Introducing the NNLM National Center for Data Services (NCDS)
As many of you know, The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) has engaged in outreach efforts for the National Library of Medicine, promoting resources and health information literacy, and providing tools, training, and funding to advance NIH aims. The National Center for Data Services (NCDS) is the newest of NNLM’s national offices and centers that work with the NNLM’s seven regional medical libraries. The NCDS was established in July 2021 to develop capacity for data services in the health information community. As part of these aims, we strive to center efforts toward equity, diversity, and accessibility throughout our work. The NCDS works collaboratively across the network and draws upon extensive connections with national data organizations to increase outreach and partner on programming.
The NCDS supports the National Library of Medicine’s strategic goals to accelerate discovery and advance health by building a workforce and providing the tools for data-driven research and healthcare. Our focus is on knowledge application and consolidation through courses with coaching and opportunities to practice learned skills. The NCDS integrates values of open science, reproducibility, inclusivity, and ethical use of data in an innovative educational portfolio while using a coordinated, data-driven approach to building capacity for data services among health information professionals.
NCDS is led by director and associate director: Alisa Surkis, PhD, MLS and Peace Ossom-Williamson, MS, MLS. Dr. Surkis, who is also the Deputy Director of the NYU Health Sciences Library (NYUHSL), developed the data services unit there, and has taught research data management to both researchers and the library community. Ossom-Williamson developed the Research Data Services department at The University of Texas at Arlington, providing research support and expertise around open science and created several accessible tutorials, workshops, and courses as continuing education for health professionals and librarians. Together, they manage the daily operations of the NCDS and coordinate network activities. NCDS also includes Justin de la Cruz, Program Specialist, with knowledge of data science and experience in course development, instruction, outreach, and project management. The NCDS also draws on the support from the NYU Health Sciences Library Data Services Team as content experts with advanced subject knowledge. Additional office support is provided by an Administrative Coordinator. The NCDS team has a variety of data skills in areas including data management, preservation, and data ethics and tools such as OpenRefine, Python, R, and REDCap, and the team has experience in successful development of institutional data support and in developing training and resources for and mentoring of librarians on the national level.
NCDS plans to both develop new trainings and educational resources, but also look to careful curation of existing content and leveraging partnerships with other groups already building resources rather than “reinventing the wheel.”
Website: https://nnlm.gov/about/centers/ncds
Blog NCDS Bit by Bit: https://news.nnlm.gov/ncds (subscribe at the bottom)
Current Offerings
Internship: We have developed a pipeline program to provide data librarianship internships to Library and Information Science and graduate students in health programs from communities currently underrepresented in the profession.
Resources: The dictionary of terms relating to data services is called the Data Glossary. The list of terms is being expanded with updated fields. The revamped Data Glossary will be published Summer 2022.
Current and Upcoming Educational Opportunities:
- NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy webinar series – trainings about the policy and ways that librarians are preparing for its implementation at their institutions
- Ethical Considerations of Data mini-course: 4-part webinar series on data ethics in collection, communication, and use of technology
- Library Carpentry Workshop – summer 2-day bootcamp on data tools and processes, July 18-19, 2022
- Health Sciences Research Data Management course – 8-week online asynchronous course introduction to research data management in medical libraries