C&RL News April 2019 206 In the information age, data stewardship is crucial for individual and organizational pro- ductivity. It is easy to get overwhelmed by vast amounts of information being created every second. Information overload has become a common occurrence in the workplace to the extent that people “spend more time search- ing for the right information, leaving them less time for proper analyses using the acquired information.”1 Thus, the excess of information in the workplace can lead to stress, lack of productivity, and information fatigue. In response to the overabundance of data in the information age, many organizations are attempting to implement data governance programs. Gwen Thomas of the Data Gover- nance Institute defines data governance as the “exercise of decision making and authority for data-related matters.”2 A crucial component of data governance is data stewardship, which involves the or- ganization of data. Data stewardship is not only useful for individual productivity but can also be a beneficial method for organizational accountability. Traditionally known as the keepers of information resources, librarians have a responsibility to not only organize information resources for patrons of the library, but also to manage administrative data for the benefit of library administrators, faculty, and staff. In an attempt to improve personal and organizational productivity in our own library, a library-wide event called Data Stewardship Week (DSW) was created at the University of Memphis (UM) Libraries. The idea stemmed from a conversation about our need to manage increasing amounts of administra- tive information in each of our professional positions. We shared frustrations about being overwhelmed with incoming data in emails, disordered storage spaces, and an increasing number of disparate platforms and newly emerging technologies. Thus, with the goal of functioning more efficiently, becoming better organized, and responding more co- herently to staffing changes and user needs, we reached out to library administration about hosting a data stewardship event for all library personnel. Background UM Libraries is comprised of the main li- brary, Ned R. McWherter Library, and three branch libraries, Music, Health Sciences, and Lambuth. The Music and Health Scienc- es libraries are integrated into disciplinary buildings nearby, but the Lambuth Library is located 90 miles away at a branch campus. In years past, all University Libraries em- ployees would meet at the main library in the spring for Personnel Development Day, Caitlin Harrington is electronic resources librarian, email: chrrngt4@memphis.edu, Kenneth Haggerty is user interfaces librarian, Library Information Systems, email: khggerty@memphis.edu, and Rachel Elizabeth Scott is interim coordinator for cataloging, collection management, and library information systems, email: rescott3@memphis.edu, at the University of Memphis © 2019 Caitlin Harrington, Kenneth Haggerty, and Rachel Elizabeth Scott Caitlin Harrington, Kenneth Haggerty, and Rachel Elizabeth Scott Data Stewardship Week in an academic library An overview mailto:chrrngt4%40memphis.edu?subject= mailto:khggerty%40memphis.edu?subject= mailto:rescott3%40memphis.edu?subject= April 2019 207 C&RL News a day of workshops that focused primarily on professional development. University Li- braries administration received faculty feed- back that closing all libraries, even for a day, was not well-received on campus and should not be continued. When we first pro- posed DSW, it was as a Personnel Develop- ment Day replacement. Although we could not close the library for the day, we could still provide relevant and useful professional development training over the course of a week and schedule it such that most Uni- versity Libraries employees could attend. With the approval of University Libraries ad- ministration, we surveyed all library faculty and staff to gain an understanding of our library’s perceived data stewardship needs. Planning Data Stewardship Week University Libraries employees were sur- veyed to determine which areas of data stewardship were of the greatest concern. Survey participants were advised that top- ics under consideration for data steward- ship sessions would not focus on “tips and tricks” or “how-to” but on best practices for data stewardship related to those systems or processes. Of the 66 people surveyed, 22 responded and identified three main areas of interest: email management, internal doc- umentation, and file storage, locally called Information Technology Network Attached Storage (ITNAS). Each of us was responsible for coor- dinating or developing content for one of the presentations. Arrangements could be made with speakers within or outside the university, or they could prepare the presentations themselves. The presentation regarding email management was arranged through the UM’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). On campus, CTL provides instructional “sessions on technology use for on-ground and online classes, support, and consultations of campus applications.”3 An instructor from CTL worked with us to de- velop a presentation on email management and best practices that was customized for the needs of University Libraries’ employees. The content for internal documentation was developed and presented by the user inter- faces librarian, who provided recommenda- tions based on his professional experiences and knowledge of University Libraries orga- nization. For the ITNAS presentation, a local support provider (LSP) from the Informa- tion Technology Services (ITS) department was recruited. Two LSPs are stationed in McWherter Library and serve the needs of University Libraries’ employees, but are ITS employees. Because the LSP providing the Data Stewardship Week session works closely with University Libraries’ employees, she was able to create a presentation highly tailored to the concerns and workflows of workshop participants. Scheduling the DSW sessions to accom- modate the most number of employees was of great concern. It was undesirable for Music and Health Sciences libraries to close for an hour each day to allow employees to attend DSW sessions, and impossible for the two staff 90 miles away at the Lambuth branch library. Additionally, the evening and late-night schedules for many McWherter Library employees prevented them from attending DSW sessions at times that were convenient for those working normal busi- ness hours. Therefore, we opted to record all DSW sessions and place the files in a network location that all employees could access. This allowed for some freedom in scheduling the sessions and made the valuable content available to all University Libraries employees. Attendance was not mandatory for Uni- versity Libraries employees, in part for the scheduling concerns detailed above, so we agreed there was a need to incentivize at- tendance. Unable to wield authority over others, we settled on providing food at each of the sessions to lure the hungry and rest- less from their desks and hopefully impart some useful knowledge in the process. Sessions were scheduled at the same time each day from Tuesday, May 15, through Thursday, May 17, 2018. This week in May is part of UM’s “Pre Summer Part of Term,” C&RL News April 2019 208 commonly referred to as “Maymester.” At this time, McWherter Library has reduced hours and patron demand is relatively low. The reduced hours affect evening employees’ schedules and more library employees are available during business hours. It was around this time of year that the previous Personnel Development Day was typically scheduled in order to effect the fewest library patrons or employee schedules. Discussion Casual headcounts indicated that roughly half of the University Libraries personnel who work in the main library attended each of the three sessions. All personnel were in- vited to provide feedback on the sessions via a simple email survey. Because the fi- nal DSW session had to be postponed, the initial feedback survey was distributed after the first two events, and the final feedback survey was distributed immediately after the last DSW session. The survey simply asked: “What would you like to share with the or- ganizers about the [day of the week] session on [topic]?” Survey responses ranged considerably in length and depth. Most feedback was positive and indicated that the content was indeed rel- evant to the work that respondents do within the University Libraries. Some personnel replied that the session inspired or motivated them to make specific changes, for example, organizing their email so that it is more us- able and manageable. Some highlighted the importance of DSW within our organization: “This event was helpful in that it opened the dialogue of accountability and departmental competency. The content was engaging and potentially beneficial.” Some respondents expressed negative feedback about the format, content, deliv- ery, or a perceived lack of relevance. The committee had expressed some concern that personnel, having previously attended several “how-to” sessions, would be primed for content that was similarly focused. We reiterated throughout the planning and mar- keting process that the sessions would be focused more broadly on data organization, but most of the negative comments were related to a perceived thwarting of expecta- tions for “tips and tricks” on using email and university file storage systems, or “how-to” write documentation. The final survey posed one additional question: “What ideas do you have for fu- ture Data Stewardship Week events?” Most respondents were enthusiastic about continu- ing this new tradition and urged the commit- tee to hold DSW annually. One respondent even suggested that the library host such events for the entire campus. The positive survey responses, as well as the enthusiasm expressed in conversations among our col- leagues, have generated great momentum for DSW at University Libraries. Conclusion DSW sprung from our commiseration about the need for dedicated time to clean up our data, and training on best practices for do- ing so. The resulting workshop series turned out differently than the committee originally intended, but was nonetheless a largely posi- tive experience. The committee and library administration do plan to support DSW in the future and will work to strengthen the event with feedback garnered from various channels. Data stewardship is an increasingly important part of our work and lives. Given our professional charge to be stewards of in- formation, it is critical that librarians develop into capable and confident data stewards. Notes 1. Guus Pojpers, Information Overload: A System for Better Managing Everyday Data (Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2010): 19. 2. Gwen Thomas, “Definitions of Data Governance,” The Data Governance Insti- tute, www.datagovernance.com/adg_data _governance_definition/ (accessed August 8, 2018). 3. University of Memphis, “Center for Teaching and learning,” last modified Janu- ary 6, 2018, www.memphis.edu/its/about /ctl.php. http://www.datagovernance.com/adg_data _governance_definition/ http://www.datagovernance.com/adg_data _governance_definition/ http://www.memphis.edu/its/about/ctl.php http://www.memphis.edu/its/about/ctl.php