Activities of Regional Consortia in Planning e-Science Continuing Education Programs for Librarians in New England

In 2009, the libraries of the five University of Massachusetts campuses initiated a series of professional development programs to help New England science, health sciences, and engineering subject librarians build the knowledge and skills that are needed to support e-Science pursuits at their institutions. These programs have expanded to include the following annual events: an e-Science symposium, a Professional Development Day, and a Science Boot Camp. Alongside these conferences, the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School initiated a collaborative e-Science Portal for New England Librarians, partnered on a grant to develop frameworks for a data management curriculum, and established the Journal of eScience Librarianship. This chapter describes e-Science, its impact on libraries, and examines the e-science continuing education programs and research sponsored by a consortium of New England science, health sciences, and engineering librarians.