Browsing by Author "Mannheimer, Sara"

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Assessing and Improving Library Technology with Service Blueprinting
(2018-07) Young, Scott W. H.; Mannheimer, Sara; Rossmann, Doralyn; Swedman, David; Shanks, Justin D.
Objective: The objective of this article is to illustrate the application of service blueprinting—a design tool that comes from the service design tradition—for assessing and improving library technology services. Setting: A mid-sized library at a public university in the western United States. Methods: A service blueprint was co-created by library and IT staff in a design workshop in order to map the operational flow of a data visualization display wall. Results: Guided by the service blueprint, the project team identified points of improvement for the service of the data visualization display wall, and developed recommendations to aid further applications of service blueprinting. Conclusions: Ultimately, service blueprinting was found to be a useful tool that can be applied to assess and improve library technology services.
A Balancing Act: The Ideal and the Realistic in Dryad’s Preservation Policy Development
(2014-08) Mannheimer, Sara; Yoon, Ayoung; Greenberg, Jane; Feinstein, Elena; Scherle, Ryan
Data preservation has gained momentum and visibility in connection with the growth in digital data and data sharing policies. The Dryad Repository, a curated general–purpose repository for preserving and sharing the data underlying scientific publications, has taken steps to develop a preservation policy to ensure the long–term persistence of this archived data. In 2013, a Preservation Working Group, consisting of Dryad staff and national and international experts in data management and preservation, was convened to guide the development of a preservation policy. This paper describes the policy development process, outcomes, and lessons learned in the process. To meet Dryad’s specific needs, Dryad’s preservation policy negotiates between the ideal and the realistic, including complying with broader governing policies, matching current practices, and working within system constraints.
Building strategic alliances to support advocacy and planning for digital preservation
(2017-12) Baucom, Erin; Troup, Tammy; Cote, Conor; Mannheimer, Sara
While the business benefits of digital asset management are well documented, the benefits and importance of digital preservation are not. Digital preservation is a sustained commitment to maintenance activities which require a system of plans, policies, and implementation workflows. Coordination across departments is helpful for digital asset management, but it is mandatory for digital preservation. The Montana Digital Preservation Working Group (DPWG) operated under a five-point plan for collaboration between organizations. The plan consisted of cultivating shared knowledge, assessing the current digital preservation landscape at each institution, advocating for the value of digital preservation, implementing digital preservation practices, and sustaining the partnership by developing structures for ongoing projects and mutual support. In this article, the five-point plan for collaboration used by DPWG is adapted to build alliances in four key areas of an organization: the Project and Process Team, the Management Team, the Executive Team, and the Information Technology Team. By building strategic alliances that support digital preservation advocacy and planning, information managers extend their reach and resources, ultimately leading to more robust preservation of valuable digital assets.
Cited/Downloaded Dataset and Repository Characteristics [dataset]
(Montana State University ScholarWorks, 2016-02) Mannheimer, Sara; Borda, Susan; Sterman, Leila B.
This rubric documents the characteristics of high-use datasets and their repositories, with “high-use” defined as either highly cited in Thomson Reuters' Data Citation Index or highly downloaded in an institutional repository. The authors reviewed publicly-available information on repository websites and inputted our observations into the rubric. The rubric addresses six major characteristics of high-use datasets and their repositories: basic information; funding agency and journal information; linking and sharing; factors to encourage reuse; repository characteristics; and data description.
Cultivate, Assess, Advocate, Implement, and Sustain: A Five-Point Plan for Successful Digital Preservation Collaborations
(Emerald, 2017) Mannheimer, Sara; Cote, Conor
Purpose: For libraries with limited resources, digital preservation can seem like a daunting responsibility. Forming partnerships can help build collective knowledge and maximize combined resources to achieve digital preservation goals. Design/methodology/approach: In 2015, librarians from four institutions in Montana formed the Digital Preservation Working Group (DPWG), a collaboration to increase digital preservation efforts statewide. The group’s immediate goals were to promote digital preservation best practices at each individual institution, as well as to learn about and support each other’s work. The group’s long-term goal was to implement a shared digital preservation service that would fill gaps in existing digital preservation efforts. Findings: Beyond the cost savings gained by sharing a digital preservation service, the members of DPWG benefitted from shared knowledge and expertise gained during the partnership. The group also functioned as a sounding board as each institution built its digital preservation program, and it became a system of support when challenges arose. Practical implications: This article proposes a five-point plan for creating digital preservation partnerships: (1) Cultivate a foundation of knowledge and identify a shared vision; (2) Assess the current digital preservation landscape at each institution; (3) Advocate for the value of digital preservation activities; (4) Implement shared digital preservation services; (5) Sustain group activities and establish structures for ongoing support. Value: The activities of DPWG provide a model for institutions seeking to collaborate to meet digital preservation challenges. This article demonstrates that by implementing a structured plan, institutions can build and sustain digital preservation partnerships, thus positioning themselves to achieve digital preservation success.
Data-Intensive Science and Campus IT
(EDUCAUSE, 2015-09) Sheehan, Jerry; Arlitsch, Kenning; Mannheimer, Sara; Knobel, Cory; Llovet, Pol
Montana State University developed the Research Data Census to engage local research communities in dialogue about their data: size, sharing resources and behaviors, and interest in services. The census confirmed the need for a tight coupling of IT infrastructure to data and curation services in order to make those resources useful to the research community.
Discovery and Reuse of Open Datasets: An Exploratory Study
(Journal of eScience Librarianship, 2016-07) Mannheimer, Sara; Sterman, Leila B.; Borda, Susan
Objective: This article analyzes twenty cited or downloaded datasets and the repositories that house them, in order to produce insights that can be used by academic libraries to encourage discovery and reuse of research data in institutional repositories. Methods: Using Thomson Reuters’ Data Citation Index and repository download statistics, we identified twenty cited/downloaded datasets. We documented the characteristics of the cited/downloaded datasets and their corresponding repositories in a self-designed rubric. The rubric includes six major categories: basic information; funding agency and journal information; linking and sharing; factors to encourage reuse; repository characteristics; and data description. Results: Our small-scale study suggests that cited/downloaded datasets generally comply with basic recommendations for facilitating reuse: data are documented well; formatted for use with a variety of software; and shared in established, open access repositories. Three significant factors also appear to contribute to dataset discovery: publishing in discipline-specific repositories; indexing in more than one location on the web; and using persistent identifiers. The cited/downloaded datasets in our analysis came from a few specific disciplines, and tended to be funded by agencies with data publication mandates. Conclusions: The results of this exploratory research provide insights that can inform academic librarians as they work to encourage discovery and reuse of institutional datasets. Our analysis also suggests areas in which academic librarians can target open data advocacy in their communities in order to begin to build open data success stories that will fuel future advocacy efforts.
Improving Services — At What Cost? Examining the Ethics of Twitter Research at the Montana State University Library
(Council for Big Data, Ethics, and Society, 2016-10) Mannheimer, Sara; Young, Scott W. H.; Rossmann, Doralyn
As social media use has become widespread, academic and corporate researchers have identified social networking services as sources of detailed information about people’s viewpoints and behaviors. Social media users share thoughts, have conversations, and build communities in open, online spaces, and researchers analyze social media data for a variety of purposes—from tracking the spread of disease (Lampos & Cristianini, 2010) to conducting market research (Patino, Pitta, & Quinones, 2012; Hornikx & Hendriks, 2015) to forecasting elections (Tumasjan et al., 2010). Twitter in particular has emerged as a leading platform for social media research, partly because user data from non-private Twitter accounts is openly accessible via an application programming interface (API). This case study describes research conducted by Montana State University (MSU) librarians to analyze the MSU Library’s Twitter community, and the ethical questions that we encountered over the course of the research. The case study will walk through our Twitter research at the MSU Library, and then suggest discussion questions to frame an ethical conversation surrounding social media research. We offer a number of areas of ethical inquiry that we recommend be engaged with as a cohesive whole.
Montana State University Research Data Census Instrument, Version 1
(2015-01) Arlitsch, Kenning; Clark, Jason A.; Hager, Ben; Heetderks, Thomas; Llovet, Pol; Mannheimer, Sara; Mazurie, Aurélien J.; Sheehan, Jerry; Sterman, Leila B.
Montana State University developed the Research Data Census (RDC) to engage our local research community in an interactive dialogue about their data. The research team was particularly interested in learning more about the following issues at Montana State: the size of research data; the role the local and wide area network play in accessing and sharing resources; data sharing behaviors; interest in existing services that assist with the curation, storage, and publication of scientific data discoveries.
Montana State University Research Data Census Instrument, Version 2
(Montana State University ScholarWorks, 2016-04) Clark, Jason A.; Llovet, Pol; Mannheimer, Sara; Sheehan, Jerry
Montana State University developed the Research Data Census (RDC) to engage our local research community in an interactive dialogue about their data. The research team was particularly interested in learning more about the following issues at Montana State: the size of research data; data storage needs; data sharing and publication behaviors; and interest in existing services that assist with the curation. Version 1 of the RDC (http://doi.org/10.15788/m2h59m) was distributed in January 2015. Version 2 was distributed in spring 2016.
A National Forum on Web Privacy and Web Analytics: Action Handbook
(Montana State University, May 2019) Young, Scott W. H.; Clark, Jason A.; Mannheimer, Sara; Hinchliffe, Lisa Janicke
This is a practice-oriented action handbook that provides background, resources, and good practices to guide libraries in ethically implementing web analytics with a view towards privacy.This guide contains two main parts, followed by a references section. In Part 1, we detail technical strategies for implementing privacy-aware web analytics. In Part 2, we focus on communication strategies for building support for privacy-aware analytics practices.
On the Ethics of Social Network Research in Libraries
(2016-05) Mannheimer, Sara; Young, Scott W. H.; Rossmann, Doralyn
Purpose: In this paper, faculty librarians at Montana State University explore the ethical dimensions of conducting research with user-generated social networking service (SNS) data. In an effort to guide Librarian-Researchers, this paper first offers a background discussion of privacy ethics across disciplines, then proposes a library-specific ethical framework for conducting SNS research. Design: By surveying the literature in other disciplines, three key considerations are identified that can inform ethical practice in the field of Library Science: context, expectation, and value analysis. For each of these considerations, the framework is tailored to consider ethical issues as they relate to libraries and our practice as Librarian-Researchers. Findings: The unique role of the Librarian-Researcher demands an ethical framework specific to that practice. The findings of this paper propose such a framework. [Practical Implications] Librarian-Researchers are at a unique point in our history. In exploring SNSs as a source of data to conduct research and improve services, we become challenged by conflicting and equally cherished values of patron privacy and information access. By evaluating research according to context, expectations, and value, this framework provides an ethical path forward for research using SNS data. Originality/Value: As of this article’s publication, there is no existing ethical framework for conducting SNS research in libraries. The proposed framework is informed both by library values and by broader research values, and therefore provides unique guidelines for the Librarian-Researcher.
Personal Digital Archiving as a Bridge to Research Data Management: Theoretical and Practical Approaches to Teaching Research Data Management Skills for Undergraduates
(ALA Editions/Neal-Schuman, 2018) Mannheimer, Sara; Banta, Ryer
Data literacy is quickly gaining importance for undergraduate students who are preparing to enter the workforce. This chapter brings together three key concepts to address undergraduate data literacy: research data, research data management, and personal digital archiving (PDA). Research data is the material that is collected, observed, or created, for purposes of analysis to produce original research results. Research data management is the practice of organizing, preserving, and providing access to research data. PDA the practice of organizing, maintaining, using, and sharing personal digital information in daily life. Working directly with research data can be an ideal way for students to develop their data literacy. However, most undergraduates do not collect or manage research data regularly. In this chapter, we draw upon the principles of constructivist learning theory to suggest that PDA can be used as an instructional bridge to teach research data management to undergraduates. PDA closely parallels research data management, with the added benefit of being directly relevant to undergraduate students, most of whom manage complex personal digital content on a daily basis. By teaching PDA, librarians encourage authentic learning experiences that immediately resonate with students' day-to-day activities. Teaching PDA builds a foundation of knowledge that not only helps students manage their personal digital materials, but can be translated into research data management skills that will enhance students' academic and professional careers.
Qualitative Data Sharing: Data Repositories and Academic Libraries as Key Partners in Addressing Challenges
(2018-06-28) Mannheimer, Sara; Pienta, Amy; Kirilova, Dessislava; Elman, Colin; Wutich, Amber
Data sharing is increasingly perceived to be beneficial to knowledge production, and is therefore increasingly required by federal funding agencies, private funders, and journals. As qualitative researchers are faced with new expectations to share their data, data repositories and academic libraries are working to address the specific challenges of qualitative research data. This article describes how data repositories and academic libraries can partner with researchers to support three challenges associated with qualitative data sharing: (1) obtaining informed consent from participants for data sharing and scholarly reuse, (2) ensuring that qualitative data are legally and ethically shared, and (3) sharing data that cannot be deidentified. This article also describes three continuing challenges of qualitative data sharing that data repositories and academic libraries cannot specifically address—research using qualitative big data, copyright concerns, and risk of decontextualization. While data repositories and academic libraries cannot provide easy solutions to these three continuing challenges, they can partner with researchers and connect them with other relevant specialists to examine these challenges. Ultimately, this article suggests that data repositories and academic libraries can help researchers address some of the challenges associated with ethical and lawful qualitative data sharing.
Radical Collaboration: Making the Computational Turn in Special Collections and Archives
(2019-11) Shanks, Justin D.; Mannheimer, Sara; Clark, Jason A.
As more archival collections are digitized or born-digital, the work of archivists increasingly overlaps with the work of librarians who are responsible for research data and digital scholarship. This editorial uses Nancy McGovern's idea of radical collaboration as a framework, presenting a case study from Montana State University Library in which we collaborated across the domains of research data management, digital scholarship, archives, and special collections to integrate computational approaches into research, teaching, and service aspects of digital archival collections.
Ready, Engage! Outreach for Library Data Services
(2014-10) Mannheimer, Sara
This article describes building an outreach program at Montana State University, using three strategies: Partner Up, Be Social, and Simplify.
A Roadmap for Achieving Privacy in the Age of Analytics: A White Paper from A National Forum on Web Privacy and Web Analytics
(Montana State University, May 2019) Young, Scott W. H.; Mannheimer, Sara; Clark, Jason A.; Hinchliffe, Lisa Janicke
A National Forum on Web Privacy and Web Analytics is an IMLS-funded, community-fueled effort to shape a better analytics practice that protects our users’ privacy from unwanted third-party tracking and targeting. The main Forum event was held September 2018 in Bozeman, Montana, where 40 librarians, technologists, and privacy researchers collaborated in producing a practical roadmap for enhancing our analytics practice in support of privacy. Forum participants co-created eight Pathways to Action for enhancing web privacy. Forum activities also informed the development of an Action Handbook that contains practical skills and strategies for implementing privacy-oriented, ethical web analytics in libraries. This white paper provides an overview of the project, with a summary of the Pathways to Action and the Action Handbook. We present these resources to the wider community to remix, reuse, and apply towards action.
Scaling up: How data curation can help address key issues in qualitative data reuse and big social research. Introduction (Ch. 1) - Insights from Interviews with Researchers and Curators (Ch. 7).
(Springer Nature, 2024) Mannheimer, Sara
This book explores the connections between qualitative data reuse, big social research, and data curation. A review of existing literature identifies the key issues of context, data quality and trustworthiness, data comparability, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, and intellectual property and data ownership. Through interviews of qualitative researchers, big social researchers, and data curators, the author further examines each key issue and produces new insights about how domain differences affect each community of practice’s viewpoints, different strategies that researchers and curators use to ensure responsible practice, and different perspectives on data curation. The book suggests that encouraging connections between qualitative researchers, big social researchers, and data curators can support responsible scaling up of social research, thus enhancing discoveries in social and behavioral science.
Service Blueprinting: A Method for Assessing Library Technologies within an Interconnected Service Ecosystem
(Taylor & Francis, 2019-06) Young, Scott W. H.; Mannheimer, Sara; Rossmann, Doralyn; Swedman, David; Shanks, Justin D.
Service blueprinting is a method for designing, assessing, and improving services. This article provides a practical overview of the service blueprinting process for library technology services. We begin by outlining the recent conversation around library technologies, service design, and service blueprinting. We then detail an iterative case study for the creation process of a service blueprint, followed by a discussion of the service insights and improvements that resulted from this activity. We conclude by offering a set of recommendations for creating and analyzing service blueprints. Ultimately, the service blueprint is a useful tool for understanding the operation of a service, and for situating that service within a broader and interconnected library ecosystem.
Sharing selves: Developing an ethical framework for curating social media data
(International Journal of Digital Curation, 2017-01) Mannheimer, Sara; Hull, Elizabeth A.
Open sharing of social media data raises new ethical questions that researchers, repositories, and data curators must confront, with little existing guidance available. In this paper, the authors draw upon their experiences in their multiple roles as data curators, academic librarians, and researchers to propose the STEP framework for curating and sharing social media data. The framework is intended to be used by data curators facilitating open publication of social media data. Two case studies from the Dryad Digital Repository serve to demonstrate implementation of the STEP framework. The STEP framework can serve as one important "step" along the path to achieving safe, ethical, and reproducible social media research practice.