Data Librarian and Data Steward – New Tasks and Responsibilities of Academic Libraries in the Context of Open Research Data Implementation in Poland

Abstract

Thesis/Objective – The policy of Open Access (OA) for researching resources in Europe has been implemented for more than 10 years. The first recommendations concerning providing OA to scientific materials were defined during the implementation of the 7th Framework Programme. Introducing another set of recommendations concerning OA to research data was the next stage. The recommendations were transformed into obligations under the Horizon 2020 Programme. In 2018, research-funding institutions were associated in the Plan S document issued by CoalitionS ,which aims to accelerate the transition to full and immediate OA to publications from publicly funded research until January 2021. Academic libraries have always been pioneers in implementing OA to research, creating the necessary tools (platforms and repositories), and preparing training workshops for researchers. OA policy implementation, including both access to research resources and data, is accelerating. That is why the role of academic libraries and academic librarians has become crucial. The article presents how library services and the scope of tasks of their employees change in connection with the introduction of open access policies for research data in Poland. Research methods – A critical review of the literature was used to analyse the content of foreign and Polish LIS literature published in the years 2009-2019. In addition, official documents issued by the European Commission were analysed, as well as websites devoted to Open Research Data (ORD). Results and conclusions – Some new specialisations in librarianship have been introduced – e.g. a data librarian who is responsible not only for academic staff training sessions on Open Research Data, but also for assistance for research teams in the field of data management and data curation. In the future, academic libraries will be responsible for coordinating the work of data stewards responsible for supporting the process of research data creating and managing at university departments and in research teams.