Author Archives: Frank Norman

Stephen Curry’s FMD virus video post seems to have inspired a good deal of video activity on NN. Presentations have also inspired a few posts, including Martin Fenner’s and another from Stephen Curry . In this context, a recent post … Continue reading →

I saw a news story on The Scientist newsblog, about stem cell banks in particular the number of different stem cell banks both in the USA and elsewhere. Asking whether there was a point in duplicating effort, they concluded that … Continue reading →

“You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine”. That just about sums up the whole web 2.0 thing. Sharing what you like, and hoping to discover something you didn’t know before. I think I first saw the principle applied … Continue reading →

One of my methods for professional development is to try and read things that I really don’t understand. It can be frustrating and fruitless, but sometimes leads me to stray into interesting domains on the periphery of library and information … Continue reading →

If you’ve been to Liverpool this year you can’t have missed the superlambananas: There are about 100 of them scattered around the city in a variety of colours and decorations, one of the many ways the city is marking Liverpool … Continue reading →

I’ve never been to a scientific conference before. I’ve been to plenty of Library conferences, and quite a few on digital information, publishing or the web, but not a scientific one. I’m not sure whether Science Blogging 2008 strictly speaking … Continue reading →

Music is one of my enduring passions and I have for many years enjoyed attending London’s summer music festival – the Proms. I recently attended a concert featuring Olivier Messiaen’s music and was struck by one piece: Et expecto resurrectionem … Continue reading →

In this week’s issue of The Lancet Richard Horton’s editorial)61264-7 extols the role of libraries in the modern world. My first instinct on reading it was to applaud. It’s always nice when someone notices libraries and librarians and nicer still … Continue reading →

Sitting in a café recently I had a laughing fit into my double expresso over a cartoon in the newspaper I was browsing. It depicted two English Literature professors (you knew they were English Literature professors because they sported bad … Continue reading →

Alan Bennett is a fine dramatist. His television monologues can hold your attention with just one character, and can be uncomfortably truthful. In A woman of no importance (1982) office worker Peggy Schofield is a fussy middle-aged spinster obsessed with … Continue reading →