Author Archives: Frank Norman

About Frank Norman

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

Not another new open access journal

Posted on June 29, 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 | 4 Comments

Google: how to un-personalise your search

Posted on June 29, 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 Searching | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Elsevier and the executable paper

Posted on June 13, 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 | 2 Comments

The challenge of going beyond

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Frank Norman

Change is a natural part of life so resisting it has always seemed futile to me. My hair falls out and turns grey and I prefer to just accept that it has happened rather than to wear a wig or … Continue reading →

Posted in Information skills, Journal publishing, Scientific literature, Searching | 21 Comments

News can be very odd sometimes

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Frank Norman

Three news stories this week made my jaw drop, my eyes widen, and my reservoirs of mirth overflow (though not all at once). Maybe they shouldn’t make me laugh but these stories are just rather odd. Rome earthquake The BBC … Continue reading →

Posted in Froth | 7 Comments

Managing and sharing data

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Frank Norman

The UK Data Archive (UKDA) has published the third edition of its guide Managing and sharing data. The 36-page guide is available as a free pdf download, or you can request the UKDA to send a print copy. Although written … Continue reading →

Posted in Research data | 1 Comment

Open season in biology

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Frank Norman

On Thursday my colleague alerted me to a new open access journal from the Company of Biologists called Biology Open. Today, after a four-day long weekend (thanks to the Royal Wedding and Mayday celebrations) one of the first emails I … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal publishing, Open Access | 13 Comments

Now that’s what I call inflation!

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Frank Norman

A great snippet from Science Insider on an out-of-print book that was advertised on Amazon for $23,698,655! The book was The Making of a Fly by Peter Lawrence (from MRC’s Lab Molecular Biology at Cambridge, not University of Cambridge as … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

SameAs – Science, Technology and Art

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Frank Norman

This week I attended a meeting about art and science, organised by SameAs. This is a newish group that aims to bring together “interesting people from diverse backgrounds to discuss science, technology and everything in-between”. Basically it is a free … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Social networking | Comments Off on SameAs – Science, Technology and Art

Pssst! Want something to read?

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Frank Norman

Lecturer Nicholas Morton recalls his shock on being told that “Students don’t like reading”. He found this to be true – most of his students prefer computer games to books. In the Times Higher he describes his practical response to … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading recommendations | 17 Comments