Author Archives: Frank Norman

About Frank Norman

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

A new scientific archive – launch and reflections

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Frank Norman

The event I recently attended the launch of the EMBL archives, in its new purpose-built facility at the heart of the EMBL Heidelberg campus.  Most of the audience were from EMBL but there a few scientific archivists there too, admiring … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives | Comments Off on A new scientific archive – launch and reflections

Preprints in the news

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Frank Norman

I think Fiona Fox’s recent question about preprints and their impact on science news reporting deserves more consideration. She calls for more discussion of the issue and of possible solutions. Preprints – good I’ve invested quite a bit of time … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating science, Preprints, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Preprints in the news

Why open access makes sense

Posted on July 30, 2018 by Frank Norman

My colleagues in the Communications are looking pleased and exhausted today.  The Francis Crick Institute’s new website launched this morning. It’s had a complete overhaul of style, structure and content.  I’ve not been closely involved but I know enough to … Continue reading →

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Elegy for a building

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Frank Norman

The building is still there, holding its head high, but it’s fatally wounded. It is plain to see that it won’t be with us for much longer. NIMR, Mill Hill – with its iconic copper green roof visible across north … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Libraries and librarians | 7 Comments

Disruptive publishing

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Frank Norman

To build a successful career in scientific research you need to understand the scientific publishing system. It is going through a period of change and innovation but has remained largely intact. Recently I and a colleague ran some ‘Disruptive Publishing’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal publishing, Open Access | 1 Comment

The meaning of sixty

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Frank Norman

I recently celebrated my sixtieth birthday. I had a very nice birthday party in a local pub with several friends and family members. Having plied them with food and drink I thought I’d earned the right to give a short … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Blog June

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Frank Norman

Apparently BlogJune is a thing. I’d not heard of it before – it’s a challenge to blog every day in June – or as often as you can manage, or comment on someone else’s blog every day The first part … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogology | Tagged | 1 Comment

Digital skills – how do we …

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Frank Norman

The concept of digital skills is a bit slippery.  The term has changed its meaning as the digital universe has expanded. Jisc is currently doing some work in this area, led by Caroline Ingram. I attended an interesting workshop recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Information skills, Research data, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Six questions about preprints

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Frank Norman

2017 is shaping up to be the year that preprints in biomedical sciences go mainstream. At the beginning of the year MRC and Wellcome Trust both moved to accept preprints in grant applications and scientific reviews. Another major UK biomedical … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Peer review, Preprints | 6 Comments

R2R – the Researcher to Reader conference

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Frank Norman

The R2R conference took place back in late February. It is an event more dominated than others (46%) by publishers – those on the business, strategy, and marketing side of the publishing industry. Smaller numbers come from libraries (15%), technology (12%) … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright and IP, Journal publishing, Open Access | Comments Off on R2R – the Researcher to Reader conference