IU RDC: Meet the IU Research Data Librarians

Meet the Research Data Librarians
Spring Series 2025
February 18, 2025

This webinar, hosted IU Research Data Commons, introduced attendees to the research data librarians at Indiana University and the support available for faculty, students, and staff. The discussion focused on research data management, storage, sharing, and compliance with funder and publisher requirements while highlighting available resources and upcoming initiatives.

This session featured three research data librarians: Corey Barber, a data services librarian at IU Indianapolis, who assists students in building foundational research data skills; Heather Coates, a digital scholarship and data management librarian at IU Indianapolis and a designated data steward, who specializes in data governance, compliance, and research data policies; and Levi Dolan, a data services librarian at the Ruth Lilly Medical Library, who provides training on data management and assists researchers with compliance, particularly for NIH-funded projects.

A major focus of the webinar was addressing common questions and challenges researchers face. Many inquiries revolve around where and how to store and classify research data, especially when handling sensitive or protected information. Compliance with NIH and other funder-mandated data management and sharing requirements is also a frequent concern, as is selecting an appropriate data repository for long-term storage and access, such as DataCore or IU ScholarWorks. Researchers often seek guidance on structuring their data collection and organization processes, ensuring their work aligns with best practices for reproducibility and data integrity. Tools like electronic lab notebooks (LabArchives) and REDCap were also discussed as valuable resources for structured data collection.