For immediate release:
August 12, 2010
For more information, contact:
Karla Strieb
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
karla@arl.org
Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published E-Science and Data Support Services: A Study of ARL Member Institutions, which synthesizes data collected in a 2009 survey with subsequent interviews of several responding libraries. Authored by Catherine Soehner, Catherine Steeves, and Jennifer Ward, the study was sponsored by the ARL E-Science Working Group to build an understanding of how libraries can contribute to e-science activities in their institution and identify organizations and institutions that have similar interests in e-science to leverage research library interests.
The study draws on data from 57 of 123 ARL member libraries (a 46% response rate for the survey). Over 75% of survey respondents reported that their institution either provides infrastructure or support services for e-science or is planning infrastructure for such activities. This finding demonstrates research libraries’ rapid engagement in e-science in recent years. Both the survey and the authors’ interviews detail how institutions are quickly rising to meet the challenge of managing data and their diverse strategies for doing so in the face of significant challenges regarding infrastructure, funding, and staff resources.
The report presents the findings of the survey of ARL member libraries and also includes six case studies compiled by the authors to elaborate library e-science activities and collaborations. Strategies for resourcing e-science services, staffing patterns, and the influence of institutional culture are explored. In addition to the case studies and survey findings, the report includes a bibliography of related articles, reports, and Web sites, along with the survey instrument and a selection of recent research library position descriptions with significant e-science support components. A free and open webcast is being planned for the fall.
To view the free report, please visit http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/escience_report2010.pdf
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.