Presentation given to LIS students at Charles Sturt University on where information management skills can take you. Mostly personal reflections and advice based on my own path

1. Where can your information
management skills take you?
Sarah Jones
Digital Curation Centre
sarah.jones@glasgow.ac.uk
Twitter: @sjDCC
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

2. What is Digital Curation Centre?
a centre of expertise in digital information curation with a focus
on building capacity, capability and skills for research data
management and open science
www.dcc.ac.uk
Training | Events | Tools | Advocacy | Consultancy | Guidance | Publications | ProjectsLIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

3. Who am I?
• Undergraduate in German and History
• Training as an archivist after using collections
• Focused on digital preservation skills as advised this was biggest gap
• Worked on many projects – AHDS data centre, Jisc MRD programme,
Research Data Alliance
• Progressed up through organisation to Associate Director
• Reviewer, co-chair and ‘expert’ on several groups
• I am not a Doctor or Professor or other special learned title
• From a seaside town – why I love beach and sunshine here :o)
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

4. Many branches to explore
• Traditional paths – libraries, IT, cultural heritage
• New RDM roles – e-Research, data stewards, data
librarians, digital preservation
• Research-adjacent roles – data analysis, research
software engineer, lab manager
• Transferable skills – data journalism/reportage,
education, ethics, business analyst, design, UX, …
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

5. What skills are needed in RDM?
Image Guille Alvarez https://unsplash.com/photos/P11Z-nILhCs

6. Data skills landscape
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019
Research community Support community
Knowledge of research discipline
Knowledge of data management and curation
Data scientist
Research Software Engineer
e-Research
Data librarian
Digital preservation
Data steward

7. CODATA/RDA Data Science Schools
Curriculum covering:
• Open Science & RDM
• Ethical use of data
• Data analysis
• Data visualisation
• Machine learning
• Computational infrastructure
http://www.codata.org/working-groups/
research-data-science-summer-schools
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

8. 8LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019
Data science school curriculum

9. 9LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019
Data stewardship school curriculum

10. The carpentries
Library carpentry
Software and data skills for people
working in library- and information-
related roles, covering
• Intro to data
• The UNIX shell
• OpenRefine
• Introduction to Git
https://librarycarpentry.org
Digital preservation
carpentry
Pioneered by AusPreserves and
trialled at IDCC19 in Melbourne
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

11. Common LIS skills to foster
• Service mentality
• Understanding of end user
• Strong organisational acumen
• Communications and outreach
• Partnership / collaboration
• Liaison / mediation / brokering
• ….
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

12. Tip 1: Get to know yourself
Image John Sting https://unsplash.com/photos/-e2ZyADyXdw

13. Try before you buy!
Volunteer placements and visits can be a great way to
understand where you are best placed
• What type of work activity most appeals to you (and why)
• Why type of organisation (and why)
• What type of organisational structure (and why)
• What type of organisational culture (and why)
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

14. Types of work
• Do you like to interact with people?
• Do you like to focus on one activity for an extended time?
• How many different things do you like in parallel?
• Do you like to travel / work internationally?
• Should the work be technical, hands-on, strategic…
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

15. Type of organisation
• Public, private or third sector e.g. voluntary orgs
• Innovative, start-up, SME
• Non-profit, social enterprise
• Higher education or other field
• User-facing service or back office
• Office-based or home worker
• ….
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

16. Organisational structure / culture
• Style of working – office-based, 9-5, remote, flexible
• Organisational structure – top-down hierarchical, matrix…
• Tolerance of change – innovative  slow burn
• Career development – mentoring, CPD, time to do this…
• Ethics of organisation – priorities and mission
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

17. Tip 2: Pick a job that makes you happy
Image Mi Pham https://unsplash.com/photos/FtZL0r4DZYk

18. Work is a big part of your life
• One third of your life is spent at work
• Average person will spend 90,000 hours at
work over a lifetime
• Have to enjoy it!
I was happy in the haze of a drunken
hour
But heaven knows I'm miserable now
I was looking for a job and then I found a
job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
The Smiths

19. Get a work life balance!
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019
HeadsUp, State of workplace
health in Australia
One in five male and 7 per cent of female employees
worked 50 hours or more per week in 2015. Only
seven of the 35 countries analysed were worse.
And despite our laid-back image, we are also in the
bottom third of nations for the time we devote to
leisure and personal care.
Australians lagging behind OECD
countries in work/life balance
https://www.couriermail.com.au

20. Have good team dynamics
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

21. Be open to new experiences
Image Ian Schneider https://unsplash.com/photos/TamMbr4okv4

22. Imposter syndrome
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/blog/equality-at-idcc
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

23. Stop self-limiting behaviours
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019
https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/never-say-i-am-not-technical-again.html

24. Take a punt!
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019
Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications,
but women apply only if they meet 100% of them.

25. Get a mentor
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019
www.outforaustralia.org/mentoring-program
www.sciencegenderequity.org.au/the-athena-swan-accreditation-framework

26. Change your
perception…
LIS student webinar, Charles Sturt Uni, 22 Aug 2019

27. Aussie data
community