| Thorny Staples Director of Research and Scientific Data Management Smithsonian Institution |
Jeremy Kenyon Reference and Instruction Librarian University of Idaho |
| Bruce Godfrey GIS Specialist University of Idaho |
Towards a Virtual Environment for Supporting Research Activities at the Smithsonian (Staples)
The Smithsonian Institution supports research activities in all aspects of science and cultural heritage in both research institute and museum settings. This presentation will describe a conceptual framework and information architecture for the prototype repository-enabled virtual research environment that is under construction. The goal of the project is to support the researchers to get their information into a trusted repository as the first stage in the information life-cycle, then to be able to manage, analyze and disseminate the information in a linked-data world, retaining ownership and control until they are ready for it to pass to an institution to be curated for the long term. The Fedora/Islandora prototype will be demonstrated.
The Northwest Knowledge Network (NKN): A Regional Approach to Research Data Life-cycle Management (Kenyon, Godfrey)
To address the data management needs of researchers, advance multi-institutional collaboration, and meet the mandates of funding agencies, the University of Idaho is leading the development and deployment of the Northwest Knowledge Network (NKN). NKN will be a regional data aggregator working closely with academic institutions, state and federal agencies, and aligned partner organizations to provide a regional distributed network of services and tools for data life cycle management. Initial focus is on earth and environmental sciences data.
NKN is aligned with the National Science Foundation-funded Data Observational Network for Earth (DataONE). DataONE provides a national and international framework for access to NKN’s regionally produced data products. An unprecedented degree of regional coordination is necessary in order to support collaborative research involving multiple disciplines and institutions. This means institutions coordinating cyberinfrastructure investments and developing policies and architecture that deconstruct silos and favor both open and limited data access. This presentation will include a discussion of the goals, vision and current progress of the three mission areas of NKN: the data services center, cyberinfrastructure research, and the data-sharing cooperative. These interdependent parts help address the technological, institutional, and fiscal challenges of establishing new distributed cyberinfrastructure serving an international audience and leveraging existing regional institutional investments.
Handout (PDF)