Bridging cross-regional data instruction needs: Collaborative approaches to data services education

The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) is a cross-institutional, collaborative organization funded by the National Library of Medicine to do outreach and education across the entire United States. Seven regional libraries (headquartered out of separate academic institutions) are tasked with engaging organizations in their regions, and – through coordination with three national offices and three national centers – providing education on a national scale around health sciences topics, including health data.

While NNLM regions have historically worked independently to provide data services education to their state-designated constituents, data education needs are similar across geographic regions. With the formation of the NNLM National Center for Data Services in 2021, data professionals collaborated cross-regionally to combine efforts in this area. One example was hosting programming workshops from The Carpentries, which progressed from organizing 1-2 regionally-funded workshops each year to funding and coordinating 10 centrally-organized Carpentries workshops with regional and national focus, all hosted within one year. In response to reduced enrollment and training evaluation feedback, we reassessed our approach and pivoted from full-scale Carpentries workshops to adapting existing Carpentries curriculum materials (which are open source) to develop targeted training for a health sciences audience.

This presentation will cover collaborations across the NNLM to provide data services education on a national level and how these educational offerings have evolved in response to regional and national assessments. This includes scaling classes, adapting educational materials, assessing programs, and gathering qualitative feedback from participants. Attendees will learn tips for meeting data instruction needs cross-regionally through collaboration and innovation, and presenters will discuss ideas for responding to emerging needs in data professional development education.