Author Archives: Frank Norman

About Frank Norman

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

Puffed-up and partying

Posted on 23 October 2013 by Frank Norman

My ears were burning a month ago and my head was swollen. Fear not, I hadn’t caught an interesting disease, I was just being talked about and made prideful. At the end of the summer I learnt that I had … Continue reading →

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Old technology wins out

Posted on 21 October 2013 by Frank Norman

If there is  one thing I hate more than confusing new technology, it is confusing old technology. While it can sometimes be a bit confusing trying to get misbehaving PDFs to print, that’s nothing compared to doing battle with an … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Comments Off on Old technology wins out

Search engines – out with the old, in with the new

Posted on 16 October 2013 by Frank Norman

Back in the summer Yahoo announced that it was to close the search engine AltaVista, and that duly happened in July. I suspect that most people’s reaction would be either “what on earth is Alta Vista?”  or “Blimey! Is that … Continue reading →

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Book prizes

Posted on 8 October 2013 by Frank Norman

Book prize season is upon us. Prizes can be controversial things and there is often a dollop of subjectivity in the decision-making, but book prize shortlists can be useful for the lazy person (like me) as they offer a suggested … Continue reading →

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MRC publishing – 100 years on

Posted on 7 August 2013 by Frank Norman

It may have escaped your notice that this year is the 100th anniversary of the Medical Research Council, and there has been a cornucopia of celebratory activities to mark the occasion.  One aspect that has not been much remarked on … Continue reading →

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My six-monthsary

Posted on 6 August 2013 by Frank Norman

Anniversaries are all the rage these days, from the centenary of the MRC and the 80th anniversary of the flu virus, to the bicentenary and centenaries of Wagner, Britten, Lutoslawski and the Rite of Spring. But anniversaries are so slooooow to come around. … Continue reading →

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Envious admiration

Posted on 1 August 2013 by Frank Norman

There is a fine line between jealousy and envy. I had thought of them as pretty much the same thing until reading Stan Carey’s blog post on the subject. I think that admiration is also quite close; it is the nicer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science | Comments Off on Envious admiration

Library Day in the Life 2013 – Friday

Posted on 29 July 2013 by Frank Norman

My last daily report (for Friday 26 July, but written on the following Monday). See previous reports for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I didn’t have time to do my daily blog report on Thursday night so I came in early and posted it … Continue reading →

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Library Day in the Life 2013 – Thursday (Wikipedia edit-a-thon)

Posted on 26 July 2013 by Frank Norman

My latest daily report. See previous reports for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Today’s the day it’s all happening. Fingers crossed.

Posted in Libraries and librarians, wikipedia | Comments Off on Library Day in the Life 2013 – Thursday (Wikipedia edit-a-thon)

Library Day in the Life 2013 – Wednesday

Posted on 24 July 2013 by Frank Norman

Here is my third Day in the Life post this week (see Tuesday’s post, and Monday’s post for some background). I came in first thing to find a few emails from my boss in my inbox.  One was a reply to my request for … Continue reading →

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