Reproducible research and electronic notebooks

posterReproducibility of research is an increasing concern as researchers move from print to a hybrid print/electronic to a totally electronic research project. In addition, research in many disciplines rely on large datasets, i.e. Big Data. Funding agencies have responded to this concern by addressing the 2013 White House OSTP mandate that ensures publications and data resulting from research projects they fund are freely available to other researchers and to the public. The funding agencies are also requesting data management plans. They realize that research projects must be adequately managed so, in addition to being freely available, the research is reproducible and the data can be repurposed

Electronic lab notebooks: What librarians need to know

posterMultidisciplinary projects and increased collaborations with colleagues worldwide increases the complexity of managing projects. Even managing the projects over the course of a career is cumbersome. ELNs provide an efficient system of organizing the work, the data and related documentation. Finding the needed data and/or document is simplified

A model to integrate data curation services with additional campus services related to research

posterThe University of Utah has three libraries: main, health sciences, and law. The librarians at the main and health sciences libraries are working together to improve current services and develop new services for researchers. A recent survey of research resources on campus and on the University website has revealed a plethora of access points and providers of resources and services. Terminology, audience, and areas of responsibility are not clear. Librarians are working to consolidate, organize, and clarify information about these resources and services based on the research/data life cycle. In addition, physical space in both libraries is being set aside for research oriented services, collaboration, and technical resources. The University has built a data center and the libraries are testing the current repository, USpace to determine the feasibility of using it as the interface to a data repository. As a result data curation and data services will be included within the new library spaces being developed for research assistance. These services include creating data management plans, finding data repositories for both the acquisition and deposition data, and referrals to computer programmers and statisticians when needed. Future plans include developing workshops covering best practices of data management and how to create good metadata

From subject selectors to college and interdisciplinary teams

posterThe renovation of the J .Willard Marriott Library, coupled with the changing responsibilities of public services librarians and the decreases in financial support, has forced librarians to evaluate their strategic alignment. The new Knowledge Commons has become the center for in-person reference and technical assistance. An Online Services unit addresses email and chat reference services along with research guides. The Digital Scholarship Lab focuses on data management, research projects involving the use of audio and video studios, usability testing, and new technologies as they become available. The traditional tasks of collection development and outreach to the subject departments became the responsibility of College and Interdisciplinary Teams or CITs. Public services librarians, therefore, had two organizational structures under which to work: task-focused and subject-oriented structures

Electronic Lab Notebooks on Campus

posterElectronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) were first developed for pharmacy and corporate research. Numerous ELNs were developed. These ELNs were complex and very expensive - $40,000 to set up one lab and$1000 per person per year to maintain. They were not appropriate for university research groups. Eventually web- and cloud-based technology led to simpler and less expensive ELNs. These newer vendors did not always have a good business plan and understand the difference between corporate an; university culture. Atrium Research has been following the progress of ELNs and maintains an ever expanding list of both corporate and academic friendly ELNs

Introducing LabArchives to the University of Utah

posterThe University of Utah is an R-1 university with overall sponsored projects totaling over $459 million in 2017. The top agencies funding research are NSF, NIH, DOD and DOE. Over the years technological improvements have increased the amount of digital storage required for research. Faculty were seeking increased storage space for their research needs while both the NSF and NIH were stressing improved data management. Researchers asked librarians for assistance. Electronic notebooks (ELNs) would help to solve both needs. The Marriott Library provides competitive grants to its staff and librarians to develop services for students and faculty. After assessing the need for and evaluating the available electronic notebooks (ELNs), a grant application was submitted and funded to pilot the ELN, LabArchives at the University of Utah. The objective of the pilot was to determine the issues involved in introducing and using LabArchives. Seven research groups from Oncology, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Transportation Research, Mechanical Engineering, Concrete Research and the Library participated in the year-long study. This presentation will discuss the issues encountered and the requirements for a successful rollout