Author Archives: Frank Norman

About Frank Norman

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

Numbers that limit us

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Frank Norman

The first big number that I remember learning about was Avogadro’s number, N, which is 6.022 x 1023 and represents the number of molecules in one gram-molecule of oxygen. My first chemistry teacher at school, Mr Horkan, was Russian-born and … Continue reading →

Posted in Froth, Research data | 2 Comments

A tour of Kings Cross / St Pancras

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Frank Norman

One of the sessions at Science Online London this year was about “offline communities in online networking“.  There are all kinds of groups around that either started as online groups or that use online tools to organise themselves and gain … Continue reading →

Posted in Froth | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

And the winner is …

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Frank Norman

The Max Perutz essay prize is in its 14th year and is a major landmark on the science writing landscape. To enter the competition MRC-funded PhD students are invited to write an essay: in no more than 800 words, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Dusty old data

Posted on September 1, 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 | 5 Comments

Sir Charles Harington (1897-1972)

Posted on August 17, 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 August 17, 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 →

Posted in History | 8 Comments

A week in the Library

Posted on August 3, 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 Libraries and librarians | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Subscription rage

Posted on July 26, 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 | 13 Comments

Scientific information in the digital age

Posted on July 20, 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. The press release says: … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal publishing, Open Access, Peer review | 1 Comment

Citing wrong ‘uns

Posted on July 19, 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 | 4 Comments