Lamar Soutter Library Director Elaine Martin reviews the training initiatives, e-science developments, and questions that are being asked as librarians move from bounded to blended professional roles.

1. New Roles for Librarians: The
Blended Professional
Elaine Martin, MLS, DA
Director of Library Services, Lamar Soutter Library
Director of the National Network of Libraries of
Medicine, New England Region

2. Objectives
1. Explore roles in e-Science (eResearch)
2. Describe the research informationist
3. Explore library-readiness
4. Describe a new paradigm: the blended professional

3. NN/LM,NER Strategy to Support Emerging Roles
e-Science COI
(180+ librarians)
Funders
Advisory Group
•NN/LM NER
•IMLS
•BLC
•NAHSL
•SBC sponsors
e-Science Librarianship
Prof. Development Education
•Professional Development Day
•e-Science symposium
•Science Boot Camp
•Simmons GSLIS
•Course: How You Teach RDM
Tools/Resources
•e-Science portal
•content for RDM class
•e-Science Thesaurus
•NECDMC curriculum
Research Agenda
Dissemination
•Journal of eScience Librarianship
•e-Science Community Blog
•Twitter feeds

4. Teaching
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Workshops
Embedded in the curriculum
Embedded in the research lab
Library school
Graduate school courses for credit
Staff training
New England Data Management
Curriculum

5. New England Data Management
Curriculum

6. http://library.umassmed.edu/necdmc
New England Data Management
Curriculum

8. Cases
New England Data Management
Curriculum

9. Join the Collaboration!
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View the 10/31 DMP webinar
Use the NECDMC curriculum
Participate in evaluation and feedback loop
Potentially add to the database of cases
Share your experiences on our Community Page
http://library.umassmed.edu/necdmc/
New England Data Management
Curriculum

10. Content Development
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Escience Portal
Escience Community Blog
Journal of Escience Librarianship
YouTube Channel
Webinars
Curriculum
New England Data Management
Curriculum

11. e-Science Web Portal Project
esciencelibrary.umassmed.edu

13. Collaboration with Researchers
• Building the science knowledge-base for
librarians
• Conference planning
• Skill development (data interviews)
• Learning what researchers want and need
New England Data Management
Curriculum

14. Science Boot Camp
Science Boot Camp: June 2013 at UMass Amherst

15. Save the Date:
June 11-13, 2014
Join us at the
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
Further details forthcoming. Registration opens
in Spring 2014.

16. Professional Development
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Annual symposium
Professional development days
Science bootcamp
Poster session
Research opportunities
Dissemination of research findings
New England Data Management
Curriculum

17. Save the Date!
When: April 9, 2014
Theme: “Librarians working with Data”
Where: Faculty Conference Room, University of
Massachusetts Medical School
Registration is open!
For further details see the Symposium website at
http://escholarship.umassmed.edu/escience_symposium/2014/

19. Emerging e-Science roles
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Building research data services
Teaching RDM courses
Data management planning and consulting
Liaison between researchers and library
Maintaining IR and data repositories
Content development
Journal publishing

20. New England Data Management
Curriculum

21. Birth of Research Informationist
• 2010 NLM offered Administrative Supplement
highlighting role of the librarian on the
biomedical research team
• Eight awards
• 2013 second round of funding

22. What Does the Informationist Do?
• Expert searching and filtering the literature
• Bibliographic management and training on use of
tools
• Knowledge management (across multiple sites)
• Data management
• Co-authoring publications

23. What Does the Informationist Do?
• Website development
• Consultation services
• Teaching RDM

24. Competencies Identified
• Information science
• Domain specific knowledge
• Understanding of the grant funding process
• Understanding of clinical and/or basic science
research

25. Competencies Identified
• Project Management
• Database Management
• Database Design
• Statistics

26. Library-Readiness
• Assessing researchers’ data needs
• Conduct institutional self-assessment
• Build relationship with Office of Research
(grants funding, etc.)
• Design strategic agenda and approach
• Plan for sustainability

27. Librarian-Readiness
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Willing to work outside traditional boundaries
Willing to take risks
Comfort with ambiguity
Entrepreneurship
Open to learning new skills, subject-disciplines
Work well with colleagues, non-librarians, and
can communicate between multiple groups

28. How to Get Started
Tips and Tricks
1. Build on existing faculty relationships
2. Find opportunities to work with students on
research projects (group, poster symposia, etc.)
3. Use liaison contacts
4. Conduct assessment
5. Link to dissertations (personal librarian
program, IR, etc.)

29. New Health Sciences/Science Librarian
• Bounded professional moving to Blended
professional
• Defining a new professional identity
• Needs additional model development and
further study

30. The Blended Professional
• Embraces entrepreneurship and change
• Risk taking
• Independent research
• Pride in unique contributions of
of librarianship to the team

31. Questions Raised by the Model
• Do you need a library to be a librarian?
• To whom does the blended professional report
administratively?
• To what extent will the library and/or other
department fund the position? Will the funding
model influence the blended professional’s
home?

32. Role of the RMLs
• Conduct assessments of community needs
• Bring librarians together
• Provide educational and programming
support
• Provide tools, space, platforms for sharing
resources and experience
• Disseminating findings

33. For More Information…

34. Questions and Further Discussion
Contact: Elaine Martin, DA
elaine.martin@umassmed.edu
NER Escience Coordinators:
Andrew Creamer
andrew.creamer@umassmed.edu
Donna Kafel
donna.kafel@umassmed.edu
New England Data Management
Curriculum