Blogs

Data Literacy Mini-Conference

By Leah Morin, Molly Lederman, Terence O'Neill

January 31, 2023

The Data Literacy Mini-Conference, generously sponsored by the Michigan Academic Library Association Instruction & Information Literacy Interest Group and IASSIST, took place Monday, October 24 at Michigan State University Libraries in East Lansing, Michigan. Forty attendees from a variety of small and large libraries enjoyed a keynote address about a hip-hop epistemology of knowledge in LIS. Next, attendees participated in a speed networking experience that randomly shuffled table groups until participants met just about everyone in the room.

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Editor's Notes: The work continues

By IQ Editor

December 29, 2022

Welcome to the final issue of IASSIST Quarterly for the year 2022 - (IQ vol. 46(4) 2022) , our eagerly-awaited special issue on Systemic Racism in Data Practices. This issue represents more than you might think: the culmination of more than two years of the intellectual hard work of writing, of course, but that in itself is not unusual for any journal issue. However. The global pandemic exploded just after the conception of this special issue and hit all of us hard, wreaking not only physical destruction of lives but also unleashing social upheaval, job insecurity, housing insecurity, and major mental health challenges.

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Editor's Notes: We talk data. We do data.

By IQ Editor

December 2, 2022

Welcome to the third issue of IASSIST Quarterly for the year 2022 - (IQ vol. 46(3) 2022) . In Denmark we sometimes retrieve an old quote from a member of the Danish Parliament: ‘If those are the facts, then I deny the facts’. We have laughed at that for more than a hundred years, but now fact denial is apparently the new normal in many places. And we are not amused.

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Editor's Notes: Deposit data - including qualitative data - and support students in obtaining the skills for data-driven research

By IQ Editor

October 2, 2022

Welcome to the second issue of IASSIST Quarterly for the year 2022 - (IQ vol. 46(2) 2022) . At last - a really real conference took place. I am of course referring to the IASSIST 2022 conference in June in Göteborg, Sweden. Many IASSISTers saw each other after a long time. That is typical for yearly conferences, but this was the first since 2019, after delays from Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021.

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Judith S. Rowe in memoriam

By Bobray Bordelon

May 6, 2022

It is with great sadness that I report the death of Judith S. Rowe at the age of 91 on May 5, 2022. She was a founding member of IASSIST in 1974 and its president from 1985-1988. She received the IASSIST achievement award in 2000. She was the founder of Data and Statistical Services at Princeton University in 1964 and headed the service until her retirement in 1998. She received many other awards during her career including the 1997 William H.

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Editor's Notes: Openness in metadata, dictionaries and data

By IQ Editor

March 28, 2022

Welcome to the first issue of IASSIST Quarterly for the year 2022 (IQ vol. 46(1) 2022) . IASSIST Quarterly has often published new and further developments in metadata. New submissions in the area are welcome, and the IQ expects to continue presenting a flow of interesting articles on this important topic. Often these developments in metadata directly mention their relatedness to the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI). Many IASSIST members have a primary role in supporting users of data in research and education.

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Editor's Notes: IASSIST gone glocal

By IQ Editor

December 26, 2021

Welcome to the special double issue of IASSIST Quarterly 2021 (IQ vol. 45(3-4) 2021) . IASSIST is an acronym. You may think that the word is the contraction of the two words ‘I assist’. In my mind, you are right! Whether the word IASSIST or the long explanation of seven words came first is the problem of the chicken and the egg. However, it is undisputed that when it is spelled out, the first I in IASSIST is for International.

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Introducing the Open Research Toolkit

By Christopher Eaker

December 2, 2021

Introducing the Open Research Toolkit Open research helps increase the visibility of important discoveries and extend them to new places. It helps to increase participation in research by underrepresented and underfunded groups. The open research ecosystem extends beyond just open access to data and publications. The principles of openness in research should extend to the entire research lifecycle. Have you wanted to learn more about open research, how you can promote it at your institution, and how you can embrace its principles in your own work?

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Editor's Notes: Data management for students, researchers, and data science projects

By IQ Editor

September 28, 2021

Welcome to the second issue of IASSIST Quarterly 2021 (IQ vol. 45(2) 2021) . Data management is the focal point of the articles in this issue of the IQ. Aspects of data management have often been the central topic of many earlier IQ articles. Metaphorically simply said: Data is what IASSIST members breathe - data management is how we breathe it. The first two articles concern raising the attention and knowledge of data management among students and researchers.

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Final Call for Papers: Systemic Racism in Data Practices IASSIST Quarterly

By IQ Editor

June 14, 2021

Final Call: Systemic Racism in Data Practices Inspired by the work of Black scholars, technologists, and activists including Dr. Safiya Noble, Yeshimabeit Milner, and Joy Buolamwini, IASSIST Quarterly is publishing a special issue focusing on systemic racist practices in data. We invite you to submit a proposal that discusses anti-Blackness, anti-indigeneity, white supremacy, and racism against minoritized and marginalized communities in data, research, tools, and practices. Case studies, essays, book reviews, and articles will be considered.

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