I was lucky enough to be chosen to be part of the first cohort of the Biomedical and Health Research Data Management for Librarians course, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Networks of Libraries of Medicine Training Office (NTO). The course officially started on January 8, 2018, and we are now just reaching the end of Week 2.

I decided to apply for this course because RDM was my first love in librarianship. I was in the last year of my biology undergraduate degree when I decided to pursue a career in librarianship, rather than in field biology like I had planned. The director of my campus library was generous enough to advise me during an independent study to explore a component of the field, and suggested RDM. I ended up writing and publishing a 20-page paper on RDM in the sciences that I was quite proud of (you can check it out here).

After I finished my degree and moved on to an MLIS program at San Jose State University, I was never able to continue with my interest in RDM and it ended up on the back burner, so to speak. Until I received notice of this course from the NLM and the NTO. Not only would I be able to develop an expertise in RDM among other librarians who are as excited by this area as I am, I would be able to design and implement my own RDM project at my institution with the support of an RDM expert. And it didn’t hurt that a trip to the NIH headquarters in Bethesda, MD was included.

So now here I am, at the end of Week 2. I have already learned so much about RDM that I know I will be able to apply to my project, and to my work in the long-term. We started with an overview of required RDM elements and necessary workflows, and moved on to examining the need for extensive documentation. Even though I thoroughly understand the need for RDM, I can see how many researchers feel overwhelmed by the practice – it requires an eye for detail and a commitment to follow through with the prescribed plan. Nevertheless, I hope that in the coming weeks, I will be able to devise an RDM project that will help to make this practice a little more approachable to researchers on my campus.