Category: Digital Curation & Digital Preservation

Paywall: "A Comprehensive Review of Open Data Platforms, Prevalent Technologies, and Functionalities"


We will discuss seven major open data platforms, such as (1) CKAN (2) DKAN (3) Socrata (4) OpenDataSoft (5) GitHub (6) Google datasets (7) Kaggle. We will evaluate the technological commons, techniques, features, methods, and visualization offered by each tool. In addition, why are these platforms important to users such as providers, curators, and end-users? And what are the key options available on these platforms to publish open data?

https://doi.org/10.1145/3560107.3560142

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Producing Open Data"


Mainly building on our own experience as scholars from different research traditions (life sciences, social sciences and humanities), we describe best-practice approaches for opening up research data. We reflect on common barriers and strategies to overcome them, condensed into a step-by-step guide focused on actionable advice in order to mitigate the costs and promote the benefit of open data on three levels at once: society, the disciplines and individual researchers.

https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.8.e86384

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"Twitter’s Potential Collapse Could Wipe Out Vast Records of Recent Human History"


Twitter’s ubiquity, its adoption by nearly a quarter of a billion users in the last 16 years, and its status as a de facto public archive, has made it a gold mine of information, says Thomas [senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue].

"In one sense, this actually represents an enormous opportunity for future historians—we’ve never had the capacity to capture this much data about any previous era in history," she explains. But that enormous scale presents a huge storage problem for organizations.

For eight years, the US Library of Congress took it upon itself to maintain a public record of all tweets, but it stopped in 2018, instead selecting only a small number of accounts’ posts to capture. "It never, ever worked," says William Kilbride, executive director of the Digital Preservation Coalition. The data the library was expected to store was too vast, the volume coming out of the firehose too great. "Let me put that in context: it’s the Library of Congress. They had some of the best expertise on this topic. If the Library of Congress can’t do it, that tells you something quite important," he says.

https://cutt.ly/EMPxp0h

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Digital Books Wear Out Faster than Physical Books"


Mega-publishers are saying electronic books do not wear out, but this is not true at all. The Internet Archive processes and reprocesses the books it has digitized as new optical character recognition technologies come around, as new text understanding technologies open new analysis, as formats change from djvu to daisy to epub1 to epub2 to epub3 to pdf-a and on and on. This takes thousands of computer-months and programmer-years to do this work. This is what libraries have signed up for—our long-term custodial roles.

Also, the digital media they reside on changes, too—from Digital Linear Tape to PATA hard drives to SATA hard drives to SSDs. If we do not actively tend our digital books they become unreadable very quickly.

Then there is cataloging and metadata. If we do not keep up with the ever-changing expectations of digital learners, then our books will not be found. This is ongoing and expensive.

https://cutt.ly/VMTDGdL

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Nature Authors Can Now Seamlessly Share Their Data"


In April of this year, Springer Nature and Figshare announced a new integrated route for data deposition at Nature Portfolio titles to help address this problem and encourage researchers to share data rather than seeing it as a hurdle to article publication.

Following the success of the pilot, this streamlined integration is now being extended. Authors submitting to the Nature Portfolio journals, including Nature, in the fields of life, health, chemical and physical sciences will now be able to easily opt into data sharing, via Figshare, as part of one integrated submission process.

https://cutt.ly/RMTKcpo

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Digital Preservation Coalition: "Understanding User Needs: A Case Study from the National Library of Scotland"


This case study looks at the approaches to user engagement with National Library of Scotland (NLS) maps website users, and how this informs digital preservation decisions. After a brief description of the NLS maps website structure, it examines user expectations of the NLS maps website, how these have developed over time, and the main purposes users have for visiting the website. The main research methods which have been employed to consult with users are then outlined, including user surveys, web-analytics, mystery visitor reports, and enquiries.

http://doi.org/10.7207/twgn22-01

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"Research Data Management Needs Assessment of Clemson University"


The faculty, staff, and graduate students at Clemson University were surveyed by the library about their RDM needs in the spring of 2021. The survey was based on previous surveys from 2012 and 2016 to allow for comparison, but language was updated, and additional questions were added because the field of RDM has evolved. Survey findings indicated that researchers are overall more likely to back up and share their data, but the process of cleaning and preparing the data for sharing was an obstacle. Few researchers reported including metadata when sharing or consulting the library for help with writing a Data Management Plan (DMP). Researchers want RDM resources; offering and effectively marketing those resources will enable libraries to both support researchers and encourage best practices. Understanding researcher needs and offering time-saving services and convenient training options makes following RDM best practices easier for researchers. Outreach and integrated partnerships that support the research life cycle are crucial next steps for ensuring effective data management.

https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.13970

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Paywall: "Big Data Curation Framework: Curation Actions and Challenges"


The goal of this research is to provide a theoretical framework that identifies big data curation actions and associated curation challenges. . . . The outcome of the study includes the big data curation framework that provides overview of curation activities and concerns that are essential to perform such activities. The study also provides practical implications for libraries, archives, data repositories and other information organisations that concerns the issue of big data curation as big data presents a multidimensional array of exigencies in relation to the mission of those organisations.

https://doi.org/10.1177/01655515221133528

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"How Often Do Cancer Researchers Make Their Data and Code Available and What Factors Are Associated with Sharing"


One in five studies declared data were publicly available (59/306, 19%, 95% CI: 15–24%). However, when data availability was investigated this percentage dropped to 16% (49/306, 95% CI: 12–20%), and then to less than 1% (1/306, 95% CI: 0–2%) when data were checked for compliance with key FAIR principles. While only 4% of articles that used inferential statistics reported code to be available (10/274, 95% CI: 2–6%), the odds of reporting code to be available were 5.6 times higher for researchers who shared data.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02644-2

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Paywall: The Data Literacy Cookbook


The Data Literacy Cookbook includes a variety of approaches to and lesson plans for teaching data literacy, from simple activities to self-paced learning modules to for-credit and discipline-specific courses. . . . Many sections have overlapping learning outcomes, so you can combine recipes from multiple sections to whip up a scaffolded curriculum. The Data Literacy Cookbook provides librarians with lesson plans, strategies, and activities to help guide students as both consumers and producers in the data life cycle.

https://cutt.ly/XMhHEts

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Data Primer: Making Digital Humanities Research Data Public


This Data Primer was collaboratively authored by over 30 Digital Humanities researchers and research assistants, and was peer-reviewed by data professionals. It serves as an overview of the different aspects of data curation and management best practices for digital humanities researchers. Endorsed by the National Training Expert Group of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.

https://cutt.ly/8MhHFnO

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"NLM Toolkit for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy"


A selection of guides, toolkits, and other resources for librarians working on addressing the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy.

https://cutt.ly/iMyXCLp

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Open Access Books through Open Data Sources: Assessing Prevalence, Providers, and Preservation"


The results suggest reason for concern for the long tail of OA books distributed at thousands of different web domains as these include volatile cloud storage or sometimes no longer contained the files at all. Data quality issues, varying definitions of OA across services, and inconsistent implementation of unique identifiers were discovered as key challenges. The study includes recommendations for publishers, libraries, data providers, and preservation services for improving monitoring and practices for OA book preservation.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7305489

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"The French National 3D Data Repository for Humanities: Features, Feedback and Open Questions"


We introduce the French National 3D Data Repository for Humanities designed for the conservation and the publication of 3D research data in the field of Humanities and Social Sciences. We present the choices made for the data organization, metadata, standards and infrastructure towards a FAIR service.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.04094

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"Towards Environmentally Sustainable Long-term Digital Preservation "


Digital preservation relies on technological infrastructure (information and communication technology, ICT) that can have environmental impacts. While altering technology usage can reduce the impact of digital preservation practices, this alone is not a strategy for sustainable practice. Moving toward environmentally sustainable digital preservation requires critically examining the motivations and assumptions that shape current practice. The use of scalable cloud infrastructures can reduce the environmental impacts of long-term data preservation solutions.

http://www.ijdc.net/article/view/848

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Supporting Software Preservation Services in Research and Memory Organizations


Supporting Software Preservation Services in Research and Memory Organizationsidentifies concepts, skill sets, barriers, and future directions related to software preservation work. Although definitions of "software" can vary across preservation contexts, the study found that there appears to be wide support for inter-organizational collaboration in software preservation. The report includes 13 recommendations for broadening representation in the field, defining the field, networking and community building, informal and formal learning, and implementing shared infrastructures and model practices.

https://cutt.ly/4NJHcoF

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The BitList 2022: The Global List of Digitally Endangered Species


The Global List of Digitally Endangered Species – The BitList – offers an accessible snapshot of the concerns expressed by the global digital preservation community with respect to the risks faced by diverse types of digital content in varied conditions and contexts. It provides an elementary assessment of the imminence and significance of the dangers faced by different, and at times overlapping classifications of digital materials. By identifying the urgency of action and significance of content, The BitList draws attention to those digital materials that, in the view of the global digital preservation community, require urgent action to remain viable.

http://doi.org/10.7207/dpcbitlist-22

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"Finding Your Way in Academic Librarianship: Introducing the Scholarly Communication Notebook"


The SCN (https://www.oercommons.org/hubs/SCN) is an extension of an earlier, related, effort to create an open textbook about scholarly communication librarianship. That book, Scholarly Communication Librarianship and Open Knowledge, is forthcoming from ACRL in 2023. . . . Even if openly licensed, a book remains a relatively static resource. Scholarly communication is not static at all. Far from it, as many will attest and recognize through hard-won experience. Our contribution is the SCN, an online collection of contributed, modular, open content scoped to scholarly communication topics, which might complement the book or find use independent of it.

https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.83.10.444

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"Data Platforms for Open Life Sciences – A Systematic Analysis of Management Instruments"


Open data platforms are interfaces between data demand of and supply from their users. Yet, data platform providers frequently struggle to aggregate data to suit their users’ needs and to establish a high intensity of data exchange in a collaborative environment. Here, using open life science data platforms as an example for a diverse data structure, we systematically categorize these platforms based on their technology intermediation and the range of domains they cover to derive general and specific success factors for their management instruments. Our qualitative content analysis is based on 39 in-depth interviews with experts employed by data platforms and external stakeholders. We thus complement peer initiatives which focus solely on data quality, by additionally highlighting the data platforms’ role to enable data utilization for innovative output. Based on our analysis, we propose a clearly structured and detailed guideline for seven management instruments. This guideline helps to establish and operationalize data platforms and to best exploit the data provided. Our findings support further exploitation of the open innovation potential in the life sciences and beyond.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276204

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ARL: "Two-Page Table Compares 2013 and 2022 Public-Access Guidance from US Office of Science and Technology Policy"


In an effort to highlight the significant differences between the 2013 [OSTP] memorandum and the 2022 guidance, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published a comparison table of the two documents. This table breaks down the 2013 and 2022 OSTP public-access guidance into sections for a quick side-by-side comparison of 10 key components, including embargo period, data policies, formats, and metadata expectations.

https://cutt.ly/jNm0OeT

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Paywall: "A New Decade of Uses for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) As a Tool to Research, Measure and Analyze Library Services"


The purpose of this paper is to explore library research that uses geographic information systems (GIS) as a tool to evaluate library services and resources to ascertain current trends and establish future directions for this growing research area.

https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-03-2020-0052

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"An Assessment of Research Data Services through Client Interaction Records"


Research data services have become a key feature of academic libraries. In this paper, we provide an internal assessment of consulting reach and effectiveness for our Data Services provided by the University Libraries at Virginia Tech and using client records from 2016 to 2020. Through this assessment, we explore how service growth and reach across Virginia Tech has evolved with time. We also look more closely at these aspects for one college and discuss how we will use this data to assess the impact of our services. Finally, through the lens of client outcomes, we examine the trends of client interactions over the term of the study. Initially, we envisioned a successful service as one useful to the largest number of entities (primarily colleges and institutes) across Virginia Tech. However, analysis of the data we have gathered over the past 4 years leads us to consider target ing our service growth where it might be most useful. Rather than prioritizing services that are useful to the largest number of researchers, we instead could (and perhaps should) prioritize engagement with researchers and research communities for whom our assistance can make the largest positive impact on their research projects. This assessment of our client data demonstrates the utility of detailed client management records for periodic formative and summative assessment of research data services.

https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.14439

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"What Does Open Research Look Like in My Field? New Researcher Case Studies Show How It’s Done"


Today UKRN releases both an updated version of its primer on open research in different disciplines, and a new set of accompanying case studies, hosted on dedicated UKRN pages for each discipline.

The case studies—23 so far—are based on interviews conducted during summer 2022 with active researchers across the UK and beyond. They describe a wide range of research practices across diverse fields of research, from art and design to condensed matter physics, and outline both why and how openness is relevant.

They cover topics such as open access and open data and software, but also co-production, pre-registration, preprints, ethics, the roles of infrastructure, and of other actors such as funders, standards bodies and community groups.

https://cutt.ly/zNpjQM1

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"A Perpetual Motion Machine: The Preserved Digital Scholarly Record"


Digital preservation will never be a solved problem: it needs constant reinvention, and is going to become harder over time. Scholarship is changing and this is affecting what needs to be preserved and what preservation means to the future of knowledge discovery. The diversification of outputs means that knowledge exists in a network of contextual metadata, data, software, standards and publications—requiring multilateral management of this complex knowledge graph. Preservation demands new skills, technologies and resources from librarians, publishers, funders and institutions—and more joined-up thinking about archiving.

https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1494

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Paywall: "‘So How Do We Balance All of These Needs?’: How the Concept of AI Technology Impacts Digital Archival Expertise"


Four main themes were identified: fitting AI into day to day practice; the responsible use of (AI) technology; managing expectations (about AI adoption) and bias associated with the use of AI. The analysis suggests that AI adoption combined with hindsight about digitisation as a disruptive technology might provide archival practitioners with a framework for re-defining, advocating and outlining digital archival expertise.

https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-08-2022-0170

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