The ARL survey in 2009 found that
data services provided by academic
libraries were primarily through a team
effort or some combination of individuals,
units, and teams working together.
Collaboration has been the major way of
effort for data support and “will continue
to be an important method to address the
enormity of the challenges posted by escience,”
because data sets generated by
modern scientific devices are often substantial
in volume and require extensive
resources to manage. An example is the
necessity and benefit of the involvement
of subject liaisons who traditionally offered
a range of services for social science
data. The state of liaison roles and
responsibilities will allow data services
librarians to work together with liaisons
to provide data support in such areas as
analysis of data set deposit requirements,
development of data management plans,
instruction for data practices to researchers,
collection and dissemination of social
science data sets, and design of data preservation
standards.