News

On behalf of the Data Curation Network, I'm excited to share that applications are now open for the Summit for Academic Institutional Readiness in Data Sharing (STAIRS).*

To be held August 5-6, 2024 at the University of Minnesota, the STAIRS summit is designed to bring together data service providers, institutional repository (IR) managers, data curation professionals and other key stakeholders from across universities who support managing and sharing research data. We will use the summit to build up our communities of practice for institutionally based research data services and repositories in academic libraries, identifying common areas of need and exploring ways to strengthen connections between institutions.

Each institution should submit one application, but will be allowed to send up to three representatives. The applications for the summit are open now through May 17, 2024. Interested participants can view a PDF version of the application, as well as the rubric we will be using to evaluate applications. Full details available in our press release.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to Mikala Narlock (mnarlock@umn.edu) or Jake Carlson (jakecarl@buffalo.edu).

*This summit is funded under the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy’s program, Data Management Center of Excellence (DMCOE). The DMCOE is a project of HHS’s Health FFRDC, which is operated by MITRE.

Please join the USDA National Agricultural Library on April 25th at 10:00 am ET for an Heirs' Property Update to discuss emerging funding, programs, and grassroots organizations working on this issue over the past several years. The update will feature speakers Savi Horne, Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project and member of the USDA Equity Commission Agriculture Subcommittee, Francine Miller, Senior Staff Attorney from The Center For Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School, and Ebony Woodruff, Director of the Southern University Law Center Agricultural Law Institute for Underserved and Underrepresented Communities.

Please register here.

Join NIFA and the National Agricultural Library (NAL) on Tuesday, April 16, at 11 a.m. EST for an informational webinar on Departmental Regulation (DR) 1020-006, involving public access to scholarly publication and digital scientific research data assets. Non-exempt data assets must be made publicly available in a reputable data repository in a machine-readable format, with a standardized metadata catalog entry submitted to NAL’s Ag Data Commons. This webinar will provide details on how to meet the requirement to report data assets in Ag Data Commons.

All NIFA awardees and contractors who are engaged in USDA-supported scientific research are encouraged to attend. Public access is a critical part of the USDA and NIFA’s support of Open Science. DR 1020-006 makes all peer-reviewed, scholarly publications and digital scientific research data assets arising from unclassified scientific research, supported wholly or in part by the USDA, accessible to the public to the extent practicable. DR 1020-006 implementation began in FY 2023 (October 1, 2022) and applies to NIFA awards, contracts, and cooperative agreements.

Register here: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_nHY5p5sAQwWxvJSdNzE-2w#/registration

For more information, please visit Public Access for NIFA-Funded Work | NIFA (usda.gov). For additional information, please contact electronic@usda.gov.

The USAIN Nominations and Elections Committee is pleased to present the slate of candidates for the 2024 Election. USAIN will elect a President-Elect, a Secretary, and three Directors.

The Committee identified one candidate for President-Elect, four for Secretary, and six for the three Director positions. The ballot will also allow for write-in candidates. 

USAIN_Election_2024_Candidate_Bios.pdf

Please take some time to review the candidates’ biographies and personal statements.  All active USAIN members will receive a personal link to the electronic election ballot via SurveyMonkey next week; be sure mail from surveymonkey.com doesn't go to your junk mail folder.  

Thanks to all who are standing for election, and those who considered running. 

Sincerely,

Suzanne Stapleton (Chair), Megan Kocher, Tisha Mentnech, Amy Shannon

2024 USAIN Nominations and Elections Committee

Registration is open for the 2024 joint USAIN and CBHL conference ‘Growing Together, Branching Out’!! Held on one of the prettiest park-like campuses, please come to MSU in East Lansing, Michigan to learn, share, connect and reconnect at this first in-person conference.

Please go to the Conference homepage to discover the events and opportunities for the first in-person conference in years.

On the page you’ll find links to the following: 

Registration - Please read through the options as there are sections for USAIN/CBHL in person attendance, virtual attendance, and AgNIC attendance. Early bird rate continues until April 1^st, then prices will increase by $50. Registration closes on April 26, 2024.

Program – Utilizing Sched, you can see the scheduled events, and set your own daily schedule so you know where to go when. There is a pdf version, too, and be aware both will be updated as details are finalized.

Invited Speakers – Learn who the invited Keynote and Plenary speakers are and how they contribute to our disciplines and research.

Travel & Lodging – Discover how to get to East Lansing and where to stay. Travel options to get to Lansing/East Lansing  include by plane, train, bus and car – logistics are described and maps provided. The Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center (our hotel and conference venue) room discount code is there, and a reminder that the deadline for that rate is April 8th. Bonus - parking for all guests and commuters is free.

Tours – We are offering free tours of the MSU Main Library and Beal Botanical Garden on the afternoon of Sunday, May 5^th for those who arrive early and want to see some of our beautiful campus, the Library, and a special Edwards Gallery Library Exhibit assembled for USAIN and CBHL audiences!

On Thursday, May 9^th, select among three locations to see either the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park (a CBHL member Library!), Dow Gardens, or Hidden Lake Gardens.

Other information on the Conference page contains local information, links to our wonderful sponsors and vendors, and details about the post-conference workshop.

Keep checking back for updates and see you soon in the heart of the Great Lakes!

---Suzi T.

MSU Libraries

The ARSIG webinar on newer federal data sharing and open access rules will be held on Wednesday via Zoom.  Webinar information is below.

Data Sharing: Finding and Understanding Federal Regulations

Wednesday, February 28, 2-3pm ET/1-2pm CT/12-1pm MT/ 11am-12pm PT

https://tennessee.zoom.us/j/82597073812

Brianne Dosch (Assistant Professor and Head of Data and Digital Scholarship at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville) will join us to speak on the newer federal data sharing and open access rules that will impact the practices of agricultural researchers on our campuses.

Questions and comments can be directed to Maggie Albro (malbro@utk.edu), ARSIG convener.

The USAIN Awards & Honors Committee is pleased to announce we are now accepting applications for our biennial conference scholarships. This year, USAIN 2024 is a joint conference with the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) and will be held May 5-8, 2024, hosted by the Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI.

See scholarship application details at https://usain.org/Awards

Application deadline March 15, 2024.

Conference information: https://usain.org/2024-Meeting

Submit applications to Melody Royster, Chair, USAIN Awards & Honor Committee at mroyster@ufl.edu

USDA will share plans for enhancing policy, infrastructure, and outreach to make results of the research it funds more readily available and accessible by the public. There will be time for questions and answers.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024 12:00-1:00pm ET

More information and registration is at:
https://www.nal.usda.gov/about-us/events/public-access-2024

The USDA’s National Agricultural Library is excited to announce a second public feedback period on the USDA’s updated Implementation Plan to Increase Public Access to USDA-funded Research Results. Following the 2022 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy memorandum: Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research, all government agencies have been guided to create or update existing public access policies.

This second public feedback period is to allow opportunity for feedback from interested parties not widely heard from during the first period, including but not limited to members of the public; principal investigators; research institutions, including minority-serving institutions; research libraries; data repositories; and data scientists.

If you are interested in Open Science and increasing public access to the important research funded by the USDA, please leave a comment at Regulations.gov. Comments will be accepted until 5pm Eastern time February 28, 2024.

The USDA National Agricultural Library (NAL), in partnership with Montana State University (MSU) Library and MSU Diversity & Inclusion Student Commons, will host a hybrid, two-part event at Montana State University Library and ONLINE on health equity and advocacy on Wednesday, January 24th from 12 pm – 5 pm (Eastern)/ 11 am – 4 pm (Central)/ 10 am – 3 pm (Mountain)/ 9 am – 2 pm (West).

Part one of the event will include a student panel discussing their healthy equity experiences, information from local healthcare providers, nutrition programming, and resources from NAL staff. Part two of the event will involve editing and adding health equity content on Wikipedia. Full day attendance is not required.

We hope you’ll consider joining us virtually (or in person if you’re near Bozeman)! Please register here: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsduGrrjgvHeIxjio2yB1mI_2SzTpF6H8