• From the University Librarian: The Libraries are here for your success!
• New Research Resources Division
• UCI Adopts Open Access Policy
• Learn about Copyright Law at Libraries’ Workshops
• Libraries Help Set Priorities for Campus Research Computing
• Professor Nancy Lee Ruyter Estate Gift Supports Dance Collection
• Libraries Help Researchers Comply with NIH Public Access Policy
• New Forms of Research Impact Metrics
• New Online Tools Help Students Find the Services They Need
• Fall Exhibit Explores Early History of Laguna Art
• New Staff Fill Important Roles at the Libraries
• Libraries Test Video Streaming Service
• Dog Days Alleviate Student Stress
• The Picture Post: An Exciting New Online Resource
• Patrons with Print Disabilities Can Now Access HathiTrust

Vol 32 | No 1 | Fall 13

Libraries Help Set Priorities for Campus Research Computing

The UCI Libraries are partners with the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Office of Research in an effort to define the long term direction and priorities for research computing and electronic research services on this campus.

A committee made up of UCI faculty, and staff from the Libraries and OIT, has made a set of recommendations to campus administration based on an online survey and focus groups with faculty. Among the proposals made are the need to develop a much faster network for the movement of research data across campus and externally; more support staff to enhance services offered, such as management, preservation, and organization of research project data; and development of a research data storage system for long term, secure storage of both raw and processed data sets.

The Libraries are in a unique position to help with these initiatives as we have traditionally played a role in the research process by acquiring, preserving, and providing access to textual resources. Today, the Libraries are assuming new roles to assist with data management plans and methods for depositing research output into open access repositories to make publicly funded research more readily available to taxpayers.

Also, given our traditional roles in scholarly publishing, the Libraries can help develop ways to securely publish research data. Finally, the Libraries are knowledgeable on providing services related to the management of research data, such as provision of metadata for robust access of data files, as well as curation and preservation processes in order to assist in data access long after a grant has concluded.

Several such tools are already offered by the Libraries:

The Data Management Plan (DMP) Tool helps tailor your specific research project with a knowledge of data management best practices in your field, to help you develop a data management plan that will work for you.

EZID provides digital object identifiers for online articles, research data, computerized files and other digital objects to facilitate ultimate online access. It also makes it potentially easier to get your research product cited.

DataUp is a free, open-source, add-in to Excel that will parse your .xlsx or .csv files to ensure best practices in data management. DataUp also guides you in creating standard metadata.