Developing a Community of Practice: Building the Research Data Management Librarian Academy

Area of Science:

• Library and Information Science
• Professional Development
• Online Education

Background:

• The Research Data Management Librarian Academy (RDMLA) is a free, online global professional development program.
• It is designed by librarians for librarians in research-intensive settings.
• RDMLA was developed through a partnership including an academic program, research/health sciences libraries, and industry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide insights into the creation of online professional development courses.
• To share lessons learned from the inception, development, and launch of the RDMLA.
• To offer guidance for librarians developing online continuing education (CE) courses.

Main Methods:

• Curriculum development involved collaboration with an instructional designer (ID).
• Course content evaluation utilized usability testing.
• The process focused on the operation and usefulness of the online course content.

Main Results:

• The RDMLA's development process offers practical insights for online course creation.
• Collaboration with instructional designers is key for effective curriculum building.
• Usability testing is crucial for evaluating and refining online educational content.

Conclusions:

• Librarians can leverage the RDMLA's development experience to create effective online CE courses.
• Partnerships and instructional design expertise enhance online professional development programs.
• Lessons learned from RDMLA can inform future online learning initiatives in library science.