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The
acquisition of data in it's many forms is a crucial part of academic
research in many disciplines and at all levels. Whether it be a request
from a faculty member for a large raw data set costing thousands of
dollars, or a simple request from an undergraduate looking for statistics
for a term paper, data can be a significant part of a research project.
Historically,
however, it has been necessary to routinely direct users to a widely
dispersed set of campus resources, with no definitive list of available
data, no central point for consultation, and no contact point with a
mandate to serve the entire user community.
While
there have been attempts in the past to develop a Data Library on campus,
recent changes have made it more technologically and financially feasible
than ever before. The main force behind the development of Data Libraries
at many institutions is the Data Liberation Initiative. This Statistics
Canada project has made available, for a very reasonable consortium
fee, many large data sets that were previously only available at a very
high price. For the user, the ease of access and the fact that the data
is now free has already caused demand to rise significantly for research
material as well as course support resources, all of which has occurred
before the project has been publicized.
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ease of access to high-powered computing systems has also contributed
to this increased demand for data. While users have traditionally
had to use (through a mediator) complicated and "unfriendly"
UNIX machines, much of the data manipulation work has now moved
to the desktop, while the Internet and World Wide Web have provided
attractive and easy front-ends and searchtools. All of these factors
have combined to make the use of data a less daunting prospect for
users at all levels.
With user demands and the
possibilities of technology growing rapidly, the University's
Statistical Advisory Committee (SAC) formed a Sub-Committee on
Data Library Issues with membership including Bo Wandschneider
(Economics) as chair, as well as Peter McCaskell (CCS) and Doug
Horne (Library). The mandate of this group was to look at the
issues related to gathering and disseminating electronic data,
and to recommend action to the SAC. A draft proposal was presented
to SAC in May 1996, and it was well received. In brief, this proposal
recommended that a central Data Library Centre be created within
the McLaughlin Library to serve the entire user community on campus.
The sub-committee felt very strongly that the Data Centre must
have a physical location, and that the central position of the
library, combined with long hours, public service experience,
and a mandate to serve the whole community, made this a logical
place to house this service. The sub-committee also has made it
very clear that this should be a cooperative effort with Waterloo
and Laurier, utilizing the skills and resources of the three institutions
to handle the workload. Naturally, the financial benefits, good
will of the TUG institutions, and recent technological advances,
also make this a very attractive option.
It was decided that
a pilot project should begin as a soon as possible, and it appears
that support can be expected from all of the groups concerned.
This pilot project will be focused on developing a working Data
Library with a particular focus on delivering the materials of
the Data Liberation Initiative to a group of users. This would
include developing a delivery system for large data sets, establishing
a consultation centre in the library, and developing finding tools
and an effective front-end employing the World Wide Web.
The pilot project
will establish the Data Library Centre as a service point in the
Library. From this location it will be possible for users to be
able to utilize the data available in the Document Centre (Statistics
Canada materials being the most commonly used), while being very
close to a source of larger and remote data sets, as well as the
expertise of an experienced consultant. A Data Centre in this
location will benefit from the experience in public service and
the organization of information that the library brings, while
making the jump to larger data sets much easier for the user.
The development of this type of service is very timely (and, in
fact, is one of the conditions of DLI consortium membership),
and fills a gap in service that has existed for a long time on
this campus. The wide availability of computing power and data
makes the development of a data library a logical way to deal
with a growing demand for this type of service.
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