Competencies and Responsibilities of Social Science Data Librarians: An Analysis of Job Descriptions

Introduction Academic libraries have long had individuals responsible for social science data services, providing access to government and other types of data. Traditionally, these individuals included the social science subject librarian or the government document librarian. 1 However, recently it has become more common for the social science data librarian position to be independent, probably as the result of emerging digital technologies and the internet since the 1990s. In the beginning, many social science data librarians were " accidently " transferring to the new capacities, normally from a reference or government librarian position. 2 The past several years witnessed a steady increase of demands for professionals who have data management skills. These individuals must possess necessary attitudes toward data and be able to handle the intricate process of digital scientific data, along with the increasingly hot discussion of a big-data challenge both within and outside of academic settings. Not only has social science data librarianship evolved from traditional reference positions into dedicated roles and responsibilities, but some other special types of data librarianship, e.g., those focused on geospatial data and bioinformatics, have also come into play. 3 Data librarianship in general, which is sometimes also called e-science librarianship, has now become a significant part of academic library workforce. The data librarian has experienced a change in job requirements from the early days of identity ambiguity, e.g., an " accidental " data librarian, to today's determined practices, e.g., a unanimously expected involvement in data management plans. Yet, the change occurred over such a short time, that questions are still left and people keep wondering how to define data librarianship, including ways to echo the major big data advances in job statements, along with ways to reflect the perceptions and adaptations libraries have about scholarly communication. On one hand, libraries need to understand the changes in order to make the best use of their existing staff by adjusting and re-allocating relevant positions. On the other hand, they want to be able to identify new requirements of necessary skills and knowledge for new hires. Studies focusing on data librarianship in general, and social science data librarianship in specific, are in demand, which can help highlight a unique new library service area that transforms the reference service heritage and entails a new digital curation perspective. This study was designed to examine job announcements for social science data librarians with the purpose of reaching a …