Abstract
OBJECTIVES: In 2021, a new national center was funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to build capacity for providing data services within health sciences libraries by coordinating, developing, and disseminating trainings, curricular resources, and curated pathways for learning. Research data services has been a growing service component for health sciences libraries for over a decade, and efforts have come from individuals, professional societies, task forces, and interest groups; however, there is still a great deal of unrealized potential in this area as well as growing needs driven by new requirements from funders and publishers and increasing demand from institutions for data science skills and support for data-related research needs. METHODS: The National Center for Data Services (NCDS) was established in July 2021 and is the newest of the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM)'s national offices and centers. NCDS works with the NNLM's seven regional medical libraries and national offices and centers, and draws upon extensive connections with national data and library organizations, all toward the aim of developing capacity for data services in the health information community while centering efforts toward equity, diversity, and accessibility throughout.