Abstract:As data skills are incorporated into academic curriculum and data becomes more widely available and used in everyday life, many librarians find themselves serving as 'accidental' data librarians in their subject areas. Due to this evolving landscape and growing data need, it is increasingly important for librarians to be familiar with data resources and able to answer secondary data reference questions. To learn more about this area of librarianship, this study uses survey responses from librarians who answer … Show more
“…While this seems counterintuitive and particularly out of sync with our personal experience, as well as the conventional wisdom in the literature that data librarians need time and experience to gain the correct skills (Geraci et al, 2012; Kellam and Peter, 2011; Rice and Southall, 2016), we considered a number of reasons why this might be, mainly relating to the fact that these survey results are self-reported. We also took into account the related findings that we learned in our other related works: (1) that frustrations around answering data reference questions will always exist regardless of a librarian’s years of experience (Kubas and McBurney, 2019), and (2) that data questions do not become less time-consuming even as academic librarians gain experience and years in the field (McBurney and Kubas, 2019).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Building off our previous research, this paper examines structural limitations that librarians at academic institutions encounter when trying to support data reference needs. In previous work with our survey results, we honed in on sources of frustration for librarians answering data questions, regardless of the librarians’ depth of knowledge and experience: the field is constantly changing, the needs of users continue to evolve over time, and there are some aspects of data librarianship that we cannot control and prepare for in terms of training (Kubas and McBurney, 2019). We also investigated challenges that stem from users’ limited data literacy skills and offered potential strategies for librarians to deal with these issues (McBurney and Kubas, 2019).…”
As secondary data become increasingly integrated into research and coursework across a widening variety of fields and disciplines, data reference is gaining traction as a major area of library research support. To examine the current landscape of data reference, we distributed a survey via regional and international library listservs asking librarians about their experiences and opinions related to their data reference work. For this paper, the full collected dataset was limited to only academic librarians who answer at least one data reference question per month in order to identify the unique needs of respondents doing reference work in academic institutions, with the ultimate goal of improving our own work as academic librarians at our institution. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze the qualitative survey response data, and supplemented this analysis with descriptive statistics and chi-square tests for the quantitative responses. Through this analysis, we identify a theoretical framework consisting of three themes relating to limitations to success where librarians must advocate for change in order to maintain and improve high-quality data reference work in the academic sphere: (1) technology and resource limitations, such as substandard database interfaces; (2) institutional limitations, such as insufficient staff time or resources dedicated to data reference; and (3) personal limitations, such as a lack of data skills. While librarians have varying levels of influence over each of these three areas, identifying and targeting these categories can help librarians and other data professionals focus resources and build cases for additional support from their library and campus administrators.
“…While this seems counterintuitive and particularly out of sync with our personal experience, as well as the conventional wisdom in the literature that data librarians need time and experience to gain the correct skills (Geraci et al, 2012; Kellam and Peter, 2011; Rice and Southall, 2016), we considered a number of reasons why this might be, mainly relating to the fact that these survey results are self-reported. We also took into account the related findings that we learned in our other related works: (1) that frustrations around answering data reference questions will always exist regardless of a librarian’s years of experience (Kubas and McBurney, 2019), and (2) that data questions do not become less time-consuming even as academic librarians gain experience and years in the field (McBurney and Kubas, 2019).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Building off our previous research, this paper examines structural limitations that librarians at academic institutions encounter when trying to support data reference needs. In previous work with our survey results, we honed in on sources of frustration for librarians answering data questions, regardless of the librarians’ depth of knowledge and experience: the field is constantly changing, the needs of users continue to evolve over time, and there are some aspects of data librarianship that we cannot control and prepare for in terms of training (Kubas and McBurney, 2019). We also investigated challenges that stem from users’ limited data literacy skills and offered potential strategies for librarians to deal with these issues (McBurney and Kubas, 2019).…”
As secondary data become increasingly integrated into research and coursework across a widening variety of fields and disciplines, data reference is gaining traction as a major area of library research support. To examine the current landscape of data reference, we distributed a survey via regional and international library listservs asking librarians about their experiences and opinions related to their data reference work. For this paper, the full collected dataset was limited to only academic librarians who answer at least one data reference question per month in order to identify the unique needs of respondents doing reference work in academic institutions, with the ultimate goal of improving our own work as academic librarians at our institution. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze the qualitative survey response data, and supplemented this analysis with descriptive statistics and chi-square tests for the quantitative responses. Through this analysis, we identify a theoretical framework consisting of three themes relating to limitations to success where librarians must advocate for change in order to maintain and improve high-quality data reference work in the academic sphere: (1) technology and resource limitations, such as substandard database interfaces; (2) institutional limitations, such as insufficient staff time or resources dedicated to data reference; and (3) personal limitations, such as a lack of data skills. While librarians have varying levels of influence over each of these three areas, identifying and targeting these categories can help librarians and other data professionals focus resources and build cases for additional support from their library and campus administrators.
“…For example, high levels of activity in reference services may reflect a natural progression as wellestablished reference operations respond to the queries and needs of their user communities. And, while open data reference work is known to be challenging (Kubas & McBurney, 2019), there are compelling benefits for the profession and service communities, as expressed by one small branch library (5,000-24,999 service population):…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…For example, high levels of activity in reference services may reflect a natural progression as well‐established reference operations respond to the queries and needs of their user communities. And, while open data reference work is known to be challenging (Kubas & McBurney, 2019), there are compelling benefits for the profession and service communities, as expressed by one small branch library (5,000–24,999 service population): “It ' s common to hear librarians lamenting the fact that they never get asked actual reference questions anymore… But open data is an area where skilled guides are still needed. With the appropriate training , our librarians could be showing our community a richer way to view the world than through a simple google search.…”
As the open data movement grows, public libraries must assess if and how to invest resources in this new service area. This paper reports on a recent survey on open data in public libraries across Washington state, conducted by the Open Data Literacy project (ODL) in collaboration with the Washington State Library. Results document interests and activity in open data across small, medium, and large libraries in relation to traditional library services and priorities. Libraries are particularly active in open data through reference services and are beginning to release their own library data to the public. While capacity and resource challenges hinder progress for some, many libraries, large and small, are making progress on new initiatives, including strategic collaborations with local government agencies. Overall, the level and range of activity suggest that Washington state public libraries of all sizes recognize the value of open data for their communities, with a groundswell of libraries moving beyond ambition to action as they develop new services through evolution and innovation.
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