INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIBRARIANSHIP, 2(1), 79-80 ISSN: 2474-3542 Book Review: Curating Research Data, Volume One: Practical Strategies for Your Digital Repository, Eds. Lisa R. Johnston. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2017. 294p. $65. ISBN: 978-0838988589. Research data management (RDM) presents both an opportunity and a challenge for academic libraries. While the campus library is a natural fit for providing digital data curation services due to our expertise in information and archival sciences, it can be difficult for libraries to establish complex infrastructure and employ dedicated staff when they are faced with shrinking budgets. However, external pressures from funding agencies, academic journals, and changing disciplinary practices are bringing more research libraries to the table to work with campus partners and deliver RDM services for researchers. Volume one of Curating Research Data provides a good basis for further exploring these issues, while also examining other topics such as RDM service levels at various institutions, marketing and outreach, and data reuse. While librarians providing digital data curation services are the stated audience for volume one, this book still provides a useful overview of the drivers for the development of RDM services at research libraries. Librarians not immersed in the RDM field will still benefit from reading select chapters from this volume, especially if they are interested in developing a stronger understanding of the various data management pressures facing researchers. However, some of the chapters discuss more specialized areas of RDM and do not necessarily include enough introductory content for librarians with a beginner’s understanding of data curation. Because each chapter contains an extensive notes and bibliography section, readers new to these concepts will be able to easily find and locate additional articles, books, and reports that strengthen their understanding of RDM topics. This edited volume is organized into three thematic sections. The introductory chapter by Johnston, the volume’s editor, clearly lays out the purpose of each section and provides a brief introduction to each chapter contained in the volume. One of the strengths of this edited volume is that it brings together a selection of chapters authored by librarians, data curators, and researchers involved in RDM initiatives at universities and research centers. Brief biographies of each contributor are provided at the very end of the book and it is useful to read them before starting each chapter, as it helps identify a contributor’s institutional affiliation and experience with RDM. Some of the chapters are written in a case study style, while others analyze the results of original research or focus on more theoretical aspects of data curation. Due to this varied chapter style, the time period covered in each chapter tends to vary. For example, Chapter Six analyzes 2015 survey data to explore the types of data services research libraries are providing (p. 126), while Chapter Two examines policies from funding agencies, journals, and research institutions over a much broader time period. Quail / International Journal of Librarianship 2(1) 80 Finally, while the majority of the chapters have more of a U.S. focus, some chapters discuss and explore RDM issues and/or approaches in geographies such as Canada and the U.K. In particular, Chapter Three focuses exclusively on Canadian digital research data infrastructure initiatives. The chapters in section one provide a broad overview of the factors motivating libraries to support researchers in their digital research data curation practices. Chapter Two by Briney, Goben, and Zilinski stands out as a particularly useful chapter that can help librarians new to the RDM field better understand some of the pressures facing researchers. Although it focuses primarily on the U.S. context, the chapter’s examination of pressures from funding agencies, journals, and academic institutions provides a useful backdrop for understanding the difficulties researchers face in navigating policies that are not always in alignment. Chapter Five is also an eye-opening read, as Imker examines the more traditional data sharing practices of scientists and highlights some of the challenges researchers face in adopting new data curation strategies. Section two contains a selection of chapters that cover topics such as different RDM services offered by academic institutions, cost-recovery practices, and the marketing of data curation services. Chapter Six by Kouper, Fear, Ishida, Kollen, and Williams is a valuable read for librarians involved in RDM initiatives, as well as librarians with a general interest in this area. This chapter analyzes the types of basic, intermediate, and advanced RDM services being offered at 124 ARL libraries. The other chapters in this section may be more relevant for librarians involved in providing digital data curation services. For example, Chapter Eight (by Nilsen) examines different revenue models for academic library data repositories, while Chapter Nine (by Gerwig) highlights effective marketing practices used by libraries to increase awareness and use of their campus data repositories and services. Finally, the chapters included in section three focus on data curation and reuse issues. Ogier, Nicholls, and Speer’s (Chapter Ten) comparison of retention practices in university recordkeeping, library collection management, and data curation is particularly interesting, as this chapter highlights how data repositories need to develop criteria to help them determine when to retain or dispose of data. Downs and Chen’s case study in Chapter Twelve also illustrates how complicated it can be to rescue orphaned data sets and makes a strong case for involving data curators in projects from the beginning to ensure that even basic metadata practices are followed. In conclusion, volume one of Curating Research Data would be a valuable addition to any research library’s collection due to its breadth of focus and its ability to provide content that both seasoned RDM professionals and librarians new to digital data curation will find useful and engaging. --- Stephanie Quail, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada DOI: https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2017.vol2.1.31 https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2017.vol2.1.31