Faces of ICPSR: Jane Fry
As an Official Representative (OR) for ICPSR at Carleton University in Ottawa, Jane Fry helps promote ICPSR resources on campus and assists data users in locating, downloading, and working with ICPSR data. From 2016 to 2020, Jane served as the Canadian member of ICPSR’s Governing Council, and she is the 2021 recipient of the William H. Flanigan Award for Distinguished Service as an ICPSR Official Representative. Get to know Jane:
Where do you work and what is your job title?
Data Services Librarian, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
What is a favorite memory or instance you have working with ICPSR? What makes ICPSR a great place?
Being an ICPSR Council member (2016 – 2020). Seeing how it works and contributing to it showed me why ICPSR is still at the top in its field. The professionalism and dedication of all involved was very evident. The Council is not merely a figurehead, it really does contribute to the continued success of ICPSR. Being an instructor for “Providing Social Science Data Services Summer Course” (2014 – 2018). As well, as getting to really know my co-instructors, getting to know our students and seeing their knowledge deepen and their excitement about all things data.
Where are you from?
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I received my MA in Sociology from Carleton U (Canada) and my MLIS from San Jose State U (while working full-time).
What is your favorite part of working with ICPSR?
The variety of the different requests. Being a data detective. The constant change in the field, for example, RDM was not even defined when I started, even though it was being practiced. Another example is remembering the hard copies of codebooks we had to request to be mailed to us for the datasets we needed. There is no time to be bored. Helping and collaborating with my colleagues – at home, across Canada and internationally – to solve a problem, whether it’s with a dataset, DDI, RDM, stats, data literacy, …
How long have you worked with ICPSR?
I have been an OR for a long time! And I have conducted workshops and presented at the ICPSR Data Fair. For my full-time job, I have worked at Carleton for 25 years. Time flies when you are having fun!
What do you do when not at work?
Spoil the grandkids (lots of fun!), watch the birds and squirrels jostle for a spot on our birdfeeders, and enjoy mystery shows.
What have you read/viewed/listened to/etc. recently?
We just finished watching ‘Homeland’, a show not for the faint of heart. And now we are back to watching British mystery shows.
What might surprise us about you?
I am very involved with my church.
What makes ICPSR a great place to work/be associated with?
The helpfulness of everyone who works there towards us who don’t! Their willingness to go the extra mile when I need it. The colleagues I have gotten to know better, both those who work at ICPSR and those who are associated with it but work elsewhere. I have made many friendships over the years with various ICPSR staff and those associated with ICPSR, and they have made working with data even more fun.
Photo caption:
IASSIST 2024, Business dinner, Linda Detterman with past instructors and future instructors for the Data Course
Thanks, Jane! Learn more about joining ICPSR as part of the team: open jobs at ICPSR
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Sep 24, 2024