Penn Libraries’ new Research Data and Digital Scholarship Exchange enables innovative research to flourish

The Penn Libraries system and its 19 individual library locations are always growing and changing to meet the evolving needs of the Penn community. One of the latest developments is a new collaborative space in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center: the Research Data and Digital Scholarship Exchange (RDDSx).

Over the course of an experimental first year, RDDSx has reshaped an open space on the first floor into a vibrant hub for programming and a meeting place for Libraries staff that supports the development of innovative research and scholarship. With events ranging from regular group meetings for programmers and workshops on data management tools to data meme contests and discussions of the computer science concepts underpinning popular board games, RDDSx offers many avenues for learning and exploration, and has swiftly built a community of scholars and researchers who visit regularly.

RDDSx is the name for the physical space attached to the Research Data and Digital Scholarship (RDDS) team, led by Lynda Kellam. The vision for developing the RDDSx space was to “provide a centrally located, welcoming, and accessible place in Van Pelt that is inclusive of everyone to discover and apply digital methods for conducting research and creating scholarship,” Kellam explains.

“RDDS reached its full complement of staff in 2022 and they set about building relationships around campus and refining the way we offer services to be both responsive to user needs and scalable to the demand we see. Creating RDDSx as a public space for their work was the next step,” adds Emily Morton-Owens, Associate Vice Provost for Technology and Digital Initiatives.

This nontraditional library space is an open area that does not require silence; in fact, presentations, group meetings, and "office hours” for RDDS staff all occur there regularly. The dynamic space comprises a “data wall” on which visitors are invited to map data using thread; a bookshelf with select titles on topics like digital preservation, podcasting, and mapping information; two whiteboards to showcase ongoing and completed projects; tables for coworking; and a large screen for visualizing data, mapping, and digital projects. The space also contains a semi-private nook that Kellam says is used for “deep learning, [like] when our statistical software consultants are meeting with patrons or our staff consult with people.” She adds, “We love having the nook there, to be able to work with individuals and small groups.”

A recent addition to RDDSx is the display of historical photographs showing the early days of women in tech (such as those working as computers in the 1960s) and people operating the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the first general-purpose electronic computer, which was created at Penn.

“The idea is to create a vibrant interactive, collaborative space that campus partners can come into and where we can do our work,” Kellam says.

Expert staff to guide projects

Kellam is the second director to lead RDDS, a relatively new team at the Penn Libraries. Her background includes experience as a data librarian, with responsibilities overseeing both digital projects and collections related to political science, sociology, and history. She also has a master’s in political science from the University of Wisconsin in addition to her library science degree, and most recently she completed her PhD in history.

“RDDS was launched in 2020 as a part of the Technology and Digital Initiatives division’s reorganized portfolio of programs, systems, and services,” Morton-Owens says. “It is a little unorthodox for a library to unite digital scholarship and research data services in one department, but we saw a commonality of purpose—in both areas, we have staff who specialize in certain scholarly approaches, offering deep technical expertise and hands-on collaboration. This focus on methods is one of the most important ways the Libraries can boost interdisciplinary scholarship at Penn.”

Kellam was attracted to the RDDS director position because of its unique placement straddling two fields: the research data side supports mainly scientists and social scientists, while the digital scholarship side tends to focus more on the humanities.

“It merged those two things that I've spent most of my career on, which is helping people with their research data but also thinking deeply about digital humanities and how those the ideas we research in the humanities can be made accessible through digital scholarship, whatever form that might take,” she says.

Kellam’s team helps people throughout the research life cycle, from planning projects, to collecting and analyzing data, to publishing and disseminating findings. Although librarians traditionally have assisted with research through books and articles, the RDDS team has expanded that role to include contemporary research needs, such as AI and data literacy, mapping and data visualization, qualitative data and statistical software support, data management and sharing, and digital project development and new forms of publishing. “We tend to work primarily with faculty and graduate students. But we support anybody who comes to us with a need,” Kellam says.

Each team member specializes in a specific area: on the research data side, specialists can help with data management, analysis, mapping, and visualization as well as assist those interested in statistical software and other tools, while on the digital scholarship side the team has experts on digital humanities, open access publishing, and new methods of scholarly communication. The team collaborates with researchers on projects such as the development of databases, websites, interactive maps, and journals; offers tutorials on a variety of processes and tools via the RDDS blog and training hub; and offers consultations and workshops on request.

Working as a team that carries out such broad and deeply technical work has its own unique challenges. Kellam says bringing the team together regularly to share their work and to find commonalities has been important as they continue to grow and add new roles and areas of expertise.

“One of the big things the team focuses on is sharing across our fields, and trying to make sure we emphasize how we share that information and de-jargonizing when we talk to each other,” she says, noting that those in research data roles are typically scientists or social scientists, whereas those on the digital scholarship side have experience with research in the humanities. For example, a term like “codebook” has a specific meaning for someone doing qualitative work in the social sciences and another specific meaning for someone with a computer science background. While this can make communication among different areas of the team a challenge, the multiplicity of perspectives also provides benefits. “Our team provides an interdisciplinary perspective in our collaboration with and support of researchers and students at Penn.”

In addition to building connections within the team, RDDS has reached across campus for its collaborations. Campus partners include those with clearly overlapping missions and work, such as the Price Lab for Digital Humanities  and the Data Driven Discovery Initiative. The Price Lab, DDDI, and RDDS often co-sponsor events, such as last year’s Speed Networking social and the AI Literary Interest Group events. In addition, RDDS has worked with the International Journal for Water Equity and Justice, which Contemporary Publishing Fellow Cosette Bruhns Alonso helped migrate to Manifold, a platform for open access journals. 

Events, programming, and opportunities

Since the area was renovated and the space launched, RDDSx has hosted a variety of programs, with the team learning from each iterative use of the space and adjusting as needed. A favorite event of Kellam’s in the first year was a pop-up event for New Student Orientation with interactive stations for students to practice different uses for AI, learn about creating effective passwords, and more. The space has also hosted three different speed networking events, an experience that Kellam hopes to refine in the upcoming academic year. “I'd like to keep doing these and figure out ways to make them more targeted. Next year’s goal would be to have a post-doc event, a grad student one, and undergrad one.”

Kellam notes that while some RDDS events are not new to the Libraries, the new space offered a chance to experiment: “GIS Day is an event our GIS Librarian has been hosting for a few years. Putting the event in that space allowed us to test the limits of the RDDSx. We had over 70 people in attendance and considered it a great success!”

“I love when library visitors are passing by the space and get curious about what’s going on,” Morton-Owens says. “The openness can be inviting ... and I’d like to find ways to encourage that as we further develop the space.”

Plenty of events are already in the works for the fall semester, including a series celebrating International Open Access Week in October and, of course, GIS Day on November 20. People with less experience in research data and digital scholarship are welcome to attend these and other beginner-friendly events, such as the regularly occurring Computational Thinking and Board Games event, hosted by Computer Science and Engineering Librarian Stephen Hall (planned for September and October), as well as events hosted in the space by other entities, like the Career Services Resume Lab.

Morton-Owens says, “The approaches shared by RDDS have the potential to enrich all kinds of projects. Even if you’ve never used these tools before or your assignment doesn’t require them, you’re always welcome to visit and learn with RDDS.”

“We have many ways for people to learn and get involved,” Kellam adds. “And we're always happy for people to come and work with us. We're looking for campus partners interested in our work and would love to see how we could collaborate.”

Get involved

For more information, sign up for the RDDS newsletter, visit the team’s website, or visit the space in person on the first floor of Van Pelt!

Featured image: RDDSX advertises each day's workshops and events with digital signage on the outer borders of the space.