Supporting Biological Information Work: Research and Education for Digital Resources and Long-lived Data

Abstract

New practices are emerging in all stages of biological research, from data collection through dissemination of results. In addition, libraries and museums are increasingly being called upon to become the long-term curators and stewards of the range of intellectual products and research data. Through a series of cooperative projects with biologists working in data-intensive and informatics-based domains, we have documented requirements for digital libraries, tool development, and data management techniques to support contemporary scientific practice. This research is now serving as the foundation for a new biological informatics master's program designed to train a new generation of Library and Information Science professionals to serve in scientific research environments. To respond to the qualitative changes in biological research and the specific workforce gaps identified in our research, we are developing this program as part of a campus-wide bioinformatics initiative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. By providing access to experts from across the University who specialize in many areas of biology and information management, the program will train a new generation of Library and Information Science professionals to serve in scientific research environments.NSF-0222848NSF-IIS-0534567published or submitted for publicationnot peer reviewe