The Data Curation Network (DCN) recently presented at the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) Fall 2022 Membership Meeting, held in Washington D.C. This year’s conference included incredible sessions on everything from data lakes and large-scale digital preservation to updates from funding agencies and computational analysis of cultural heritage materials.
The DCN was invited to present on our project retrospective, held in March 2022, in which we unpacked the structures that enabled the work of the DCN (slides available). We will publish a full findings report through the University of Michigan Press (expected March 2023). Until then, we wanted to quickly highlight the three types of infrastructure that have been essential to the work of the DCN: Administrative, tool-based, and trust-based structures. Stay tuned for more information on the published report!
At CNI, the DCN also hosted a breakfast session that was open to all CNI attendees. This was an opportunity for current, past, and prospective DCN members and advisory board representatives to discuss challenges and opportunities at their institutions and connect with one another. We are grateful to CNI for providing us with an entire room to network and connect with old and new friends alike. Special thanks to Jacqueline (Jackie) Eudell for making this breakfast a possibility. Thank you, Jackie and all CNI staff!
The DCN followed this conference with an in-person Executive Committee meeting, hosted at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Washington D.C. offices. During this meeting, we discussed staffing needs of the DCN, strategic growth goals, and priorities for calendar year 2023. Thanks to Shawna Taylor, Cynthia Hudson Vitale, and ARL for welcoming us into this space.
The Realities of Academic Data Sharing (RADS) project team also met during this week to work through the data collected this fall from funded researchers and campus administrators. Survey data on infrastructure, data management and sharing activities, staffing, and their requisite costs, were discussed in detail to determine what trends and gaps surfaced. Although the RADS studies were retrospectives, findings will inform funders, campus leadership, and researchers who are planning for the new policies resulting from the 2022 Nelson Memo. We thank Lizhao Ge, our statistical consultant, and Mikala for joining us during these discussions!
