Managing Research Data in Academic Institutions:Role of Libraries

Abstract

One of the global emerging trends in academic libraries is to facilitate the management of research data for
\nthe benefit of researchers and institutions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of a library in
\noffering such research data management services. The paper discusses the importance of research data, its
\npreservation, organization, dissemination and critical role in the scholarly research life cycle. The authors
\nattempt to provide a vivid description of Research Data Management (RDM) as a service and in the process
\nreview the existing literature on the topic in addition to the indicating the tools and technologies that could
\nbe adopted in successful RDM service implementation. The paper also is an attempt to share the experience
\nof creating the Vikram Sarabhai Library’s research data repository that was developed by adopting the open
\nsource software - CKAN.