UCSB Library’s Research Data Services (RDS) recently became a member of the Data Curation Network (DCN), a group of professionals from U.S. academic institutions and nonprofit data repositories who seek to improve researcher support through their collective expertise around data curation services.
UCSB is now one of 12 DCN partner institutions in the network. Members join by invitation only and must satisfy eligibility criteria.
DCN enables data repositories - places that store and organize data - to better support researchers who are faced with a growing number of requirements to ethically share their research data in ways that make it findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR).
Now in its third year of operation, DCN is supported by grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The UCSB Library Research Data Services department (formerly known as the Data Curation department) helps UCSB researchers manage and preserve their research data.
By joining this network of other professional data curators, research data librarians, academic library administrators, disciplinary subject matter experts, and scholars, UCSB Library RDS can better connect local datasets to experts.
“We are aware that it is unlikely we will have specific knowledge in every single discipline to assist our researchers with their data,” said Greg Janée, Director of RDS. “Joining the DCN is a part of our effort to foster networks of data management and curation in order to strengthen our expertise beyond our local capacity.”
DCN is an active community that promotes data curation and management literacy through education and research, workshops, publications, and other events.
To learn more about UCSB Library’s Research Data Services, please email rds@library.ucsb.edu.
