Author Archives: Frank Norman

About Frank Norman

I am a retired librarian. I spent 40 years working in biomedical research libraries.

Dusty old data

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Frank Norman

Every now and then I am reminded that, once upon a time, I did a chemistry degree. I still feel some warmth towards the subject, though I have forgotten most of what I learnt. I still remember some of my … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Research data | Comments Off on Dusty old data

Sir Charles Harington (1897-1972)

Posted on 17 August 2011 by Frank Norman

I have been working for a few weeks to put together some posters for a small internal exhibition about Charles Harington, one of our past directors.  I hope it might be of interest to a wider audience, so I have … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Research Councils, Research management | Comments Off on Sir Charles Harington (1897-1972)

Serendipity luckydippery

Posted on 17 August 2011 by Frank Norman

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, with tropical beaches, lush hill country, tea plantations, spice gardens and a fiery cuisine.  The Arabic name for the island was Serendib, “from the Sanskrit Simhaladvipa which literally translates to “Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island”  (thankyou, Wikipedia). … Continue reading →

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A week in the Library

Posted on 3 August 2011 by Frank Norman

From time to time people ask me what I do all day. Sometimes it’s school students spending a week with us on work experience who do the asking, sometimes it’s my boss at my annual appraisal, sometimes it’s just random … Continue reading →

Posted in Libday7, Libraries and librarians | Comments Off on A week in the Library

Subscription rage

Posted on 26 July 2011 by Frank Norman

Supermarkets are confusing places these days. There are two-for-one offers (BOGOF – buy one get one free) and variations thereon (buy two get one half price, etc etc), combo offers (buy three similar products together for a cheaper price than … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal publishing | Comments Off on Subscription rage

Scientific information in the digital age

Posted on 20 July 2011 by Frank Norman

Just a quick one. The European Commission is consulting on scientific information in the digital age. In late 2011 they intend to adopt a Communication and Recommendation on access to and preservation of digital scientific information.

Posted in Journal publishing, Open Access, peer review | Comments Off on Scientific information in the digital age

Citing wrong ‘uns

Posted on 19 July 2011 by Frank Norman

Quite a bit of attention has been focused on article retractions since Ivan Oransky launched his Retraction Watch blog last year. One recent discussion in blogworld looked at when a retraction is warranted and what a retraction means. Dr Isis … Continue reading →

Posted in Information skills, Journal publishing | Comments Off on Citing wrong ‘uns

Not another new open access journal

Posted on 29 June 2011 by Frank Norman

Or, rather, not just any other new open access journal. The Wellcome Trust, the Max Planck Society and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have announced that they are to launch a new top-tier open access journal for biomedical and life … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal publishing, Open Access | Comments Off on Not another new open access journal

Google: how to un-personalise your search

Posted on 29 June 2011 by Frank Norman

Google never stands still. It is forever seeking to improve the way it tries to match your search request to its database, and then to show you potentially useful websites. Mostly we are not aware of how it does this, … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Searching, Social meda | Comments Off on Google: how to un-personalise your search

Elsevier and the executable paper

Posted on 13 June 2011 by Frank Norman

Have you ever wanted to make your paper come alive with data? The results of a recent competition may help that to become a reality. Elsevier are fond of tapping into the scientific community’s ideas on the future of publishing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal publishing, Research data | Comments Off on Elsevier and the executable paper