Data Management Support for Faculty Facing New Funding Mandates: The Case of the U. S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture

ABSTRACT

Data management is a way for liaison librarians to support faculty research. American liaison librarians face new demands in data management due to expanding public access guidelines. This article gives advice for librarians new to data management, with the specific case of agriculture. For librarians supporting agriculture, the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture [USDA NIFA] data management plan [DMP] requirements are a challenge and an opportunity. Agricultural libraries can learn to support faculty in how to write a plan that addresses the NIFA DMP sections of expected data type, data format, data storage and preservation, data sharing and public access, roles and responsibilities, and monitoring and reporting. Particular challenges that arise for DMPs in agrisciences include the diversity of subjects, multiple metadata and taxonomic systems, and the heterogeneity of research and data. To deal with this, data consultations are particularly critical.

KEYWORDS:

• Funding
• institutional repository
• researchers
• scholarly communications