Recently I was at a conference and a fellow conference-goer saw on my name badge that that I worked for DataCite and they stepped back and said, “Wow, DataCite must be a very exciting place to be right now.” I agree. It is very exciting and I am thrilled to be DataCite’s new Executive Director.
Over the past year DataCite has seen an enormous uptake in the use of our services. Yesterday, I looked at our stats and 34% of all of DataCite’s DOIs have been registered in 2015 – 2.229.016 DOIs just this year with a total of 6.494.634 DOIs since 2009 – and we still have two months to go in 2015. Cleary the use of DataCite DOIs are resonating with the nearly 650 data centers that get their DOIs from DataCite.
DataCite’s core business is providing DOI’s for data to the research community. However, making data a first class citizen isn’t just about DOIs, it requires that DataCite also communicates, advocates, and invests in services that illustrate the downstream value and impact of research data. DataCite has recently hired an amazing team to push these important initiatives forward – Laura Rueda, Communications Director, Martin Fenner, Technology Director, and Britta Dreyer, Business Manager – together we plan to move DataCite forward to meet the dynamic needs to the research community.
DataCite’s success depends on its membership. DataCite’s global community of 24 Members and 8 Affiliate Members are from around the world, from Australia to Estonia and California to Japan. Working with DataCite’s engaged Members promises to be one the best parts of my new position as I work with them to understand their needs. The Members work with data centers, stewards, libraries, archives, universities, and research institutes who have responsibility for managing, holding, curating, and archiving data.
These are indeed exciting times for DataCite. We have a host services and communication initiatives that we will launching over the next several months. I invite the community to get in touch and share your ideas and your enthusiasm.
