Scaling up research data services: a saga of organizational redesign gone awry

Abstract

An academic library may initiate organizational renewal and redesign in order to better pursue new strategic priorities. In the case of the Brock University Library, one of these priorities was active engagement throughout the research life cycle. The draft organizational design framework proposed the creation of a new unit that takes a holistic life cycle approach to research, including data literacy, research data management and other services. Unfortunately, it also called for the elimination of the role of subject liaison librarians, who would be redeployed in other ways. No one was more shocked at this turn of events than me, because as the Business and Economics Librarian, I know how crucial it is to understand the disciplinary landscape with respect to research practices in order to develop research data services that align with researcher needs. This study provides evidence for the discipline-specific needs of business and economics researchers for data reference, data literacy, and data retrieval assistance, derived from a content analysis of graduate student theses and a review of consultation statistics. Will this evidence be sufficient to preserve this role, or will this become a saga of organizational redesign gone awry?