Much of libraries’ engagement work with researchers centers around supporting researchers’ efforts to make the data underlying their research publicly available. This is a critical step to advancing science and, increasingly, a requirement from funders and publishers. Institutions have responded by developing and offering a variety of services to support their researchers. How well are these services working? And how much are they costing?
The Realities of Academic Data Sharing (RADS) Initiative is investigating these questions. RADS is a collaboration of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and six academic institutions involved in the Data Curation Network (DCN). The project, supported by a grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) program, is looking at three research questions:
- Where are funded researchers across these six institutions making their data publicly accessible and what is the quality of the metadata?
- How are researchers making decisions about why and how to share research data?
- What is the cost to the institution to implement the federally mandated public access to research data policy?
The IDEA: Improving Data Engagement and Advocacy podcast recently interviewed members of the RADS team to discuss the project and takeaways it has surfaced to date. Listen to the 35-minute episode about RADS.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of research libraries in Canada and the US whose vision is to create a trusted, equitable, and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide. ARL’s mission is to empower and advocate for research libraries and archives to shape, influence, and implement institutional, national, and international policy. ARL develops the next generation of leaders and enables strategic cooperation among partner institutions to benefit scholarship and society. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
