Radik, Melanie

Job Title

Science and Engineering Librarian

Last Name

Radik

First Name

Melanie

Discipline

Library and Information Science

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8

The Lard of the Rings
(2019-01-01) Radik, Melanie
Literary Inspiration: The Lord of the Rings
A Hard-Baking Work of Staggering Greenness
Radik, Melanie; McKenzie, Andy
Literary Inspiration: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Assessment Data for "Envisioning the Future of a Mature IR"
(2022-01-01) Atwood, Thea; Jerome, Erin; Radik, Melanie; Seifried, Rebecca
This dataset contains two spreadsheets: 1) an in-depth functionality assessment of Digital Commons based on the University of Pennsylvania's "Platform Functionality Review" (https://penntrl.wordpress.com/2019/01/23/scrip-appendices/); 2) a running list of required functionality for an institutional repository platform. The spreadsheets accompany a forthcoming book chapter, "Envisioning the Future of a Mature IR: A Midlife Assessment of ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst".
Supporting Big Data Research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
(2021-01-01) Atwood, Thea P.; Radik, Melanie; Seifried, Rebecca M.
This project aimed to examine the research support needs of faculty who employ “big data” and data science methodologies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The study was conducted by the University Libraries and was part of a larger suite of parallel studies of big data researchers at institutions of higher education across the U.S. The study was coordinated by Ithaka S+R whose goal is to “help academic and cultural communities know what is coming next, learn from rigorous and well-designed research studies, and … improve their performance and further their missions.” Under the guidance of project coordinators from Ithaka S+R, librarians at 21 participating institutions—including Boston University, Northeastern, Texas A&M, and several University of California campuses—interviewed researchers across our campuses and compiled independent research results and recommendations for creating or enhancing local services and supports. In addition, participating institutions contributed their findings to a final capstone report by Ithaka S+R. The Ithaka capstone report provides a cumulative view of the evolving needs of big data researchers and includes recommendations for how the Libraries and campus research support structures can most effectively and strategically grow our support for this rapidly expanding area of research needs.
Envisioning the Future of a Mature IR: A Midlife Assessment of ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst
(2023-01) Jerome, Erin; Atwood, Thea P; Radik, Melanie; Seifried, Rebecca M
The University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries launched its institutional repository (IR), ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst, in July 2006. To date, the IR has over 57,000 works that have been downloaded over 25 million times all over the world. Over the past six years, the content of the IR has expanded from mainly postprints and Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) to include podcasts, datasets, open educational resources (OER), and other shareable open content that has no other logical home. As continued growth has pushed the limits of the software as designed, we decided to conduct a full assessment of the IR in order to qualitatively assess whether the IR meets the needs of staff and stakeholders. The assessment involved two parts: (1) evaluating the IR according to a set of defined criteria adapted from the University of Pennsylvania’s Platform Functionality Review, and (2) soliciting feedback from stakeholders, including those who edit journals or organize conferences (a functionality that is separate from other parts of the IR) and those who manage non-journal or conference collections within the IR. While stakeholders expressed satisfaction with the service provided by the Libraries and the IR provider, they also requested additional features that would make the platform more user-friendly, flexible, and responsive to new content types and customizations that extend beyond the hard limits of the software. Editors and collections administrators were particularly vocal in requesting additional features, such as the ability to accommodate languages other than English and support for big datasets. The assessment raises concerns about the current IR’s ability to adapt to changes in the scholarly publishing landscape that are on the horizon and provides critical data to inform the next iteration of the repository. Hopefully, others can apply this strategy to their own institutional repository in order to better prepare for a flexible, robust future that supports open scholarship.
Curiosity as Outreach: Flipping Outreach on its Head
(2020-01) Borrego, Paulina; Graham, Anne; Lutz, Ellen; Radik, Melanie; Reznik-Zellen, Rebecca
Science and Engineering Library staff at the University of Massachusetts Amherst visited several sites on campus in a novel outreach initiative that involved all nine staff members taking “field trips” without agendas. We demonstrate that outreach without the explicit goal of promoting a specific resource or service can be an effective use of time, and can build social capital that shares the goals of traditional outreach. Involving all staff in this outreach effort was a valuable team building experience, exposing the depth of our interests and expertise to each other and to our campus community.
STEM Librarians and the Future of Scholarly Publishing: Scholarly Communication Concepts that Researchers Need
(2022-01) Pacion, Kelee; Radik, Melanie; Duong, Khue; Martinez, Jessica; Bogucka, Roxanne
This narrative reflection describes how five librarians developed a scholarly communication workshop intended for a specific conference with an audience of science researchers, then proceeded to modify it to fulfill different professional development opportunities. We explored themes around open access, the current and future landscape of scholarly publishing, and the decision factors for researchers when choosing a journal to submit papers to. Identifying further venues for the workshop and submitting formal and informal proposals leveraged our knowledge of our own professional associations and what might appeal to those audiences.
Cross-functional policy development for a Data Repository
(2021-01) Atwood, Thea P.; Jerome, Erin; Kardos, Ann; McGinty, Stephen; Radik, Melanie; Reznik-Zellen, Rebecca
Policy can articulate the scope of work. For repositories that house data, policy can help users manage expectations, especially for individuals who are new to data sharing, or where expectations for sharing data have changed. We cover some of the current literature around the process for writing policy, specifically focusing on policy for data collections and repositories, factors that encouraged us to create a repository policy, our collaborative process for creating the policy, and lessons learned. We hope that others can use our processes to build their own policy that reflects the needs of their campuses and scholars and further moves the needle toward the “Library as Publisher” model.