Rajendra Bose, invited talk to annual meeting of GeoScience Information Society (GSIS) (), co-located with Geological Society of America annual meeting () on behalf of electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) and Center for Digital Research and Scholarship.
eGY paid the expenses for my travel. Approx 30 GSIS members (mostly geology librarians) in attendance at my roughly 20 minute talk on Wed 8 Oct 2008 in Houston TX. I will write a short paper based on my talk script (below) which will be published in GSIS proceedings in Jan 2009 or after.
Session: T198. Libraries in Transformation: Exploring Topics of Changing Practices and New Technologies
Title: Realizing the research library - data center alliance
Abstract:
Recognizing the conceptual alliance between today's research libraries and scientific data centers, and moving toward creating partnerships, collaboration and even hybrids of these two types of enterprises, are topics that have informed conversations at Columbia University and among participants at recent electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) meetings. On one hand, research libraries are striving to achieve the same excellence at managing digital material as they are known for with their print and other media collections. On the other hand, scientific data centers may benefit from research librarians' experience and perspective on long-term preservation and archiving tasks.
Columbia University (founded in 1754), for example, has 25 libraries and hundreds of librarians who maintain extensive archives. In the 1990s Columbia became home to the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) which operates the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), one of several Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) supporting NASAÕs Earth Observing System (EOS) program. Thus Columbia is fertile ground for collaboration: Libraries staff aim to meet regularly with CIESIN personnel to share experiences with creating metadata and designing digital repositories for university research data. At the same time, CIESIN is developing its own repository for long-term geospatial data archives.
The alliance between research libraries and data centers has also been discussed among contributors to the eGY--the 50 year anniversary incarnation of the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year (IGY). The original IGY was a voluntary international scientific initiative for a comprehensive global study of geophysical phenomena. The eGY focuses on newer "e-Science" approaches to achieve the same goal. The related International Polar Year project provides the context for interaction between the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and University of Colorado, Boulder libraries. Columbia and Colorado are exploring ideas for informatics research initiatives related to this project.
Talk script:
BEGIN
Slide 1: Introduce myself; I am representing both new Center for Digital Research and Scholarship at Columbia, and eGY. Audience may know my colleague at Columbia who is a GSIS member, Amanda Bielskas (geosciences librarian). In my talk title, I use "realizing" in both senses of the term: (1) understanding such an alliance exists, and (2) making it happen.
First, I will talk about the potential transformation in libraries AND data centers, in terms of services expected by users. Second, I will describe a particular Columbia project (Long-Term Archive) in which a data center and the libraries/information services are working together. Third, I will briefly decribe the electonic Geophysical Year initiative and next steps.
PART ONE:
Slides 2-3: For those unfamiliar with NYG geography and different Columbia campuses, CU includes LDEO at Lamont campus, where CIESIN, which runs SEDAC NASA data center, is located. Earth Institute includes groups at Lamont, on main campus and also at our Medical Center campus. Geographical separation and fact that most of 25 libraries are at Morningside means that barriers exist to Libraries and Data Center collaboration at Lamont, but I believe this can be overcome.
Slide 4: Consider the example of someone searching for GIS data in a particular discipline; here is a screen shot of browsing the data sets available for purchase or download--the user of national data centers like USGS EROS data center and NGDC may not necessarily expect assistance that libraries traditionally provide (although some have staffed help desks, etc.)--expectations for many data centers are that they presume their users already possess discipline-specific knowledge.
Slide 5: In the spectrum from data centers to libraries are "data libraries" which are typically focused on social sciences, include population-related data sets like census data. I am more familiar with UK example of Edinburgh Data Library, although many data libraries in the US. Here, for our GIS data searcher, the Edinburgh U. Data Library offers a link to Ordnance Survey map data, roughly equivalent to USGS topographical maps, etc...
Slide 6: Now consider the website/catalogue pages for a research library, like Columbia U. GIS data sets are available here, not through catalogue entries, but instead through a link to the efforts of interdisciplinary GIS group at university which put together a spatial data catalog of roughly 1500 data sets.
Slide 7: But this catalog does not highlight most GIS data sets created at Columbia itself, for example through the Columbia Center for Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Lamont campus.
Slide 8: Instead one goes to data center interface for SEDAC, a NASA data center. Shown here is a simple browse interface for GIS data sets, although other search capabilities are available. But imagine if Columbia Libraries card catalog allowed direct discovery of and access to data sets created at Columbia.
Slide 9: Likewise, imagine that data centers had links to journal articles, etc. that cited their data sets. Citation of data sets is problematic but interest is growing in this--especially for data centers like SEDAC who want to prove to funder that their data is valuable and being used in research work. Shown here are listings that have been created to accompany some SEDAC data sets of publications like books, conference proceedings, journal articles that used them. Imagine that links on this page provided seamless access directly to location of these items in Columbia Libraries, or within an institutional repository at Columbia....
These are examples of the natural pairing and collaboration that could exist between data centers and libraries.
PART 2:
Slide 10: Describe the SEDAC LTA project, and mention recent write up by Downs, Chen, et. al.; mention the makeup of LTA board, both library specialists and data center staff...
Slide 11: Talk about new CDRS, and it's goals an ambitions, and how it is part of Jim Neal CUL/IS restructing a year or so ago. Also mention ongoing e-Science Task Force called by Neal.
CDRS new tagline: The Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS) partners with researchs and scholars to share new knowledge.
PART 3:
Slides 12-14: Discuss fact that eGY is actually a resolve: it is not an institution, etc.; national institutions help with funding, for example NASA, NSF partially to thank for my participation in this meeting. It's also an opportunity to improve scientific data stewardship, etc. It is a refreshing of principles from original 1957-8 International Geophysical Year. eGY activities includes talks at international and community gatherings, but also things that hopefully lead to concrete projects and meeting specific goals.
Slide 15: Call out Dan Baker, Bill Peterson and other staff at Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at U. of Colorado for supporting eGY in US, and arranging events that I have participated in. Also Charlie Barton who heads international eGY activities, and people like Peter Fox who are involved in new AGU Earth and Space Science Informatics section.
Slide 16: publicizing AGU session in Dec.
Slide 17: END