A deepening of training needs in digital curation

A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum Florence, 6-7 May 2013 Claudia Engelhardt

Overview • DigCurV research on training needs:Basic information • Online-Survey on training needs • Focus groups and analysis of job advertisements • Summary A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

DigCurV research on training needs:Basic information • Online-Survey on training needs • Focus groups and analysis of job advertisements • Summary A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

Review of sector training needs • Aims: • Identify skills & competences necessary in digital preservation & curation • Identify the need for training with regard to these skills & competences • Purpose: • Inform DigCurV Curriculum Framework Development • Lead: Göttingen State and University Library • February 2011 – January 2012 A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

Review of sector training needs Research activities carried out: • Online survey • July and August 2011, 454 responses • Focus groups • September-November 2011, 9 focus groups • Analysis of job advertisements • 48 advertisements, collected between February 2011 and January 2012 A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

Survey on training needs • Target audience: • staff members of cultural heritage organisations, scientific and educational institutions • Conducted: 4th July – 26th August 2011 • 454 valid responses from 44 countries • Europe: 81% • North America: 14% • Others: 5% A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

Survey on training needs Structure of the survey: • Basic information on organisation and respondent • Training plans and preferences • Skills and competences needed • Training needs A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

Survey respondents’ organisations • Type: • cultural heritage institutions (majority)e.g. archives, libraries, museums • scientific & educational institutions (large proportion)e.g. universities, research centres • Others (considerable proportion)e.g. authorities, broadcasters, companies etc. • Size: • 45% small (1-100 FTEs) • 30% medium (101-500 FTEs) • 25% large (> 500 FTEs) A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

Role of respondents A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence Respondents involved in variety of tasks with regard to digital preservation and curation, e.g. • Management • Hands-on tasks • Research • Training and education

Involvement in digital preservation A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence Large majority of organisations (94%) storing digital materials for the long-term or planning to do so: • Yes already: 76% • No, but plan to do so: 18% • Neither storing nor planning to do so: 6%

Digital preservation staff A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • Existing staff (N=325): • Mainly core funded and partly (63%) or exclusively (31%) assigned to preservation/curation tasks • Some externally funded (12% exclusively, 10% partly) • No staff assigned to digital preservation tasks: 12%! • Plans to hire staff (N=335): • No: 57% • Yes, staff partly assigned to dp/dc: 31% • Yes, staff exclusively assigned to dp/dc: 17%

Training plans A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • Considerable number of organisations planning digital preservation / curation training: • For inexperienced staff: 35% • For experienced staff: 31% • Not planning training: • 35% • Already providing training: • 26%

Training preferences A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • Training methods considered most suitable: • Small group workshops: 75% • Blended learning: 39%

Which training methods for digital preservation/ curation do you consider the most suitable for your organisation? (up to two answers allowed) N=446

Training preferences A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • Training methods considered most suitable: • Small group workshops: 75% • Blended learning: 39% • Time frame considered most suitable: • One time event of 1-2 days: 55% • One time event of 3-5 days: 30%

Which time frame for training in digital preservation/ curation do you consider the most suitable for your organisation? (up to two answers allowed) N=443

Skills and competences A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • Respondents were presented two lists, one each containing: • General tasks and skills • Digital preservation-specific and technical tasks and skills • Importance of each task/skill in terms of the work of staff involved in digital preservation/curation assessed on four-stage scale: • essential – important – not important – non essential

General skills General skills assessed: • Collaborating with others • Communicating with others • Affinity for technology • Managing projects • Training others • Managing budgets • Leading a department or team • Organising conferences, workshops or other events A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

In terms of the work of staff involved in digital preservation/ curation, how important do you consider the following general skills?

Digital preservation-specific skills Digital preservation-specific and general skills assessed: • Preservation planning • Ensuring access • Managing data • Evaluating and selecting data for long-term preservation • Storing data • Ingesting data • Research & development of a digital preservation environment • Administering the archive A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

In terms of the work of staff involved in digital preservation/ curation, how important do you consider the following digital preservation-specific and technical skills?

Training needs A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • Respondents were again presented two lists, one each containing: • General skills and competences • Digital preservation-specific and technical skills and competences • Need for training with regard to each task/skill assessed on four-stage scale: • great need – moderate need – hardly any need – no need

General skills and competences General skills assessed: • Liaising between customers and information technology experts • Communication • Project Management • Networking with people • Training others • Administration and finances A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

How would you assess the training needs of digital preservation staff in the following general skills ?

Digital preservation-specific and technical skills and competences Digital preservation-specific and technical skills assessed: • General / basic knowledge of digital preservation issues • Preservation & data management planning • Preservation tools • Information modelling and metadata • Trusted repositories • Strategic planning and policies • Technical systems • Legal aspects A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence

How would you assess the training needs of digital preservation staff in the following digital preservation-specific and technical areas?

Most pressing training needs A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • respondents were asked which areas they considered the training need to be most pressing • indicated up to three areas • result: training needs most pressing for digital preservation-specific and technical skills

In which of the following digital preservation-related fields is the need for training the most pressing? (up to three answers allowed) N=446

Focus groups A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • 9 focus groups with stakeholders • held in Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania and the UK in autumn 2011 Findings support survey results: • severe lack of qualified staff • lack of training offers • blended learning and short term offers preferred

Focus groups A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • broad spectrum of skills needed including: • digital preservation/curation-specific skills • knowledge of subject domain as well as of library, archival and information science • IT knowledge and technical expertise • social skills • management skills • knowledge of the organisation/institution • urgent need for training expressed, especially for technical and IT skills, but also others e.g. communication and management

Analysis of job advertisements A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • 48 advertisements for posts related to digital preservation/curation collected between February 2011 and January 2012 • results support survey and focus group results • broad spectrum of digital preservation-specific and technical as well as subject specific and generic skills needed

Summary A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • strong input from the digital preservation/curation community, particularly of the cultural heritage, scientific and education sectors Results indicate: • severe lack of qualified staff in the field • lack of appropriate training offers • preferred training methods: small group workshops and blended learning • preferred time frame: short term courses

Summary A deepening of training needs in digital curation Framing the digital curation curriculum, 6-7 May 2013, Florence • skills and competences needed are manifold and comprise broad spectrum: • digital preservation/curation-specific skills • IT and technical skills • general skills (communication, management etc.) • knowledge of subject domain • great need for training indicated for both general and digital preservation-specific / technical skills • most pressing needs expressed for the area of digital preservation-specific and technical skills

The “DigCurV Report and analysis of the survey of Training Needs” is available on the DigCurV website: http://www.digcur-education.org/eng/Resources Thank you! Do you have any questions? Contact:Claudia EngelhardtGöttingen State and University Libraryclaudia.engelhardt@sub.uni-goettingen.de

A deepening of training needs in digital curation