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
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