Curious about the new Research Facilitation Service?

When the Research Facilitation Service (RFS) launched in April, it gave NC State a single point of contact for research computing and data questions, and a connection among the many research service providers around campus.

In a new interview on the Ithaka S+R blog, the Libraries’ Susan Ivey, director of the RFS, talks about the challenges that NC State researchers face as their work becomes technologically complex and data-driven, and the importance of the partnership between the NC State University Libraries, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) that the RFS represents.

“At NC State, the Libraries has been well aware of this challenge on campus for some time, which I think is the case for many academic libraries, particularly those at large and siloed institutions,” Ivey tells Ithaka. “The Libraries and the collaborative RFS are well positioned to help alleviate these challenges for a variety of reasons.”

“Libraries act as connectors for users, linking them to necessary resources and information, and this makes the library a natural home for a service like the RFS, which provides a central location for researchers trying to navigate the broad range of Research Computing and Data services and support that are available to them, both on campus and beyond,” Ivey continues. “The Libraries are also positioned as one of the truly interdisciplinary institutions on campus that can serve needs across its many academic constituencies. Librarians and library staff are genuinely invested in ensuring users get what they need in a timely manner, so we provide excellent customer support.”

Read the full interview on the Ithaka S+R blog.