Research data librarians as research support systems for Covid-19 During and Post-Pandemic: a case study of the Indonesian Institutes of Sciences

As the guardians of knowledge and information professionals, librarians have held numerous service approaches in responding to the pandemic situation. With their core service to be the research support systems, research data librarians face a paradigm-shifting from face-to-face consultation to a remote arrangement, which is a relatively new proposition for all service providers. When a pandemic occurs, all in-house services have to stop because most researchers work from home. It halts face-to-face library services. But on the other hand, a pandemic has turned out to be the basis for research data management to develop in Indonesia. The Indonesian National Scientific Repository (RIN Dataverse) as a data storage system is increasingly needed to support an online work approach. This study focuses on how research data librarians in the Indonesian Institute of Sciences successfully communicate and collaborate with researchers from different institutions to make an adequate environment in providing data-driven policies for stakeholders, especially during pandemics. We use a qualitative method with literature reviews and observations based on case studies. We also exercise a SWOT analysis to determine the scheme’s opportunities and challenges implemented by research data librarians to be part of the research ecosystem. Based on this study, the librarians' roles are gradually changing following the demand for research assistantship during pandemics. It means that the interlink coordination between librarians and researchers within RIN Dataverse, as a platform, will help the collaboration be more asserted. These activities will also be a fundamental understanding in designing strategic implementation for a post-pandemic situation.