The International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology (or IASSIST) is an international organisation that provides professional development, communication and conferences for data librarians, archivists, and social science aligned information specialists. Each year, the IASSIST Fellow program sponsors members from developing nations to attend events and professional development to further the advancement of information management.
As an organisation, IASSIST seeks to promote access to research data and supports principles of good data management. Already in 2012, IASSIST members developed Quick Guide to Data Citation , which is used, among others, as a source for CESSDA’s Data Citation Guidelines. IASSIST has formally endorsed the TRUST Principles and has been an organisational member of the Research Data Alliance (RDA). The Data Rescue Project, volunteer community dedicated to access to public data for the public good, started in February 2025 as a coordinated effort of three data organisations, including members of IASSIST, RDAP Association, and the Data Curation Network.
Conferences IASSIST organizes an annual conference, typically held in May or June, focusing on data sharing and management, data access and repository tools, metadata for research data, best practices for data preservation, global information resources, new technologies, and professional development. The conference location usually rotates to a different region each year.
History IASSIST was formed in 1974. It emerged to manage and increase access to the growing amount of machine-readable social science data. The first IASSIST conference was held in 1977 in Cocoa Beach, Florida with 29 representatives from Canada and the United States.
Africa Chapter The IASSIST Africa Chapter is currently the only Regional Chapter of IASSIST. Regional chapters of IASSIST support the expedient and efficient management of IASSIST affairs and activities within their regions. The Africa Chapter was officially launched in 2021 during the first IASSIST Africa Regional Workshop held in Kampala, Uganda. It has members from several African countries and holds an annual regional workshop where members come together to discuss and share emerging trends and issues in IT, research and data services.
IASSIST Quarterly (IQ) The IASSIST Quarterly (ISSN: 2331-4141 Online, 0739–1137 Print) is a peer-reviewed, indexed, open access quarterly journal of articles dealing with social science information and data services. IQ represents an international cooperative effort on the part of individuals managing, operating, or using machine-readable data archives, data libraries, and data services. The IQ is published by the IASSIST and hosted by the University of Alberta Libraries.
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