Research Data Management Librarian Academy (RDMLA): New Units, Partnerships, and Growing Impact

Background

Launched in October 2019, the Research Data Management Librarian Academy (RDMLA) meets librarians’ RDM training needs. Collaboratively developed by librarians, LIS faculty, and industry professionals, RDMLA directly addresses the learning gaps in RDM training discovered in a 2018 needs assessment survey and environmental scan. Practicing librarians responded to questions regarding their RDM training needs, challenges offering RDM services, and essential RDM skills needed for professional success. The findings provided insights into RDM practices, the state of RDM training, and exposed missing areas, key among them, a holistic, accessible, self-paced, and expandable curriculum.

Description

The RDMLA curriculum framework consists of eleven units addressing expressed RDM needs while avoiding redundancy in current training offerings. The first eight units were released in October 2019 and an additional three units were made available in late 2020. The RDMLA continues to grow and provide new content through new partnerships. RDMLA has partnered with Simmons University School of Library and Information Science to offer course CE credits. Partner institution National Taiwan University is nearing the completion of a traditional Chinese language version that will be available on Canvas Network in September/October 2021, after quality control and accessibility reviews. Additionally, the RDMLA will begin introducing mini-modules - brief video lectures with open-access readings - that discuss trending topics in RDM. This upcoming product has fostered new partnerships with the National Institutes of Health and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

RDMLA’s impact is global. It is featured on the NNLM’s online courses and tutorials and ALISE COVID-19 LIS resources, as well as a selected course for the MLA’s Data Service Specialization. University libraries feature RDMLA as an important resource for RDM (e.g., Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, Florida State University, University of Virginia, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Manitoba, among others).

Conclusion

RDMLA currently has more than 5,000 registered learners from 158 countries. The RDMLA team is committed to continuously providing comprehensive RDM training with new unit development and translation partnerships. Furthermore, RDMLA is more than just another online course; it is being incorporated in LIS courses, used as a professional resource, and is part of specialization or continuing education. Through the RDMLA, we seek to build a global community of practice of RDM and further advance RDM practice in libraries and beyond.