Celebrate Love Data Week with UND libraries in February
Love Data Week is an international celebration of data, taking place every year during the week of Valentine’s day. Organized by the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan, this week-long event brings together universities, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, corporations, and individuals to host data-related events and activities. This year’s theme “Where’s the Data?” is a way to get people thinking about data’s journey from collection through storage and preservation.
At UND we love data so much we’re extending our own celebrations through the month of February!
Love Data Week 2026 activities include
Student Data Visualization Contest
- Who: Open to all undergraduate and graduate students.
- When: Opens Jan. 12. Submissions due by midnight on Feb. 13.
- What: Calling all data artists! Think you can tell a story with data? Do you have a knack for turning complex data into captivating visuals? We want your charts, your plots, and your infographics! Submit a data visualization by Feb. 13 for a chance to win some visually fantastic prizes! Winners will be announced at our Love Data Week reception on Feb. 24.
Graphs & Goodies: The Data Visualization Awards
- Who: Everyone. Students, faculty, and staff all welcome!
- When: Tuesdays, Feb. 24, 2 p.m.
- Where: Zoom / Chester Fritz Library, Room 406
- What: Join us in celebrating our student data artists at UND Libraries’ second Data Visualization Awards! Data visualization contest entrees will be on display as we announce this year’s top three winners. Grab a treat and hot drink while exploring UND’s data stories.
- When: Jan. 12 to Feb. 28
- Where: Chester Fritz Library, First and Second Floor, SMHS Libraries, Fargo, Bismarck, and Minot clinical locations
- What: What’s this? Mysterious art installations have popped up across UND’s libraries! Participate in one of our interactive data visualizations by making a Chernoff face or marking your height to see how tall people are at UND. And, hey, if those have you inspired, take it a step further and enter our student data visualization contest!
Data Visualization Book Display
- When: Jan. 12 to Feb. 14
- Where: Chester Fritz Library, Knowledge Commons Display Table
- What: Looking for inspiration for our student data visualization contest? Check out our selection of books on data visualization! North Dakota weather got you trapped indoors? Not to worry, we have plenty of online titles for you to flip through.
Data Lightning Talks
- When: Feb. 25, 12 to 1 p.m.
- Where: Zoom
- What: Join us for a series of lightning talks from UND researchers on how they manage their data.
- Register: Zoom Link
Love Data Week 2026 Workshops
- Who: All researchers. Higher relevance to undergraduate and graduate students.
- When: Jan. 28, 2 to 3 p.m.
- What: Interested in data visualization but not sure where to start? We’ve got you. In this introductory workshop we’ll demonstrate how to use free tools to create compelling data visualizations (think Google Sheets, RAWGraphs, and generative AI). Participants will be provided with sample datasets for hands-on experimentation during the workshop. Please bring your own laptop.
- Where: Chester Fritz Library, Room 301
- Register: Register here.
Research Data Management Workshops
- Who: All researchers. Higher relevance to faculty and graduate students.
- When: Online: Monday, Feb. 9, 6 to 7 p.m. In-person: Tuesday, Feb. 10, 12:30 to 2 p.m.
- What: Do you create or use data in your research? Looking for tips and tools to better help you manage your research data, and preserve it for long-term use? Tired of searching for ‘bio-stats-final-final-CLEAN.xlsx’ to run your T-tests? Join us to learn five simple steps you can take to make your data FAIR — findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. This workshop is being offered both virtually and in person. In person attendees will be provided lunch.
- Where: Zoom / Chester Fritz Library, Room 406
- Register: Register here.
- Who: All researchers.
- When: Friday, Feb. 13, noon
- What: This workshop provides an overview of how data moves through its lifecycle and the security measures required to protect it at each stage. It emphasizes practical approaches to reducing risk, maintaining compliance, and safeguarding information. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the principles necessary to ensure secure handling, storage, and oversight of data in their daily work.
- Where: Zoom
- Register: Register here.
