Digital Curation: Opportunities and Challenges for Ukrainian Libraries

Objective. Today digital landscape continues to evolve rapidly, presenting libraries with the dual challenge of not only preserving digital content but also curating it. This is particularly pertinent given the needs of open science and open data, which emphasize searchability, accessibility, interoperability, and reuse (FAIR principles). Methods include a critical review of domestic and international publications on digital curation, official documents, and websites of Ukrainian libraries dedicated to open research data. Results. The current challenges necessitate the development of effective library strategies for digital curation and research data management and the enhancement of librarians' relevant skills through library education and lifelong learning. The paper examines key global trends in digital curation and explores the prospects for implementing these practices in Ukrainian libraries, especially in light of the National Open Science Plan and increased access to research data. The study argues that engagement in and leadership of digital curation practices could significantly transform the role, perception, and identity of academic libraries, thereby enhancing their ongoing relevance to research communities. Additionally, it emphasizes the necessity of advancing librarians' skills and competencies in digital curation and considers the complexities of collaborating with scholars in this context. Conclusions. The study's findings highlight the need to comprehensively consider digital curation as a new library function. It also underscores the role of university libraries in coordinating and advocating for these efforts at the institutional level. Additionally, it suggests the introduction of digital curation as a specialization within the library field, with roles such as data librarian (data curator) who could participate in research groups focused on data management.The article also concludes with an agenda for future research.