Given the increasing attention to managing, publishing, and preserving
research datasets as scholarly assets, what competencies in working with
research data will graduate students in STEM disciplines need to be
successful in their fields? And what role can librarians play in helping
students attain these competencies? In addressing these questions, this
book articulates a new area of opportunity for librarians and other
information professionals, developing educational programs that
introduce graduate students to the knowledge and skills needed to work
with research data. The term "data information literacy" has been
adopted with the deliberate intent of tying two emerging roles for
librarians together. By viewing information literacy and data services
as complementary rather than separate activities, the contributors seek
to leverage the progress made and the lessons learned in each service
area.
The intent of the publication is to help librarians cultivate strategies
and approaches for developing data information literacy programs of
their own using the work done in the multiyear, IMLS-supported Data
Information Literacy (DIL) project as real-world case studies. The
initial chapters introduce the concepts and ideas behind data
information literacy, such as the twelve data competencies. The middle
chapters describe five case studies in data information literacy
conducted at different institutions (Cornell, Purdue, Minnesota,
Oregon), each focused on a different disciplinary area in science and
engineering. They detail the approaches taken, how the programs were
implemented, and the assessment metrics used to evaluate their impact.
The later chapters include the "DIL Toolkit," a distillation of the
lessons learned, which is presented as a handbook for librarians
interested in developing their own DIL programs. The book concludes with
recommendations for future directions and growth of data information
literacy. More information about the DIL project can be found on the
project's website: datainfolit.org.
