Managing Scholarly Research Output: The Smithsonian Institution Experience. Martin R. Kalfatovic, Alvin Hutchinson, Richard Naples, and Suzanne Pilsk. Smithsonian-The National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI). Washington, DC, 16 May 2019.

1. Managing Scholarly Research Output:
The Smithsonian Institution Experience
An Introduction to Smithsonian Research Information Management
Martin R. Kalfatovic
Alvin Hutchinson, Richard Naples,
Suzanne Pilsk
Smithsonian | NACOSTI Meeting
16 May 2019 | Washington

2. 156 Million Objects &
Specimens

3. Research Information Management (RIM)
Research information management (RIM) is the aggregation,
curation, and utilization of information about research and is
emerging as an area of increasing relevance in research institutions.
RIM generally includes data from the entire life cycle of a research
project, from grant application metadata to impact metrics for the
research output. Providing a central repository of information about
institutional scholarship and research activities and allows for efficient
capture and reuse of data for further collaboration, promotion of
research, and compliance with internal and external policies (such as
open access policies).

4. Anacostia Community Museum Library
National Air and Space Museum Library
National Museum of African American History & Culture Library
National Museum of American History Library
National Postal Museum Library
Smithsonian Institution Libraries Research Annex
The Vine Deloria, Jr. Library, National Museum of the American Indian
History and Culture
Smithsonian American Art / Portrait Gallery Library
Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Library
Freer and Sackler Galleries Library
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library
Warren M. Robbins Library, National Museum of African Art
Art and Design
Botany and Horticulture Library
John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology
Museum Support Center Library
National Museum of Natural History Library
National Zoological Park Library
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Library
Earl Tupper Library, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Sciences
Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology
Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History
Special Collections
Smithsonian Libraries

5. Supporting
Research
Taxonomy
History / Art / Culture
New Discoveries

6. RIM and NACOSTI
Mandate & Functions
• Promote increased awareness, knowledge and information of research system
Vision, Mission & Core values
• The Commission upholds Integrity, Professionalism, Accountability, Customer Focus and
Teamwork in the discharge of its mandate.
Quality Policy
• ... Quality Advice, Coordination, Promotion and Regulation of Research, Science, Technology
and Innovation
Corporate Objectives
• To popularise and promote Science, Technology and Innovation in Kenya;
• To Monitor, Evaluate and Assess Impact of Research conducted in Kenya;

7. SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF ARTICLES
Global scientific output
doubles every nine years
Source: http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/05/global-
scientific-output-doubles-every-nine-years.html

8. SMITHSONIAN SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Thousands
Growth of annual number of publications by Smithsonian authors in Research Online (from 1843-2018)
OVER 87K PUBLICATIONS SINCE 1843

9. SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH ONLINE
RESEARCH.SI.EDU

10. Dspace Repository

11. SCIENCE
HISTORY &
CULTURE
ART
OTHER
What
Smithsonian
Researchers
Publish
Lots of Science, sure.
But enough of the “other
stuff” to cause data
capture headaches
12,115 publications: 2012-2017
87,800+ total publications since 1846

12. NATURAL
HISTORY
MUSEUM
ASTROPHYSICAL
OBSERVATORY
TROPICAL
RESEARCH
INSTITUTE
NATIONAL
ZOO
ENVIRONMENTAL
RESEARCH CENTER
MUSEUM
CONSERVATION
INSTITUTE
Science
Publications in
Research Online
From astrophysics to
zebra reproduction,
10:1 journal articles to
everything else
9,834 Science publications: 2012-2017

13. AIR & SPACE
MUSEUM
AMERICAN
HISTORY
MUSEUM
POSTAL
MUSEUM
FOLKLIFE
AMERICAN
INDIAN
ANACOSTIA
AFRICAN AMERICAN
HISTORY AND CULTURE
ASIAN PACIFIC
AMERICAN CENTER
1,376 History & Culture publications:
2012-2017
History & Culture
Publications in
Research Online
25% book & book
chapters, 25% blog posts,
50% journal articles

14. AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
FREER & SACKLER
PORTRAIT GALLERY
COOPER HEWITT
HIRSHHORN
AFRICAN
ART
350 Art publications: 2012-2017
Art Publications in
Research Online
More than half are books or
book chapters

15. SCHOLARLY
PRESS
CASTLE
OFFICE OF
POLICY &
ANALYSIS
ARCHIVES
SMITHSONIAN
LIBRARIES
GARDENS
Other Publications in
Research Online
Interdisciplinary and support
organizations, including our
publications arm.
60% books & chapters
411 Other publications: 2012-2017

16. Smithsonian Public Access Plan
• Reaffirm the Smithsonian’s
commitment to increasing public
access to federally funded research
materials.
• Support the governance of and best
practices for managing federally
funded research materials across the
Smithsonian.
• Ensure effective access to and
reliable preservation of federally
funded research materials for
research, development, and
education.
• Preserve and increase the use of
federally funded research materials
to enhance discoveries.

17. Smithsonian Public Access Plan
Public Access to Federally
Funded Research Materials
Submission of accepted manuscripts
and publisher agreements is facilitated
via a website maintained by the
Smithsonian Libraries. Likewise
uploading the accepted manuscript to
the SRO repository and observing any
stated embargo period is done by SRO
program staff.
Persistent Identifier Use and
Creation
The Smithsonian Libraries works with
recognized external service providers
to create and manage standard
identifiers used in scholarly
informatics.

18. The Smithsonian is publishing more articles in Open
Access Journals
Articles in OA Journals
Articles published 2012-2018 in Smithsonian Research Online with
exact journal title matches with the Directory of Open Access
Journals.
18
39
26 21 16 10
22 21
61 67
86
139
176
196
222
284
329
311
368
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

19. But publishing in OA Journals still only accounts for a low
percentage of all articles
% of Total Articles in OA Journals
Articles published 2012-2018 in Smithsonian Research Online with
exact journal title matches with the Directory of Open Access
Journals.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

20. 20
20
21
23
32
34
39
49
62
78
93
94
98
175
408
Atmospheric Chemistry and…
BMC Genomics
Biodiversity Data Journal
Science Advances
Royal Society Open Science
Journal of Hymenoptera…
Ecosphere
BMC Evolutionary Biology
Nature Communications
PeerJ
Scientific Reports
PhytoKeys
Ecology and Evolution
ZooKeys
PLoS ONE
These are the 15 journals where we’ve published
20+ articles from 2012 to 2018

21. Bibliometrics in Service of …

22. Administration

23. Administration

24. BIBLIOMETRICS AT THE SMITHSONIAN
AD HOC REPORTING EXAMPLES

25. BIBLIOMETRICS AT THE SMITHSONIAN
AD HOC REPORTING EXAMPLES
Impact of Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems
CITATION ANALYSIS, PRODUCTIVITY, CLARIVATE INCITES, ALTMETRICS

26. Data Reuse on Staff & Department Pages

27. Data Reuse on Staff & Department Pages

28. Smithsonian Profiles

29. Smithsonian Profiles
• Expert Locator
• Source for staff
information for re-use in
other Smithsonian
systems
• Statistics on staff
expertise
• Currently, about 1,500
Smithsonian staff in
Profiles

30. Smithsonian Profiles
• Profiles link

31. Smithsonian Profiles
• Profiles Details

32. Smithsonian Research Information Managment
Public Access: Research Repository
People: Profiles
Collections & Research: RDM
Impact: Bibliometrics/ScholComm
Publication Citation: Research Online
IDENTIFIERS

33. In Closing ...

34. Most research organizations, as well as
agencies who regulate research, are struggling
with the challenges of tracking and making
available the results of research. The tools
that Smithsonian Research Online, adapted
from readily available sources, can serve as a
model and adapted for use by some of these
organizations.

35. The library community is working to help
researchers, administrators, funders,
and others understand the value of the
research within the research community
and individual institutions, and the
return on investment of research
funding. that will need them simply to
survive.

36. Perhaps most importantly, helping the
general public understand the broader
societal impacts of scholarly research
may create a sympathetic environment
for facts in a world that will need them
simply to survive.

37. Asante Sana!
ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD

38. Thank You!
Alvin Hutchinson
Richard
Naples
Scott Miller
Suzanne Pilsk
Thanks to these
Smithsonian Staff for
assistance in this
presentation