Advancing Data Access and Training: The Impact of the Data Liberation Initiative in Canadian Universities and Colleges

Since 1996 , the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) has had a significant impact on how data has supported teaching, research, and publishing in Canada. A partnership between post-secondary institutions and Statistics Canada, an early goal of the DLI was to reduce financial barriers to using Canadian data, but by its very nature, the program also developed a robust communications network and training workshops to respond to DLI Community members' needs. The program has recently undergone a strategic review which found that, at its core, the value and strength of the DLI is in the training and knowledge exchange of its members’ community. Alexandra Cooper, Siobhan Hanratty and Elizabeth Hill have supported the Data Liberation Initiative at their institutions since 2003, 2001 and 1998 respectively, and have held leadership roles within the DLI Professional Development Committee since 2018, 2009 and 2010. Revisiting an IASSIST presentation from 2018, the presenters will share a deeper examination of this program and its importance to the academic community. They will explore how data services in Canadian post-secondary institutions have changed over time, how the topics of training at regional and national DLI workshops reflect these changes within the broader data and research community, and report on a new research project that will utilize survey results of librarians and specialists from the DLI community, literature reviews, an analysis of existing training materials, and the DLI strategic review.