Dal digital curator al data librarian

Abstract

The data librarian is a new professional role in librarianship. Stemming from manifold different roles, the data librarian is a specialization of the digital curator but its boundaries are still nebulous and undefined. The paper analyzes the main differences between the digital curator and the data librarian, identifies the leading roles in data management, i.e. data creator, data manager, data scientist, and data librarian and explores the skills and the competencies of the latter one in the academic library environment. It proposes a core skills for data librarianship referring to five macroareas: library and information science, scholarly communication, technology, intellectual property rights, and management. In conclusion, the paper discusses some issues regarding the development of digital and data curation curricula.