Abid Hussain
BIG data has become a buzzword in Information Technology, business, education and health sectors. Creative innovations in many fields introduced remarkable developments including library services. Today’s Libraries are having a vital influence in Research Data Management (RDM). Researchers in modern libraries demand high-level literature without wasting time. Library managers are faced with immense challenge to fulfil the needs of their patrons within available resources. Data Librarianship, in this regard has paramount importance for the researcher which means professional skills to manage and organize data for the use of researchers. The primary duty of Data librarianship is to equip researchers with necessary knowledge by using Research Data Management (RDM).
Data librarianship deals with storage, access, curation and preservation of data. The duty of DL is to manage and disseminate information swiftly. The role of library services has drastically been changed in the era of information technology; the discovery of Big Data has doubled the duty of librarians. In contemporary librarianship, RDM and academic libraries have been interconnected to explore the desired research quickly; open access initiatives on internet further have given birth to Data Librarianship. The concept of Data Librarianship emerged with the advent of data centres and data archives at the global level. The only logic that librarians take a leading role in their management is the management of research data in the age of scientific discoveries and its usefulness. The open science movement is a meaningful source for researchers in broader sense. Institutions have triggered new skills for research owing to Data Librarianship.
In developed countries like USA, UK, China, the role of Data Librarianship is to abreast researchers with quality material, but in developing countries like Pakistan, its role varies from region to region deepens on their skills. There is some broader spectrum of data librarianship; most prominent are computer science, digital designs and a few others have to cope with complex nature. The big data has diverted minds of researchers from traditional research to smart research. The growing interest of researchers has not only changed the nature of academia but also the librarians globally. Rooting from the influence of academic libraries in advancing data management practices, data librarianship was conceptualized and the job position, data librarian has emerged.
Data librarianship performs different jobs, however, some following duties are noteworthy (i) Policies, procedures and planning for RDM (ii) interacting with researchers (iii) training of fellow researchers (iv) provision of advisory services to research on how to manage, archive and disseminate knowledge (v) Information Literacy programmes (vi) reference services (vii) Directing researchers to scholarly publishing, open access and metrics etc. The position of Data librarianship in Pakistan is at slow pace, but witnessing a developing landscape. Lack of skills, low budgets, slow buy-in from researchers and support from higher authorities are few meticulous issues which are not allowing Pakistani librarians to accept these changes.
Academic libraries have continuously been embracing technological innovation and demand of researchers is increasing rapidly in utilizing big data. Data librarianship in Pakistan is in an exacerbating condition for many reasons, a few noteworthy are obsolete library policies, cost of technologies, information and digital literacy, research ethics/reading cultures, open access publishing, outreach services, scholarly communications and government interest etc. Libraries in Pakistan are taking different approaches for Data Librarianship. But poor response from authorities and stakeholders do not allow librarians to initiate RDM in academia. The wider acceptance of technology, speedy progress in services and dynamic growth have spurred the library professionals to address the issue of Data Librarianship. In short, such initiative in Pakistan will boost research culture contributing immensely in knowledge economy, improvement in science and technology of the country.
— The writer is working as Library Officer in Institute of Strategic Studies, a think-think based in Islamabad.
