Supporting our researchers: The provision of data services in Canada: a case study

The use of statistical data for teaching and research purposes in Canada has substantially increased with the creation of the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) program, established in 1996 as a partnership among Statistics Canada, other federal departments, and Canada's academic community.nbsp; While some Canadian universities have a long history in the provision of data services, that was not the norm everywhere, especially in small universities and colleges.nbsp; To maximize the use of data, it was evident that increased education, resources and tools were required to support those delivering data services on their campuses. The development of the DLI Survival Guide, will be examined in this presentation.nbsp; The Survival Guide is an innovative and collaborative project driven by academic librarians and staff of the DLI program to address the diverse needs of those providing data services.nbsp; We will present a mix-methodology approach used to address the evolving needs of the community and describe the challenges and opportunities that were met and how they were addressed over the years. Suggestions for ways to maintain the currency and new ways to utilize the Survival Guide will also be given