2024-01-24: Data Curation Specialist (University of Toronto)

The University of Toronto Libraries system is the largest academic library in Canada and is consistently ranked in the top ten among academic research libraries in North America.

The system consists of 40 libraries located on three university campuses : St. George, Mississauga, and Scarborough. This array of college libraries, special collections, and specialized libraries and information centres supports the teaching and research requirements of over 300 graduate programs, more than 70 professional programs, and about 700 undergraduate degree programs.

In addition to more than 15 million volumes in 341 languages, the library system currently provides access to millions of electronic resources in various forms and over 31,000 linear metres of archival material.

More than 150,000 new print volumes are acquired each year. The Libraries’ data centre houses more than 500 servers with a storage capacity of 1.5 petabytes

Reporting to the Head, Map & Data Library, the Data Curation Specialist will work closely with Librarians and staff providing research data management support across U of T Campuses.

This position will focus on providing research data curation support and service to researchers and for the institutional data repository, U of T Dataverse in Borealis and other data repositories.

These support services include assisting researchers with preparing data for deposit and developing data deposit workflows and other data curation activities to facilitate discovery, reproducibility, and long-term access.

The Data Curation Specialist will also provide technical support for the integration of research data and associated metadata into data repositories both through repository provided web interfaces and automation workflows that leverage available application programming interfaces (APIs).

Additionally, the Data Curation Specialist will work with Librarians and staff to develop institutional procedures and best practices related to data management and curation.

The individual will develop and provide training material related to all of these support activities.

Duties and Responsibilities :

• Provide reference and consultation support to faculty, staff and students regarding data curation activities, including preparing data for deposit, developing data deposit workflows, metadata creation, and promoting FAIR Principles for data stewardship (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reuse)
• Provide support for U of T Dataverse, including providing mediated deposit services, troubleshooting deposit issues, supporting tool integration, and reviewing and maintaining institutional collections.
• Support RDM librarians with technical guidance and solutions related to data management and curation, including working with APIs and developing technical workflows.
• Provide input in the development of procedures and best practices for UTL data curation and deposit services.
• In collaboration with UTL librarians and staff, contribute to the development of data curation and data management resources for researchers, including guides, checklists, and technical documentation.
• Provide educational and instructional support to students and faculty through open workshops, in-class instruction sessions, and online training modules.
• Provide support for areas of data service in MDL, including data analysis, data visualization, and access to datasets and tools.
• Support special projects related to data curation and data management.

Qualifications (Minimum) :

Formal Education :

University degree in a related field (Statistics or Data Science) or equivalent combination of education and experience required.

Experience :

• Five years of related experience working in a research or academic setting required.
• Demonstrated knowledge of policies, procedures, and workflows related to data curation and management, including data curation models, preservation, metadata, data formats and migration, discovery and access.
• Demonstrated knowledge of repository platforms and infrastructure (e.g. DSpace, Fedora, Dataverse repositories, or other repository software).
• Demonstrated knowledge of technical challenges and issues related to data curation and management, including privacy and de-identification, format migration, preservation, metadata, discovery, and data access.
• Demonstrated familiarity with standards for research metadata.
• Demonstrated familiarity with statistical or computational methods.
• Experience with scripting languages such as Python, R, Bash, etc.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written.
• Demonstrated ability to plan, document, and complete projects.
• Ability to work well in a collaborative team-based environment.
• Self-motivated and ability to multitask.
• Demonstrated awareness, sensitivity and commitment to the values of inclusivity, diversity and accessibility

Other Skills :

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to interpret questions and negotiate with clients to achieve mutually desired outcomes;
• good internet and database search skills; demonstrated accuracy, attention to detail and ability to prioritize tasks. Ability to work independently and effectively with technology in a fast-paced environment while managing competing priorities;
• strong written and oral communication; ability to develop clear, concise, accurate technical documentation; strong user-focused service orientation;

evidence of initiative, innovation and flexibility to respond to workflow demands; a willingness and ability to learn is essential.

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