Big data, small library

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead
 
[Peer reviewed] This conference paper discusses how Shell Australia's Technical Librarians successfuly combine the roles of the traditional special librarian and the new data librarian.  They are a vital part of Shell Australia's multidisciplinary Subsurface and Wells Technical Data Management team, working collaboratively with colleagues across data management, geoscience and information technology (IT) disciplines to ensure the increasing volume, velocity, and variety of the company's geoscientific technical data - very big data - is managed efficiently.
 
Shell Australia's Technical Librarians were key stakeholders in a recent project to review and improve the existing databases and processes used to manage Shell Australia's goephysical data. The cross-disciplinary engagement resulted in the implementation of tools and processes that provide improved metadata capture, clearer connections between projects and data, improved search functionality, better data management and stronger relationships with stakeholders. The professional skills of the technical librarian remain relevant and valuable in an era of big data, however cross-disciplinary collaboration with data stakeholders is essential to communicate this value and develop additional disciplinary knowledge and data management skills.