Lifecycle of Data Management Best Practices Workshops at the University of Connecticut

We held three broad Data Management Best Practices Instruction for Graduate Students workshops covering an array of topics, taught by Library, Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) and University IT (UITS) staff. 1) Started with the UMM Data Management Curriculum Framework to construct 2.5 hour workshop highlighting major topics of need for those handling research data. Content included: organization, storage, metadata, archiving, sharing data, and legal and ethical matters. 2) Collaborated with the OSP and UITS on content and as instructors in organizing, storage, sharing and legal sections. Library staff instructed in metadata and archiving, and co-instructed in organizing, storage and sharing. 3) Workshop included the head of UTS to talk about the University Governance Committee on Research & Scholarship. 4) Previewed a “ManagingData” listserv to support research data management questions and answers. 5) Based on feedback we reduced time and modified content, including less focus on policies and funders, reworking metadata section, adding more about storage. We more clearly delineated data security (during collection and analysis of data) versus data sharing (data set is finished and available.) Next steps include single issue workshops (storage, security or software) and discipline-specific trainings in consultation with disciplinary IT and faculty

The Functions of (Meta)Data: Lessons Learned with a Fedora Digital Repository

The University of Connecticut Libraries began building a Fedora digital repository last year. Because of the differences between Fedora and relational databases, it was necessary to understand how Fedora works with objects and data streams. The repository team realized that with Fedora, there existed several options on how to store data. This realization encouraged looking at metadata differently. For starters, we began to emphasize functions over types of metadata. Secondly, we saw the advantages of striping meta from the word metadata. This change allowed us to conceptualize a broader application of functional data within the repository. My presentation would like to explore our emphasis on the functions of data rather than types of metadata and how this is helping to create a better digital repository

Managing Futures: Working towards the Future You Need

Migrating to a new library service platform can be a daunting project. It involves stakeholders inside and outside the organization. It could potentially involve consortia activities and add another layer of stakeholders. One could conclude that a library migration involves almost every aspect of a library’s activities. It certainly requires a significant amount of change where views may differ on the need for a migration or the role that technical services play. Those views are most likely associated with widely held expectations. Hence, measuring the success of a migration relies on not just the completion of technical tasks but also if that migration met the community of users’ expectations. This begs the question of how it is possible to manage expectations that are met by stakeholders. In this presentation, the presenter will cover concepts on managing expectations and highlight examples of both successful and unsuccessful strategies at all stages of a migration

MarcEdit 101 An Introduction

This presentation introduces the basics of MarcEdit to those who have never used or just started using MarcEdit

Getting Started with LDLite for FOLIO Reporting

This presentations introduced LDLite. The main points covered were: what the tool is, pros and cons, what data it works with, how it gets data, live demo. There was a live demo covering the tables and structure in DBeaver and how to get data from different tables

Cataloging and ILS Migrations How to be adaptable and inclusive at a consortial level

On June 24, 2022, the Five College Consortium (5C) migrated from Ex Libris Aleph to the open source library service platform the Futures of Libraries is Open or FOLIO. The 5C consists of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and UMass Amherst all in Western Massachusetts Amherst, Holyoke, and Northampton areas. For the 5C, this migration took almost 4 years. That time was spent on carrying out an implementation strategy and spearheading multiple cleanup projects. Post migration, work continues to evolve as FOLIO develops more features and becomes more mature. This is especially true in terms of how we catalog and manage our metadata in FOLIO not only for our individual institutions but also for the 5C as a whole. In this presentation, I’d like to cover why the 5C decided to migrate to FOLIO, what steps were taken for our migration, what is happening post migration, and some lessons learned, all through the lens of cataloging and metadata

Describing Data Repositories

With the rise of eScience, subject liaisons must become familiar with disciplinary data repositories to better serve their clientele. Research data can often be deposited in one or more repositories. For researchers who are not well informed or work in fields that have yet to develop a data repository existing lists such as DataBib, Registry of Research Data Repositories or OpenDOAR provide a combined list of up to 2000 data repositories but little information about each one. Subject liaisons at the University of Connecticut Libraries can help researchers find appropriate data repositories for data submission and discovery. However, with such a large listing, how do subject liaisons evaluate repositories in their disciplines? To support our subject liaisons better evaluate data repositories and to give them more confidence to help their faculty in eScience, we created the “Describe Your Data Repository” survey

From Idea to Action: Creating a Research Data Services Program at the University of Connecticut

The University of Connecticut Libraries (UCL) has long provided aspects of research data assistance to the UConn community focusing on education, training and consultations. UCL have a history of collaborating with UConn’s central IT, Sponsored Program Services and the Office of the Vice President for Research. Building on these efforts and collaborations, UCL has recently launched our Research Data Services Program in conjunction with building a Research Data Archive to service the needs of the research community. Our work is coming together into a unified set of library services

Keep Calm & Migrate On: Getting Buy in for Consortial Changes During a Migration

Library systems migrations are disruptive. Cleanup projects start sometimes years in advance. Workflows and processes are reviewed and often are changed. There might be staff who remember the last migration with not so fond memories of it. Other staff might be afraid of how their workflows are changing and if those changes will upend years of work. Others might push for more radical changes making those who don’t want changes even more nervous. There are numerous working parts and gears. All too often communication becomes an issue. How, when, and what to communicate to which groups is not always evident. Imagine this at the consortial level. In this presentation, I will share how the Five College Consortium has adapted and built on a grassroots approach to communication and decision making called open houses for our migration project

Volume 40, Number 2, June 2020 OLAC Newsletter

Digitized June 2020 issue of the OLAC Newsletter