What are data? This is a fundamental question that we return to often when we’re developing and implementing services for data curation. In the context of scholarship, my favorite answer is that data are the evidence that supports the research. Data are the raw ingredients of research that another researcher would need to reproduce the findings and make the fullest use of the research.

Just about anything can be data depending on your research question. If you are a civil engineer, you may record videos to monitor how often highway overpass bridges are struck by vehicles. A political scientist may conduct telephone interviews after a presidential election to compare the sentiments of immigrants to the population at large. A biochemist may design a device to bombard fruit flies with red and blue light to study their retinal degeneration as they age. An economist may maintain a spreadsheet to track international price-fixing cartels. A doctoral student may perform network analysis on log files to support his dissertation in computer science. A group of researchers in education may compile a list of citations that form the basis of a systematic review. And so on.

As librarians, we are interested in collecting and stewarding research data as a part of the scholarly record. The Librarians by Subject page on the Purdue Libraries’ website lists 103 different liaison subject areas, each of which has its own research culture, practice, and notion of what it considers to be data. In some cases, researchers may not even think in terms of the materials with which they are working as data.

For a service like our institutional data repository, PURR, our best tool for outreach is to be able to show a researcher a dataset in PURR from his or her own subject area. Nothing makes the point more effectively to our researchers that the service is relevant to them than examples from their peers. Having a wide variety of data and subject areas represented in the repository also reflects the ethos of the library — that our doors are open, and we support and participate in the full breadth of research taking place at the university.

The challenge we have given ourselves is to cultivate opportunities that lead to at least one dataset published in PURR from every academic department at Purdue. If you work with researchers, are you able to find any examples in PURR from your subject area? If not, consider reaching out to us at purr@purdue.edu with your leads or suggestions.

Image (public domain): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Musei_Wormiani_Historia.jpg

Suresh V. Garimella, Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships and the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, was honored with the 2017 Leadership in Open Access Award from Purdue University Libraries and the Office of the Provost.

From October 23-29, academic institutions and libraries across the globe celebrated the benefits of Open Access for research and scholarship during the 10th annual International Open Access Week commemoration.

According to Dean of Purdue University Libraries James L. Mullins, Garimella was selected to receive the recognition this year for leading by example in the Open Access movement at Purdue University. Garimella has more than 400 works posted in the Purdue e-Pubs repository, which have been downloaded close to 256,500 times.

“Dr. Garimella has demonstrated leadership in Open Access to Scholarly Publications by depositing his numerous papers and articles, consistent with copyright and contractual agreements, into Purdue e-Pubs. Therefore, we present the 2017 Leadership in Open Access Award to him in recognition of his outstanding leadership and continued partnership with Purdue e-Pubs to increase visibility of scholarship at Purdue,” Mullins noted.

“It is a great honor to be recognized for our research group’s commitment to Open Access. I am deeply thankful to the scores of students in my group who, over the years, have contributed to the impactful publications that have been eagerly downloaded through the University’s excellent Purdue e-Pubs portal,” Garimella said.

Since 2012, Purdue e-Pubs has close to 15,153,000 downloads from users all over the world, with the average download rate of 2,256,893 per year.

“Dr. Garimella embodies the spirit of the land-grant institution through his work to make scholarly research widely available,” said Jay Akridge, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity. “I congratulate him and all of the students in his group who contribute to global learning by broadening the reach of scholarship.”

For more information about Open Access at Purdue, visit www.lib.purdue.edu/openaccess. Learn more about Purdue e-Pubs at http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/.

Pictured, L to R: Jay T. Akridge, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity; Suresh V. Garimella, Executive Vice President for Research and Partnership; James L. Mullins, Dean of Libraries and Esther Ellis Norton Professor; and Nina Collins, Scholarly Publishing Specialist, Purdue Scholarly Publishing Division.

On November 4, six teams gathered at Butler University to compete in the final round of the Midwest Business Libraries Case Competition (formerly known as the Parrish Library Case Competition). Sponsored by EBSCO and Purdue University Libraries, the Midwest Business Libraries Case Competition is now in its fourth year and included participation this year from: Purdue (West Lafayette), Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), IUPUI, University of Notre Dame, Butler University, and Indiana University (Bloomington).

This years’ case involved Indiana-owned and operated Crew Carwash, which developed a case with Purdue University Libraries faculty members to examine its social media operations. This yearly event challenges students to solve real world business issues using exceptional information literacy skills.

The winners of the Midwest Business Libraries Case Competition include:

• First Place ($500): Indiana University, Indiana Plus: James He, Erin Riegar, Sandeep Gali, and Radha Parikh
• Second Place ($300): Butler University, Butler Bulldogs: Bret Smith, Jessica Kalanowski, Nicole Henrich, and Sarah Baraunstein
• Third Place ($100): Purdue, Perspective Consulting: Caleigh Tiley, Manav Nahar, Meghan Opferman, Kimberlee Standeford, and Vaibhav Chutani

Thank you Butler University for hosting the event, Crew Carwash for case collaboration, EBSCO for sponsoring as well as Purdue University’s Parrish Library who coordinated the competition and to final round judges Heather Howard (Purdue Libraries), Katharine Macy (IUPUI), Mindi McKeeman (Crew Carwash), Hessam Sarooghi (Butler) and Vanessa French (Butler).

Locally, at Purdue, eleven teams competed for three slots in the first round held on October 24. Thank you Preliminary Round Judges Ilana Stonebraker, Hal Kirkwood, Heather Howard and Avanthi Boopalan.

NPR Fresh Air Book Critic Maureen Corrigan provided an enlightening and passionate lecture about “The Great Gatsby” at the Purdue Libraries 2017 Distinguished Lecture on October 31.

Before the lecture, Corrigan spent time with the ENGL 411 Jane Austen class taught by Dr. Emily Allen, associate dean for Academic Affairs. She also visited Archives and Special Collections exhibit “Missing You: Navigating Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight and Enduring Legacy.

Carl “Sam” Lundberg
Library Assistant
LOES

After years of living in Lafayette, I have finally made the move across the river to Purdue as a Library Assistant at the new WALC.  I’m evening staff, so I get to wear many hats, helping with everything from reference questions to shelf reading. A native of Phoenix Arizona, I earned a Bachelor’s in History from Whitman College before moving out to Lafayette and working for five years at the Tippecanoe County Public Library. I’m truly excited to be here in a new building, helping to make it really hum.

In my downtime, I like to play tabletop/card games, alternatively break and fix my computers, and continue my years-long quest to find the IPA with the most hops. I also volunteer every week with my wife at Almost Home Humane Society, in case you are in the market for a cat. With my new evening schedule, I’m in the market for good brunch spots; if you have a suggestion, or need to contact me for any other reason, you can reach me at lundberc@purdue.edu or by phone 49-40582. 

Susan Zeyher
Library Assistant
Acquisitions

I moved to Lafayette in May from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. I worked at a maritime museum in Sturgeon Bay and read a lot about sailing ships and pirates for the anniversary of the War of 1812. I lived in Germany for five years, 1987-1992, when the border opened to East Germany. I started college when I was 32 years old and earned a Bachelor’s degree in geography and a Master’s degree in library and information studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison. I’m very glad to be on a university campus and working in a library again. 

I love birds and have a budgie (Australian parakeet) named Greysie. I enjoy listening to classical music, birdwatching, hiking and reading nonfiction.

You can find me at STEW 370, by email szeyher@purdue.edu, or by phone 49-60103.

It is that time of the year when all Libraries staff members are invited to showcase your artistic talents at the Libraries Annual Arts and Craft Show and Sale. This year’s event will be held in conjunction with the Annual Faculty & Staff Recognition on December 1, from 2-3:30 p.m. in STEW 278 and 279. An invitation will be sent for the reception.

All library artists/craftsmen are invited to bring in their handmade items or artwork on this day and price it for sale or simply for display. A table and chair will be provided for each display. For those that wish to participate, or if you just have a question, please contact Ashley Hutchcraft at ahutchcr@purdue.edu.

Carol Deputy’s name was randomly drawn from all those who were SMILED upon in October. She received a $25 Von’s Book Shop gift certificate.

All faculty, administration and staff are invited to send a note of appreciation for a kindness or thoughtfulness given, assistance provided to or by a Libraries, Press or Copyright Office colleague.

To learn more about how to participate in our SMILE Program, please visit and bookmark this page on the Libraries intranet: http://intranet.lib.purdue.edu/display/HR/SMILE+Program/

HSSE CONFERENCE ROOM UPDATES
By RaeLynn Boes

Many thanks to Purdue Libraries Facilities (PLF) for the lectern in the HSSE Conference Room. Presenters can now see their presentation content without turning their back to the audience. If you plan to use the HSSE Conference Room, I recommend giving yourself a few extra minutes to familiarize yourself with the new setup. Instructions are posted to the east of the lectern, on your left as you face the room. Instructions are posted to the east of the lectern, on your left as you face the room. The room is also equipped with a polycom.

As a reminder, all Libraries faculty and staff have access to make reservations on the Outlook public calendar for the HSSE Conference Room. Be sure to put your name in the location field of the reservation so others know who to contact with questions about conflicts. If you need the code to open the door, stop by the HSSE iDesk.