Data Science for Librarians


Book Description

More data, more problems -- A new strand of librarianship -- Data creation and collection -- Data for the academic librarian -- Research data services and the library ecosystem -- Data sources -- Data curation (archiving/preservation) -- Data storage, management, and retrieval -- Data analysis and visualization -- Data ethics and policies -- Data for public libraries and special libraries -- Conclusion: library, information, and data science.




Data Science for Librarians


Book Description

This unique textbook intersects traditional library science with data science principles that readers will find useful in implementing or improving data services within their libraries. Data Science for Librarians introduces data science to students and practitioners in library services. Writing for academic, public, and school library managers; library science students; and library and information science educators, authors Yunfei Du and Hammad Rauf Khan provide a thorough overview of conceptual and practical tools for data librarian practice. Partially due to how quickly data science evolves, libraries have yet to recognize core competencies and skills required to perform the job duties of a data librarian. As society transitions from the information age into the era of big data, librarians and information professionals require new knowledge and skills to stay current and take on new job roles, such as data librarianship. Such skills as data curation, research data management, statistical analysis, business analytics, visualization, smart city data, and learning analytics are relevant in library services today and will become increasingly so in the near future. This text serves as a tool for library and information science students and educators working on data science curriculum design.




The Medical Library Association Guide to Data Management for Librarians


Book Description

Technological advances and the rise of collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches have changed the practice of research. The 21st century researcher not only faces the challenge of managing increasingly complex datasets, but also new data sharing requirements from funders and journals. Success in today’s research enterprise requires an understanding of how to work effectively with data, yet most researchers have never had any formal training in data management. Libraries have begun developing services and programs to help researchers meet the demands of the data-driven research enterprise, giving librarians exciting new opportunities to use their expertise and skills. The Medical Library Association Guide to Data Management for Librarians highlights the many ways that librarians are addressing researchers’ changing needs at a variety of institutions, including academic, hospital, and government libraries. Each chapter ends with “pearls of wisdom,” a bulleted list of 5-10 takeaway messages from the chapter that will help readers quickly put the ideas from the chapter into practice. From theoretical foundations to practical applications, this book provides a background for librarians who are new to data management as well as new ideas and approaches for experienced data librarians.




Hands-On Data Science for Librarians


Book Description

Librarians understand the need to store, use and analyze data related to their collection, patrons and institution, and there has been consistent interest over the last 10 years to improve data management, analysis, and visualization skills within the profession. However, librarians find it difficult to move from out-of-the-box proprietary software applications to the skills necessary to perform the range of data science actions in code. This book will focus on teaching R through relevant examples and skills that librarians need in their day-to-day lives that includes visualizations but goes much further to include web scraping, working with maps, creating interactive reports, machine learning, and others. While there’s a place for theory, ethics, and statistical methods, librarians need a tool to help them acquire enough facility with R to utilize data science skills in their daily work, no matter what type of library they work at (academic, public or special). By walking through each skill and its application to library work before walking the reader through each line of code, this book will support librarians who want to apply data science in their daily work. Hands-On Data Science for Librarians is intended for librarians (and other information professionals) in any library type (public, academic or special) as well as graduate students in library and information science (LIS). Key Features: Only data science book available geared toward librarians that includes step-by-step code examples Examples include all library types (public, academic, special) Relevant datasets Accessible to non-technical professionals Focused on job skills and their applications




The Academic Librarian in the Digital Age


Book Description

As new technology and opportunities emerge through the revolutionary impacts of the digital age, the function of libraries and librarians and how they provide services to constituents is rapidly changing. The impact of new technology touches everything from libraries' organizational structures, business models, and workflow processes, to position descriptions and the creation of new positions. As libraries are required to make operational adjustments to meet the growing technological demands of libraries' customer bases and provide these services, librarians must be flexible in adapting to this fast-moving environment. This volume shares the unique perspectives and experiences of librarians on the front lines of this technological transformation. The essays within provide details of both the practical applications of surviving, adapting, and growing when confronted with changing roles and responsibilities, as well as a big picture perspective of the changing roles impacting libraries and librarians. This book strives to be a valuable tool for librarians involved in public and technical services, digital humanities, virtual and augmented reality, government documents, information technology, and scholarly communication.




New Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know


Book Description

The time is right for this all-new survey of the library technology that’s already transitioning from trend to everyday reality. As in the previous best-selling volume, Varnum and his contributors throw the spotlight on the systems, software, and approaches most crucial to the knowledge institutions of tomorrow. Inside, readers will find concise information and analysis on topics such as mobile technologies; privacy-protection technology tools; the Internet of Things (IoT); virtual reality; bots and automation; machine learning applications for libraries; libraries as digital humanities enablers; visualizations in discovery systems; linked open data; embeddedness and Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI); special collections and digital publishing; link rot, web archiving, and the future of the Distributed Web; and digital repositories. Sure to spark discussions about library innovation, this collection is a must have for staff interested in technology or involved with strategic planning.




Exploring New Roles for Librarians


Book Description

Librarians have been providing support to researchers for many years, typically with a focus on responding to researchers’ needs for access to the existing literature. However, librarians’ skills and expertise make them uniquely suited to provide a wide range of assistance to researchers across the entire research process, from conception of the research question to archiving of collected data at the project’s conclusion. In response to increasingly stringent demands on researchers to share their data, and as computationally intensive and primarily data-driven scientific methods begin to take the place of traditional lab-based research, the “research informationist” has emerged as a new information profession. With a background in library and information sciences, as well as expertise in best practices for data management, grant funder policies, and informatics tools, the research informationist is capable of implementing a full suite of research support services. This book will discuss how the research informationist role has developed out of the previously established clinical informationist model and how it expands on the model of embedded librarianship. The book will also examine core competencies for the successful research informationist and the training and preparation necessary for students in library and information sciences programs, as well as currently practicing librarians. Finally, this book will consider how research informationists can form collaborative partnerships with research teams and build their services outside the walls of the library, citing practical examples of the types of support research informationists can offer.




Informatics Education in Healthcare


Book Description

This heavily revised second edition defines the current state of the art for informatics education in medicine and healthcare. This field has continued to undergo considerable changes as the field of informatics continues to evolve. The book features extensively revised chapters addressing the latest developments in areas including relevant informatics concepts for those who work in health information technology and those teaching informatics courses in clinical settings, techniques for teaching informatics with limited resources, and the use of online modalities in bioinformatics research education. New topics covered include how to get appropriate accreditation for an informatics program, data science and bioinformatics education, and undergraduate health informatics education. Informatics Education in Healthcare: Lessons Learned addresses the broad range of informatics education programs and available techniques for teaching informatics. It therefore provides a valuable reference for all involved in informatics education.




Competencies for Science Librarians


Book Description

This book explores the expectations and resources available to develop a set of important core skills needed for this profession. Leading authorities in the field of librarianship offer their extensive experience and insight to help beginners to understand precisely what actual measurable skills are required to become a successful career science librarian. Librarians currently working in the area will gain the data they need to be able to effectively collaborate with more experienced people. Topics include reviews of key concepts, basic skills, terminology, ACRL instruction competencies, teams, and assessment of services. It also provides the latest knowledge on trends, standards, terminology, professional associations, and a brief literature review, and recommended readings for familiarizing librarians with their job responsibilities. Besides job competencies, the book reviews collection development, reference issues, in-depth research assistance, cataloging and metadata, faculty liaison and outreach, career development concerns, continuing education tracks, and issues in collaboration assistance. This source also provides extensive references and tables and figures to clearly present information. This book is a valuable resource for beginners who wonder what they need to know as they start their careers or are considering this as an area of concentration, and as a refresher and professional development track for current librarians working with more experienced people in the area. This book was published as a special issue of Science & Technology Libraries.




Health Librarianship


Book Description

Intended for students interested in careers as health sciences librarians, this insightful book presents a current view of trends and issues in the field of health librarianship from leading scholars and practitioners. With health care reform and the Affordable Care Act driving up demand for ready access to health and biomedical information by both health care providers and healthcare consumers, health librarianship plays a critical role in facilitating access to that information. Health Librarianship: An Introduction places health librarianship within the health care context, covering librarianship within this specific environment as well as other perspectives relevant to health librarianship. The book addresses the basic functions of librarianship—for example, management and administration, public services, and technical services—within the health care context as well as issues unique to health librarianship like health literacy, consumer health, and biomedical informatics. This book is an outstanding textbook for library and information sciences classes and will also be of interest to those considering a career change to health librarianship.