To kick off the season, we're excited to highlight a new resource designed to help researchers strengthen their data management practices. We're speaking with Kristin Briney, the creator of the Research Data Management Workbook—a practical tool packed with hands-on exercises that guide researchers through key phases of the data lifecycle.

We’ll explore the workbook's unique exercises and how researchers can use them to build their research skills as well as how data stewards can use the exercises to more efficiently and effectively support researchers. Also included is our sidebar on the upcoming accessibility requirements for data here in the USA.

Kristin Briney is the Biology & Biological Engineering Librarian at the California Institute of Technology and author of the books “Data Management for Researchers” (Pelagic Publishing, 2015), “Managing Data for Patron Privacy” (ALA Editions, 2022) with Becky Yoose, and “The Research Data Management Workbook” (Caltech Library, 2023). She has a PhD in chemistry and an MLIS, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on research data management, institutional data policy, and patron privacy with respect to library data handling. Kristin is an advocate for the adoption of the international date standard ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) and likes to spend her free time making data visualizations out of yarn.

Resources Mentioned:

Online edition of the Workbook: https://caltechlibrary.github.io/RDMworkbook/

Downloadable edition of the Workbook: https://doi.org/10.7907/z6czh-7zx60

Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Regulations: https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/regulations/title-ii-2010-regulations/

Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments: https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/