Karen S. Baker (PAL/CCE)
P. Heidor and H.Tibbo, 2007. Identifying Best Practices and Skills for Workforce Development in Data Curation. American Society of Information Science and Technology ASIST (http://www.asis.org/Conferences/AM07/panels/41.html)
What’s in a name? This good read allows us to consider the role of the information manager together with those of data curator and data repository director. A panel at the American Society of Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) annual conference in 2007 explored a topic that represents an elaboration on one facet of the LTER information manager’s work with datasets supporting research activities, namely, the role of data curator of a data repository. As the emphasis on data access, integration, and interoperability continues to grow, so do expectations for those in the role of information manager. It seems useful to review the panel abstract as it represents an emergent awareness that informs standards-making, requirements-setting, and assessment-enabling efforts. The recent proposal preparation document reminds us that “One of the recognized strengths and pioneering aspects of the LTER network relates to information management and technology”. For LTER, the pioneers, in creating both a place and expectations for a new role, named this role ‘data management’. We might reflect upon how in the 21st century LTER broadened the data management role to that of information management while other communities are beginning to articulate the need for data curators. One might say, it’s all to do with the web-of-repositories (Baker and Yarmey, 2009; Baker and Millerand, in press).
Panel Abstract: The nature of science and scholarship is being transformed by the ability to collect and integrate vast quantities of information. Some sciences such as ecology and environmental science are inherently integrative, requiring the combination of information of many types from many sources in order to answer more complex questions than previously possible. This new information and the information management tools designed to deal with this volume of data will help us make informed decisions that will impact human health and prosperity. To enable this cross-scale, interdisciplinary integration for the coming generations of scholars, data must be managed to facilitate interoperability, preservation, and sharing. We define this discipline of “data curation” as the practice of collection, annotation, conditioning and preservation of data for both current and future use. Government and industry have recognized both the opportunities and challenges and have called for improved data curation. Current data curation challenges can be grouped into two classes: underdeveloped data curation practice and shortages of skilled data curators. In this panel we will explore methods to maximize our opportunities and the impact of data on scholarly work. This discussion will be lead by panelists informed by government studies, successful practice and curriculum development projects. The primary questions to be addressed are: what are the required skills for data curation, who should learn these skills, how do these individuals fit into the social fabric of science and who pays for this new work?