The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) announced the new set of institutions joining the Realities of Academic Data Sharing (RADS) Initiative, a research project aimed at understanding and addressing the complexities and costs associated with managing and sharing data from funded research.
The cohort will join the current RADS institutions—Duke University, the University at Buffalo, the University of Minnesota, and Washington University in St. Louis—and bring unique expertise and perspectives to the collective endeavor.
University of Nebraska–Lincoln joins the cohort with Leslie Delserone, professor/Research Data Services & Science Librarian, as UNL’s research lead.
The six other institutions joining the RADS cohort with UNL are:
• New York University
• University of Arizona
• University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
• University of Kentucky
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• University of South Carolina
“The outcomes from the first RADS cohort have changed conversations and elevated institutional awareness and buy-in for both the values and the costs of the FAIR and CAREful sharing of research data at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln,” said Liz Lorang, dean of Libraries, “Participating in the second cohort is a way for us to contribute to the research library community as well as to the advancement of open scholarship—and to ensure that the needs of Nebraska researchers are present in national conversations. I’m incredibly thankful to Professor Delserone for representing the UNL Libraries in this work.”
The RADS cohort institutions have demonstrated a high level of interest and commitment to advancing the understanding of data management and sharing costs. Participating institutions will receive complimentary institutional membership to the Data Curation Network (DCN) for the term of the research project, with the exception of New York University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, both of which are current DCN members. The DCN is a membership organization of institutional and nonprofit data repositories whose vision is to advance open research by making data more ethical, reusable, and understandable. The UNL Libraries have curated nine data collections for DCN institutions since joining in 2021; in return, the DCN curators have evaluated four UNL datasets.
“The University of Arizona Libraries look forward to collaborating with our colleagues in the RADS project to advance sustainable models for openly sharing research data as a core service in research libraries,” said Shan Sutton, dean of University Libraries and Katheryne B. Willock Endowed Chair at the University of Arizona.
RADS’ research investigates how various organizational structures and infrastructure models impact expenses for public access to research data. In analyzing these various models, this research will aid institutions in building efficient and coordinated research data infrastructure to meet federal and public policies for data sharing.
Initially funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) from 2021 to 2023, the RADS Initiative is currently supported by the US Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) (LG-254930-OLS-23) until 2026.
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of research libraries in Canada and the US whose vision is to create a trusted, equitable, and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. IMLS advances, supports, and empowers America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.