First off, congrats on the new position...sounds like it will be
challenging. I know that provenance and workflow modeling of scientific
datasets is a hot topic of research right now in certain circles. I dug
out this link sent to a preservation list I am on concerning a toolkit
that just received NSF funding:

http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6951.html

Good luck,

~Matt

Nathan Vack wrote:
> OK, Code4Libbers, here's a question for y'all:
>
> I've taken a new job at a brain imaging lab on campus. The details
> are still to be defined (they haven't had anyone in this position
> before), but the problems they're trying to solve are things like
> "Our researchers need to do a bunch of junk in Unix to process their
> data; that's hard for them" and "Researchers are generating all kinds
> of versions of data and it's filling the disk and five years later no
> one knows which copies were used in this publication."
>
> In short, I'll be helping researchers collect, catalog, analyze, and
> archive study data. It's not a 'library' position, but the more I
> think about it, the more it seems like a place the libraries could
> excel. Most labs can't afford someone to do this kind of work... but
> from the grad students I've talked to, the need is HUGE.
>
> So, my question: Are research libraries out there doing this kind of
> work? If not, do you have plans to start? Is Code4Lib still a good
> place for me to hang out?
>
> Cheers,
> -Nate
> UW - Madison

--
Matt Cordial
Research Programmer
University Library
Digital Services and Development
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign