Library cultures of data curation: Adventures in astronomy

Abstract

University libraries are partnering with disciplinary data producers to provide long‐term digital curation of research data sets. Managing data set producer expectations and guiding future development of library services requires understanding the decisions libraries make about curatorial activities, why they make these decisions, and the effects on future data reuse. We present a study, comprising interviews (n = 43) and ethnographic observation, of two university libraries who partnered with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) collaboration to curate a significant astronomy data set. The two libraries made different choices of the materials to curate and associated services, which resulted in different reuse possibilities. Each of the libraries offered partial solutions to the SDSS leaders' objectives. The libraries' approaches to curation diverged due to contextual factors, notably the extant infrastructure at their disposal (including technical infrastructure, staff expertise, values and internal culture, and organizational structure). The Data Transfer Process case offers lessons in understanding how libraries choose curation paths and how these choices influence possibilities for data reuse. Outcomes may not match data producers' initial expectations but may create opportunities for reusing data in unexpected and beneficial ways.

Do the stars align?: Stakeholders and strategies in libraries' curation of an astronomy dataset

“…The first two scenarios unfolded during the MOU negotiation phase, while the third spanned negotiation and implementation phases. For two of these scenarios, how and why Blue University library staff made decisions about their approaches to curation (“The Administrative Archive became a component of the SDSS dataset” and “Implementing the Help Desk as a triage service”) are developed in more detail in Darch et al (2020). Here, we summarize those decision‐making processes and also include discussion of the impact of the library staff's approaches on the satisfaction of SDSS/ARC's leaders with the DTP.…”

“…While these two libraries curated the same dataset, they did so in very different ways, as reported earlier (Darch et al, 2020). This article explores the factors that shaped each party's expectations for archiving a large scientific dataset and lessons learned from the perspectives of librarians and of astronomers.…”

“…New infrastructure is shaped by, and thus “inherits strengths and limitations” from this installed base (Star & Ruhleder, 1996, p. 113). Similarly, the form taken by data curation infrastructures are shaped by the library infrastructures upon which they are layered (Darch et al, 2020).…”

“…The first scenario spans the negotiation and implementation phases of the process, whereas the other two unfold in the implementation phase. For two of these stories, how and why IIDC staff made decisions about their approaches to curation ("Fates of the DAS and CAS" and "Layering on GD infrastructure") are developed in more detail in Darch et al (2020). Here, we summarize those decision-making processes, and also include discussion of the impact of the library staff's approaches on the satisfaction of SDSS/ ARC's leaders with the DTP.…”

“…This article examines the partnerships between SDSS and the libraries. We build upon our earlier report of how the two libraries diverged in their curation process and how their curatorial decisions influenced dataset reuse possibilities (Darch, Sands, Borgman, & Golshan, 2020). Here, we explore commonalities and differences between the motivations of the parties, how these motivations were addressed during the transfer process and the effect of those decisions on SDSS and library leaders' satisfaction with the outcomes.…”