Available Resources for a Data Management Plan

1. Your Home Institution

The best place to begin is with your home institution. You know your community best and may have resources in place. For example, your institution may already have developed the right kinds of policies and procedures that can be found in the library or archive. It is beneficial to determine if your local library has the capacity for records storage and management. You will need to ask questions such as:

• Are they equipped to manage the types and volume of language data you are maintaining?
• Do they have developed policies in place for things like access/authorization and discoverability?
• Are they equipped to work with you to develop additional resources and capacity for your project?

If your local library or archive has the ability, this is a great place to begin. However, in some cases, small libraries may not have this type of capability and alternate resources need to be found.

2. Tribal Language Programs

If your program or institution has working relationships with tribal governance or programs, this may also be an option or a resource. Consider things like:

• Does the community have language programs, cultural resource departments, or similar programs that already have capacity (or could build capacity) to act as a library or archivists for your project?

3. External Libraries or Archives

It is not uncommon for libraries or archives in small communities to not meet all the needs and requirements for storage and access of materials. In these instances, look to trusted external partners who already invest in safe storage for these materials. These might be neighboring colleges or universities. They could possibly store materials for long term or even in the short term while your community develops its own library or archival space. You will want to be sure to address things like:
 

• Establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the organization to ensure both parties understand each other’s expectations.