I began my role as a new Research Data Librarian with Laupus Health Sciences Library in June 2024. This position requires me to work with researchers, clinicians, and other healthcare professionals on managing and curating research data. This job is incredibly interesting and rewarding, as I will not only contribute to the research projects by supporting the research lifecycle, but also educate and train researchers and students on data management practices, tools, and technologies. However, it is also a challenging role, because data management and sharing (DMS) activities are relatively new not only to researchers but also to data professionals and librarians. The evolving landscape, driven by emerging technologies like AI and the principles of open science, adds complexity to our work.

The RDAP Summit provided an excellent platform for professionals engaged in DMS to share their achievements, challenges, and concerns while learning from one another. I gained valuable insights from the presentations which covered a range of DMS practices and strategies.

Elizabeth McCall’s talk "We’re New, Want to Talk?": Conducting a Listening Tour as the First Step in RDM Outreach" was particularly relevant to me. She shared her experience as a new librarian reaching out to researchers, promoting data services, and building relationships with patrons – an invaluable perspective for someone new to a data services role like me.

Unlike other library reference services, data services require specialized expertise in data management and strong institutional collaboration. Libraries must partner with multiple stakeholders to effectively support researchers in managing their data needs. On-campus collaborators may include IT offices that oversee research computing and central and collegiate research offices. Many speakers in the session Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration and Partnerships emphasized that collaborations and partnerships could strengthen data services. However, effective partnerships require mutual understanding. Deb McCaffrey et al. in their talk "Send it away, or put it on display? How to talk with research computing staff" highlighted the different perspectives and terminologies used by data service providers and computing professionals. Their insights will help us develop strategies for fostering stronger collaborations with campus partners.

Chelsea McCracken and Ruby MacDougall shared their findings from interviews conducted at 29 institutions, highlighting researchers' needs in data services. Many of the concerns they identified, such as data custody, data size challenges, lack of awareness of library data services, are common at my university as well. Their recommendations for enhancing collaboration among data service partners were particularly useful.

At my institution, we are recently planning to host an institutional data repository. Andrzej Rutkowski et al.’s presentation, "Building Resilience in Research Data Services: Establishing a Dataverse Instance at USC," provided practical guidance on identifying key partners for such a project and fostering engagement throughout implementation. What’s more, Bryan Gee’s presentation, "Development of an Open, Automated Workflow for Gaining Bibliometric Insights Into University Research Data Publishing," and Claire Warner’s talk, "Developing a Dataset Catalog for the University of Alabama at Birmingham," offered valuable insights on tracking data/harvesting metadata from multiple repositories and ensuring data curation and reproducibility.

I also greatly appreciated both the opening keynote and closing keynote. Each provided in-depth discussions on critical issues in data services and offered thought-provoking perspectives. The RDAP Summit has been the most impactful conference I have attended since stepping into my role as a Research Data Librarian. I am deeply grateful to all the speakers for their contributions and for the wealth of knowledge they shared.

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