Abstract:
A major development in academic libraries has been their recog-
nition of the need to support research data services (RDS) to ad-
vance knowledge and science, augment novel solutions to social and
economic impediments, and amplify immense potentials for com-
petitiveness, productivity, and livability. This study investigated
research data service maturity in academic libraries of developed
countries with the intent to provide valuable insights and implica-
tions for other academic libraries. The maturity model informed
the study. The study used in-depth web analysis and literature re-
view to examine research data services in top-rated 100 university
libraries of developed countries. Study findings showed a clear and
well-developed landscape of research data services in these aca-
demic libraries; 81 (94%) of the investigated universities offered a
wide array of both informational and technical services. The most
common services consisted research data curation and storage ser-
vice 81 (94%), research data management and training service 81
(94%), research data management reference service 80 (93%), re-
search data introduction service 80 (93%) and data management
plan and guidance 79 (92%) respectively. The least common service
was the resource recommendation service 64 (74%). Study findings,
therefore, suggest that the current services are extensive, robust
and mature, signifying an overall maturity of the RDS landscape in
academic libraries of developed countries
