This study investigates researchers’ current practices for managing and sharing research data. An online survey was conducted among researchers from three Arab universities in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. In total, 337 participants filled out the questionnaire. The study shows that 97% of researchers were responsible for their research data, and 64.4% of researchers shared their data. Contributing to scientific progress and increasing research citations and visibility were the key factors that motivated researchers to share data. However, confidentiality and data misuse were the main concerns among those who were reluctant to share. Finally, some recommendations regarding the improvement of data management and sharing practices are presented.

This study provides an initiative for reflecting from a new perspective on academic libraries in Arab countries and their value to the institutions they serve. Depending on the pivotal role of databases in all educational and research activities, the study had two phases; first, demonstrating return on investment based on total downloads by King Abdulaziz University (KAU) faculty and students, which found that researchers would have to pay more than six times as much for articles if they had to purchase them rather than getting them through library databases; and secondly, measuring the usage of 52 funded research report citations drawn from library databases during the year 2011, which found that the return on investment was negative (– 0.99). The study showed that the proposed model can be applied in many Arab academic libraries.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the availability of embedded metadata within images of digital cultural collections. It is designed to examine a proposed hypothesis that most digitally derived images of cultural resources are stripped of their metadata once they are placed on the web. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 603 images were selected randomly from four cultural portals which aggregate digitized cultural collections, then four steps in the data collection process took place to examine image metadata via the web-based tool and windows application. Findings The study revealed that 28.5 percent of the analyzed images contained metadata, no links exist between image embedded metadata and its metadata record or the pages of the websites analyzed, and there is a significant usage of Extensible Metadata Platform to encode embedded metadata within the images. Practical implications The findings of the study may encourage heritage digital collection providers to reconsider their metadata preservation practices and policies to enrich the content of embedded metadata. In addition, it will raise awareness about the potential and value of embedded metadata in enhancing the findability and exchange of digital collections. Originality/value This study is ground breaking in that it is one of the early studies, especially in the Arab world, which aim to recognize the use of image embedded metadata within cultural heritage digital collections on the web.