Research Data Management

LibraData is a place for UVA researchers to share data publicly, and is part of the Libra Scholarly Repository suite of services which includes works of UVA scholarship such as articles, books, theses, and data. The LibraData repository is UVa’s local instance of Dataverse, developed and used by Harvard University.

Why Deposit Data in LibraData?

• Increased visibility and impact of your research data. Sharing your data publicly can increase your research impact and visibility, creating additional opportunities for collaboration and connection within and beyond your existing network. To assist in the sharing process, a persistent identifier (DOI) is created for each LibraData dataset.
• Safe management of your data. Depositing your research data in LibraData not only makes your data discoverable and accessible to a wider audience, but also keeps your data safer. The UVA Library, and UVA’s Information Technology Services, are committed to the durability and sustainability of scholarship deposited in Libra. Libra uses standard data management practices, including security and backup procedures, to provide a reasonable assurance that files will remain retrievable over time. LibraData will be preserved in the Academic Preservation Trust, of which UVA Library is a founding member and partner.
• Fulfillment of journal and grant mandates. More journals and public and private funding agencies are requiring that researchers deposit data created as part of the research process. Publishing your data within LibraData meets the requirements of these mandates.
• Valuable research time saved. Using LibraData’s easy-to-use interface to deposit, describe, and share your data saves you time and allows you to focus on your research.

The Dataverse software was developed by Harvard, but it’s important to note some differences between LibraData and Harvard’s repository. First, LibraData is UVA’s local instance of Dataverse. All data resides on servers physically located on the UVA Grounds, which is an important requirement for many agencies. Also, LibraData is for final, publishable products of research. LibraData is a place for UVA researchers to publish final research data for sharing publicly. You can also deposit data into LibraData even if it’s already been made publicly available through another repository. LibraData integrates easily with the Open Science Framework, which allows collaboration and then enables publishing of research products at the appropriate point in the research lifecycle, including to instances of Dataverse like LibraData.  

Additional information about using and depositing in LibraData;

• FAQ
• Deposit Checklist
• LibraData (Dataverse) User Guides

Do you plan to submit your data to a discipline-specific repository and to Libra Data? If so, consider the following language: 

Deposit in UVa Repository - LibraData:
As advised by University of Virginia Library Research Data Services group, I plan on also depositing my research data in the UVA institutional repository – LibraData, UVa’s local instance of Dataverse. LibraData assigns DOIs to each dataset which makes data searchable by Datacite and SHARE. I will submit the necessary metadata and other resources to make my data accessible for future users. In accordance with University of Virginia policy, the data will be preserved for a minimum of five years upon completion of the project. The current preservation plan for LibraData will be to preserve the data indefinitely. The LibraData backup plan provides for data redundancy including off-site storage.