Data Librarianship: Open Data Awareness, Perceptions and Services in Medical Libraries in Nigeria

Background: Open data is a relatively new initiative and its management and access is a very new service for many libraries, requiring development of new skills through training. Purpose/Setting/Participants: The research assessed open data awareness, perceptions and services in medical libraries in Nigeria. Fifty – one medical librarians from 36 medical education institutions and hospitals responded to the survey. Methods: Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was created in SurveyMonkey and distributed through the email list and WhatsApp group platform of the Medical Library Association of Nigeria (MLA-N). Results/outcomes: Results showed that a high percentage of the medical librarians are aware of the open data initiative, they are also aware and have a basic to extensive understanding of open data values and benefits. Over half are aware of the various topics in open data management. The medical librarians showed positive attitude to data sharing and librarians’ involvement in data management services. However, the awareness and positive attitudes did not translate to data management. Data management services are yet to be implemented in the libraries. Conclusions/recommendations: The paper recommends that data resource collection development should be integrated into the library collection development policies and processes. It concludes that the future and prospects for data management in medical libraries in Nigeria may depend on a well-developed data librarianship training programme.