hey, Anne Trefethen. The Data Deluge: An e-Science Perspective, UK e-Science Core Program, January 2003.

Notes

Instructions for accessing the Webcast will be emailed to you 2 to 3 business days prior to the event. Your registration is for one computer and one site only. You can host as many people as you like for one low site fee! So be sure to invite your colleagues to learn with you! Register before 14 February and save US$ 10.00 [Live Only]! Program registrations beyond that date will be US$ 139.00.

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