Ryan Womack
Data and Economics Librarian
Rutgers University Libraries
How did you become involved in the world of data?:
My initial academic background was in economics, where I grew comfortable with data and statistics. After library school, I was a business librarian for 12 years, but always liked working with financial and economic data the best. When a data librarian position opened up internally at Rutgers in 2008, I realized where my true interests were and that this would be a more interesting path for me to take, and so it has!
What do you value most about your membership in IASSIST?:
IASSIST is a great community where we are all involved in the same sorts of efforts, and I learn so much from the discussions at conferences and via the listserv. People here actually know what a data librarian is!
What was your favorite IASSIST conference?:
Finland in 2009. It was my first IASSIST, combined with a visit to a wonderful and charming new country. That made for an exciting experience all around, with a trip to an authentic sauna to boot.
What is your favorite data set?:
I'd have to give credit to COMPUSTAT for the amount of time that I've worked with it back through my years as a business librarian, but I'm hoping that some of our home-grown Rutgers data that I'm currently working with will take COMPUSTAT's place in my affections.
What are some things you are working on currently?:
As part of our Libraries' efforts to manage data in our repository, I have been designated Research Data Manager for RUcore. That has now become the largest part of my job, whereas only a couple of years ago I was more focused on public services. We have launched our data portal, RUresearch, and are working with faculty across the university to archive their research data. It's quite exciting to be a part of building a new service like this.
When not working with data I…:
Actually, I have been bitten by the data bug and will be working on a Master's in Statistics in my spare time. No kidding! I am also hoping to still have some time to spend with my family and keep up with my reading of Russian literature and other classics.
