Challenges and Lessons Learned of Formalizing the Partnership Between Libraries and Research Computing Groups to Support Research: The Center for Research Data and Digital Scholarship

BSTRACTAt universities, collaboration between libraries and research computing personnel can enhance services for data-intensive research in a manner that encompasses the entire data lifecycle. The University of Colorado Boulder has undertaken such a libraries-research computing collaboration known as the Center for Research Data and Digital Scholarship (CRDDS). Here, the challenges, successes, and lessons learned during the first five years of CRDDS are shared. Differences in culture, nomenclature, tools, budgets, and operations can cause confusion and misunderstandings between the two groups and can hinder the goal of providing collaborative research support. CRDDS has mitigated these issues by implementing a coordinator role, developing and documenting standard procedures, and providing structured venues for members to share ideas and experiences. Some early successes include development of a comprehensive training program for data-oriented topics, implementation of support for "big data" publishing, and establishment of a graduate certificate program in Digital Humanities.