As research changes; becoming more data and computationally intensive, it is necessary for researchers to possess strong data management, data information literacy and data science skills. Research Data Service units in University Libraries themselves and in collaboration with disciplinary experts are well suited to offer training that bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and application-specific or programming skills offering researchers the knowledge and how to to engage in this data and computationally intensive research environment. In this episode, Karl Benedict, a Professor, the Director of the Research Data Services and Information Technology Services programs, and a subject area expert for geospatial data and technologies with the College of University Libraries & Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico, and Jon Wheeler, the Data Curation Librarian with the University of New Mexico Libraries, will discuss how the Research Data Services team at the University of New Mexico Libraries built a training portfolio to meet the data information literacy and data science needs of their research community. They will highlight how their training portfolio grew to include a variety of technical workshop topics, the diversity of methods they use to deliver these trainings, and how they assess success of these engagement opportunities.

Dr. Karl Benedict (@kbene) has worked since 1986 in parallel tracks of information management, geospatial information technology and archaeology. Within the College of University Libraries & Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico (UNM) he serves as a Professor, as the Director of the Research Data Services (RDS) and Information Technology Services (ITS) programs, and as subject area expert for geospatial data and technologies. His previous experience includes fifteen years at UNM's Earth Data Analysis Center  (including five years as the EDAC Director), and work for the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and in the private sector conducting archaeological research, developing geospatial databases, performing geospatial and statistical analyses, and developing web-based information delivery applications. In these positions he has developed and managed the development of information technology and data management capacity in support of multiple research and application domains including public health, resource management, hydro-climate research, atmospheric modeling, disaster planning and mitigation, and renewable energy research. Dr. Benedict has translated this experience into both credit courses and workshops that are focused on skill building in data management and analysis and online application development, and his current work as a Carpentries instructor and instructor trainer.

Jon Wheeler is the Data Curation Librarian at the University of New Mexico, where he assists researchers with data management planning, curation, and archiving. As senior personnel on the NSF funded NM EPSCoR SMART Grid Center, Jon coordinates a statewide workforce development initiative focused on building capacity for data science education.

Resources Mentioned

The link to the Github repository where Karl and Jon develop and share their workshop materials is available here: https://github.com/unmrds. 

Information about the Carpentries can be found here: https://carpentries.org/. 

Information about the University of Arizona Research Data Services program can be found here: https://libguides.unm.edu/data