Determining research data services maturity: The role of library leadership and stakeholder involvement

As technology and the stewardship of research data continue to improve, academic libraries have made progress in establishing themselves as hubs and leaders for research data services on campus. They have been called on to assure cross-campus collaboration and support to develop a united service to meet their community's needs. However, evidence as to how libraries play a crucial role in leadership, whether other stakeholders' involvement makes a difference, and if so, how that involvement makes a difference is not well-documented. The findings of this study add empirical evidence in supporting the value of library's leadership and stakeholder engagement in developing research data policy and services. The secondary analysis of the survey data found that libraries tend to offer more extensive services when they take primary responsibility for developing the policy and service. It also found that the more internal stakeholders involved in developing the policy and service, the higher level of service maturity the libraries offer. Partnership with external stakeholders leads to more comprehensive and deeper services.