Collaborative networking with Braunschweig University of Technology library
Programme included workshops and seminars where specialists from two libraries shared their experiences on organising research data management services. Improving visibility and marketing of services along with the reaching researchers at the right time were seen as common challenges.
In Finland, Academy of Finland’s requirements on open science is key motivator and makes researchers think on open access publishing and open research data. This makes Academy’s funding calls a good time to offer help and services for researchers.
In Germany, open access publishing and open research data are seen as an important part of academic freedom, and there is not any single research funder who has such an impact on researchers. That’s why the support service staff needs to rely more heavily on personal contacts and institutional networks, which of course are important also for us.
Researcher views on opening data
Researchers were also invited to our seminars as speakers. They told us about their experiences on research data management and open research data. Some researchers saw open research data as a key element in their field and opening it was an integral part of their workflows. Open data improved quality of research, transparency and speeded up the development of their research area. Whereas, another researcher felt that opening the data was a burden which only took time from doing actual research. Researchers’ experiences showed us how differently they see the benefits of open data but also what kind of services they hoped from the University and the Library.
Strengthening international networks is essential to the Library. It helps us see how we can better support researchers who also work internationally. As a consequence of our collaboration with University Library Braunschweig, we have composed an extended team through which we can share ideas and experiences on organising research data management support services. This lays a good groundwork for future projects and possible collaboratively developed services.
The launch of cooperation was enabled by the seed financing from Tampere and Braunschweig universities of technology.
More information:
Susanna Nykyri, Manager, Open Science Services, susanna.nykyri [at] tuni.fi (susanna[dot]nykyri[at]tuni[dot]fi)
Text: Jari Friman, Information Specialist, Open Science Services
Photo: Jani Nieminen, Information Specialist, Open Science Services
