February 2006 - LIS-Forum - ncsi.iisc.ernet.in

UK to launch online life sciences archive
by Subbiah Arunachalam 09 Feb '06

09 Feb '06

More on the UK version of PMC James Watson, UK to launch online life sciences archive, VNUnet, February 9, 2006. Excerpt: UK scientists have started work on the creation of a free online digital archive of peer-reviewed medical research in the UK. The site, due to be launched at the beginning of next year, will hold more than 500,000 research articles. An estimated one million unique users are expected to visit the site every month, accessing about three million full-text medical articles. Led by the Wellcome Trust, with support from a group of major UK biomedical research funding bodies, the UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) project aims to mirror a similar repository in the US, while also accepting UK research material. The implementation of UKPMC represents the creation of a significant resource for the life sciences community, said Robert Terry, senior policy adviser at the Wellcome Trust. It is about a subject-based repository for life sciences that is freely available with the internet. It is part of a movement in research to improve access to peer-reviewed published literature. The process of finding a supplier to develop, host and manage the service started this month. The appointed contractor will host and manage three separate components, comprising a UK-hosted mirror of the USPMC, a local author manuscript submission and tracking system, and a system to provide authenticated login services for manuscript submission. We are making a standalone UK portal of the US version. It mirrors US material and takes UK material, said Terry....A contract is expected to be awarded in July. ---- This is a model other countries could follow. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam]

1 0

Reminder:Invitation to the Inaugural Session of the Workshop
by Suvarsha Walters 08 Feb '06

08 Feb '06

You are cordially invited to attend the inaugural session of the National Workshop on Scientific Journal Publishing in India Venue: ===== Seminar Hall, National Centre for Science Information (NCSI), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore Date & Timings: ============== 10th February, 2006. 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Schedule: ======== 10.00 - 10.15 am - Inagural 10.15 - 11.00 am - 'Open Access Publishing in India' by Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam, MS Swaminathan Foundation 11.00 - 11.30 am - High Tea 11.30 - 12.15 pm - 'Medknow Publications - A Case Study' by Dr. D.K. Sahu, Medknow Publications Pvt. Ltd 12.15 - 1.00 pm - 'Indian biomedical Journals at NIC - Issues for migration to OJS' Sukhdev Singh, National Informatics Centre Please confirm your participation by email to the following email ID, so that we can make the necessary arrangements. sjpi(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in with regards, Suvarsha *********************************************************************** Suvarsha Walters, Project Assistant, National Centre for Science Information Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560 012 INDIA Ph (Off): 080-23600271 / 22932511 E-mail: sjpi(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in ************************************************************************

1 0

US gearing up to producing more scientists
by Subbiah Arunachalam 08 Feb '06

08 Feb '06

Friends: The US is concerned about the brain power of Chinese and Indian scientists and technologists and is gearing up to producing more home-grown talent. Please read what Christian Science Monitor has to say on this issue. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ---- Commentary > The Monitor's View from the February 08, 2006 edition Yes, it does take a rocket scientist The Monitor's View A bright spot in the Bush budget is more money to nurture more bright people - no, not just kids who can solve a Rubik's cube in 11 seconds, but the types who invented the Internet or can build the most high-tech widgets or teach the future Einsteins. The iPod nation needs an eyewash about its techno-future. While still the world leader in science and engineering, America has let its technological edge become dull. Federal aid for basic physical sciences has dipped, companies aren't investing as much in long-term research, and schools aren't producing enough students who are both competent and interested in science and math to match the competition from nations such as India and China. Among high school seniors in 21 top countries, the US ranks 16th in science. Its math ranking is 19th. News like that should create another Sputnik moment for the US. Up-and-coming poor countries with burgeoning brainpower are competing on more than wages. US-based companies often prefer the technical skills of Chinese workers and the innovation of Indian researchers, or they simply seek special US visas to import them. That is hollowing out US manufacturing and leaving too many lesser-skilled Americans losing out on factory jobs. Nudged into action by a few Democratic and Republican senators, as well as key high-tech leaders, the president has proposed a "competitiveness initiative," which he sees as a prime domestic cause for the rest of his presidency. He's smart to find an issue with bipartisan support to help dampen Washington's blue-red schism. President Bush has asked Congress to commit $136 billion to science and math education over the next 10 years. That would help train and hire 70,000 new science and math teachers for Advanced Placement courses in high schools. He also wants to allow 30,000 professionals in those fields to become math and science teachers, and to create incentives for students to sign up for those courses. One big incentive is a plan to add science to the accountability testing in public schools under the No Child Left Behind law. Bush also wants to make permanent a tax credit for R&D in industry and double funding for research in basic areas such as nanotechnology. Such steps aren't simply aimed at raising the number of scientists and engineers (many of whom have left some overpopulated fields) or producing more high-tech workers. They're also aimed at pushing people into new fields and keeping up US quality in creative discoveries, inventions, and innovations. The nation has to generate a lot of frogs to find an Edison prince. Unlike the post-Sputnik spurt in US science education and spending during the 1960s, the rapid pace of today's global competition compels the US to keep its investment in these fields permanently high. It's become a net importer of high-tech goods and lost its lead in patents - despite its current high R&D spending. Bush must work as closely with Democrats in passing these measures as he did to pass the No Child act. Politics isn't rocket science, but rocket scientists and their colleagues need politicians to keep the US aloft in science Friends: The US is concerned about the brain power of Chinese and Indian scientists and technologists and is gearing up to producing more home-grown talent. Please read what Christian Science Monitor has to say on this issue. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ---- http://www.csmonitor.com/commentary/index.html Commentary > http://www.csmonitor.com/commentary/monitorView.html The Monitor's View from the February 08, 2006 edition Yes, it does take a rocket scientist The Monitor's View A bright spot in the Bush budget is more money to nurture more bright people - no, not just kids who can solve a Rubik's cube in 11 seconds, but the types who invented the Internet or can build the most high-tech widgets or teach the future Einsteins. The iPod nation needs an eyewash about its techno-future. While still the world leader in science and engineering, America has let its technological edge become dull. Federal aid for basic physical sciences has dipped, companies aren't investing as much in long-term research, and schools aren't producing enough students who are both competent and interested in science and math to match the competition from nations such as India and China. Among high school seniors in 21 top countries, the US ranks 16th in science. Its math ranking is 19th. News like that should create another Sputnik moment for the US. Up-and-coming poor countries with burgeoning brainpower are competing on more than wages. US-based companies often prefer the technical skills of Chinese workers and the innovation of Indian researchers, or they simply seek special US visas to import them. That is hollowing out US manufacturing and leaving too many lesser-skilled Americans losing out on factory jobs. Nudged into action by a few Democratic and Republican senators, as well as key high-tech leaders, the president has proposed a "competitiveness initiative," which he sees as a prime domestic cause for the rest of his presidency. He's smart to find an issue with bipartisan support to help dampen Washington's blue-red schism. President Bush has asked Congress to commit $136 billion to science and math education over the next 10 years. That would help train and hire 70,000 new science and math teachers for Advanced Placement courses in high schools. He also wants to allow 30,000 professionals in those fields to become math and science teachers, and to create incentives for students to sign up for those courses. One big incentive is a plan to add science to the accountability testing in public schools under the No Child Left Behind law. Bush also wants to make permanent a tax credit for R&D in industry and double funding for research in basic areas such as nanotechnology. Such steps aren't simply aimed at raising the number of scientists and engineers (many of whom have left some overpopulated fields) or producing more high-tech workers. They're also aimed at pushing people into new fields and keeping up US quality in creative discoveries, inventions, and innovations. The nation has to generate a lot of frogs to find an Edison prince. Unlike the post-Sputnik spurt in US science education and spending during the 1960s, the rapid pace of today's global competition compels the US to keep its investment in these fields permanently high. It's become a net importer of high-tech goods and lost its lead in patents - despite its current high R&D spending. Bush must work as closely with Democrats in passing these measures as he did to pass the No Child act. Politics isn't rocket science, but rocket scientists and their colleagues need politicians to keep the US aloft in science

1 0

Switzerland goes for open access
by Subbiah Arunachalam 07 Feb '06

07 Feb '06

Friends: Switzerland is embracing Open access. Read the press release from the Swiss national Science Foundation reprinted below. Subbiah Arunachalam Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Foerderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung 07.02.2006 Globalised knowledge market poses new challenges to science Joint signing of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities by Swiss scientific organisations The Rectors Conference of the Swiss Universities (CRUS), the Conference of the Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences (KFH), the Swiss Conference of Schools for Teacher Education (SKPH) as well as the Council of the Swiss Scientific Academies (CASS), together with the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), have signed the so-called Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities which furthers open access to knowledge in the sciences and humanities. The joint signing of the Berlin Declaration by Rectors Conferences, Academies and National Foundation demonstrates the determined support for the Open Access philosophy, namely the most open access to scientific information for all interested parties, free of charge. The declaration is the response from the research system to the new opportunities for information offered by the Internet: opening up faster, more comprehensive and differentiated access to digital information for scientists and offering the corresponding services. The Conference of Swiss University Libraries (KUB) has already been canvassing for some time for widespread signing of the Berlin Declaration, in particular because Open Access systems will offer an alternative for the rapid increase in prices for subscriptions to commercial magazines from scientific publishers. Knowledge as a public asset for researchers and interested parties Scientific information is normally the result of the creation of knowledge subsidised by public funds. As public property it should be accessible to all interested parties without payment in return. Open Access simultaneously helps to break down barriers for accessing research knowledge. The objective of Returning Science to the Scientists is to provide maximum access to the results of research for scientific communities; after all, science as a public asset for researchers, both stimulates and generates new research ideas. 2.5 million articles published every year in 24,000 scientific magazines Open Access for publications is concentrated on the 2.5 million magazine articles which are published worldwide every year in the exclusive 24,000 scientific magazines categorised as peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific journals. This can be achieved in two different forms: first of all through the actual archiving of the proprietary publications already appearing in scientific journals, on its own Homepage, the university server or a platform for institutions (approx. 92% of the 24,000 journals already permit their authors to do this); secondly, through publication in Peer Reviewed Open Access Journals (around 10% of the 24,000 journals currently allow this). One example of this is currently the largest provider of Open Access journals, BioMed Central (BMC), a profit-orientated British publishing firm with a portfolio of over 170 journals, including 137 pure Open Access Journals; as well however as the non-profit organisation Public Library of Science (PLoS). Researchers are convinced: Open Access is crucial in promoting knowledge exchange In Switzerland there is no study that gives an insight into the change in the publications market which is the subject of keen discussion due to Open Access but provides virtually no data. However, a very recent survey by the German Research Foundation (DFG) on the attitude of scientists to publications and reception shows a German perspective : over 80% of the researchers questioned from the humanities/social sciences, natural/engineering sciences and life sciences, are convinced about the culture of Open Access: It is a decisive factor in promoting the exchange of scientific knowledge. In addition, the idea of personal archiving of scientific articles which have already been published in reputable specialized journals was considered very positively. Need to develop a technical infrastructure in Switzerland By signing the Berlin Declaration the Conferences of Rectors, the Academies and National Foundation, as an organisation promoting research, will in future pursue the following aims: researchers will be encouraged to make their (Peer Reviewed journals) publications openly available through way of Open Access personal archiving. The development of a technical infrastructure that permits fast and convenient access to scientific content, as well as the provision of help and services from the technical and organisational aspects, will provide these researchers with institutional support for their OA efforts. There also remains a series of legal and scientific-political questions to be clarified on the international cooperation side - what is important first of all however is to provide the joint, positive signal for the introduction of Open Access solutions into Switzerland.

1 0

Google Merges IM With Email
by noufal palliparamban 07 Feb '06

07 Feb '06

Friends, Google is integrating its popular e-mail service with its instant messaging (IM), allowing users to chat and send e-mails from the same web browser window. The new facility will be visible to existing subscribers from within Google's Gmail browser window. Full Details: http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=71207&cat_id=643 Regards Noufal.P.P IIT Kanpur --------------------------------- Jiyo cricket on Yahoo! India cricket Yahoo! Messenger Mobile Stay in touch with your buddies all the time. Friends, Google is integrating its popular e-mail service with its instant messaging (IM), allowing users to chat and send e-mails from the same web browser window. The new facility will be visible to existing subscribers from within Google's Gmail browser window. Full Details: http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=71207&cat_id=643 http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=71207&cat_id=643 Regards Noufal.P.P IIT Kanpur Jiyo cricket on http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/mailcricket/*http://in.sports.yahoo.com/cric… Yahoo! India cricket http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/mailmobilemessenger/*http://in.mobile.yahoo.… Yahoo! Messenger Mobile Stay in touch with your buddies all the time.

1 0

Vacancy: AL (ST)-TISS, Mumbai
by Puttaraj Choukimath 07 Feb '06

07 Feb '06

Dear All, fyi: http://www.tiss.edu/work.htm All the Best Puttartaj. Mr.Puttaraj, A. C. Asst. Librarian (Periodicals) SDTM Library, TATA Institute of Social Sciences, P.B. No.8313, Deonar, MUMBAI - 400 088 INDIA Tel: +91-22-2556 3290, Ext.285 (O) Fax: +91-22-2556 2912 Email: puttuc(a)yahoo.com, choukimath(a)tiss.edu URL: www.tiss.edu --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. Dear All, fyi: http://www.tiss.edu/work.htm http://www.tiss.edu/work.htm All the Best Puttartaj. Mr.Puttaraj, A. C. Asst. Librarian (Periodicals) SDTM Library, TATA Institute of Social Sciences, P.B. No.8313, Deonar, MUMBAI - 400 088 INDIA Tel: +91-22-2556 3290, Ext.285 (O) Fax: +91-22-2556 2912 Email: mailto:puttuc@yahoo.com puttuc(a)yahoo.com , mailto:choukimath@tiss.edu choukimath(a)tiss.edu URL: http://www.tiss.edu www.tiss.edu http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/virusmail/*http://mail.yahoo.com Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses.

1 0

Libraries fear digital lockdown
by Farooque Shaheen 07 Feb '06

07 Feb '06

Libraries have warned that the rise of digital publishing may make it harder or even impossible to access items in their collections in the future. You can access full article on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4675280.stm Thanks & Regards, Farooque Shaheen, Caritor India Pvt Ltd. Tel. 080-26678388 # 4105 Libraries have warned that the rise of digital publishing may make it harder or even impossible to access items in their collections in the future. You can access full article on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4675280.stm Thanks & Regards, Farooque Shaheen, Caritor India Pvt Ltd. Tel. 080-26678388 # 4105

1 0

Fwd: OA Librarian
by Bhojaraju G 07 Feb '06

07 Feb '06

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Hello everyone, You might be interested in OA Librarian, a new, cooperatively produced weblog, which combines a pathfinder function with news and commentary on open access and librarianship: http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com OA Librarian highlights the work of librarians who advocate for open access, and draws attention to pertinent LIS research that is being deposited into LIS open access archives, such as dLIST. Recent deposits summarized in OAL include research by Michele Cloonan and Shelby Sanett on Digital Preservation: http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com/2005/12/digital-preservation.html and Andrew Dillon and April Norris on the LIS education crisis: http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com/2006/02/lis-education-crisis.html Apologies in advance for cross-posting, and happy reading! --Paul -------------- Paul F. Marty, Ph.D. (marty(a)fsu.edu) Assistant Professor, College of Information Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306-2100 http://info.fsu.edu/~pmarty Thanks and Regards Bhojaraju G Knowledge Management Practice *********************************************************************************************************** GCI Solutions (SEI CMM Level 4 Company), 31 Grape Garden, 17th H Main, Kormangala, 6th Block, Bangalore - 560 095. INDIA. Ph: 91 80 2552 2059 Ext. 421, Fax: 91 80 2553 8415, Cell: +91 944 836 9905 URL: www.g-c-i.com *********************************************************************************************************** KM Cyberary: http://www.bhojarajug.freeservers.com/cyberary.html KM-Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KM-Forum/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=3319898 Hello everyone, You might be interested in OA Librarian, a new, cooperatively produced weblog, which combines a pathfinder function with news and commentary on open access and librarianship: http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com/ http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com OA Librarian highlights the work of librarians who advocate for open access, and draws attention to pertinent LIS research that is being deposited into LIS open access archives, such as dLIST. Recent deposits summarized in OAL include research by Michele Cloonan and Shelby Sanett on Digital Preservation: http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com/2005/12/digital-preservation.html http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com/2005/12/digital-preservation.html and Andrew Dillon and April Norris on the LIS education crisis: http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com/2006/02/lis-education-crisis.html http://oalibrarian.blogspot.com/2006/02/lis-education-crisis.html Apologies in advance for cross-posting, and happy reading! --Paul -------------- Paul F. Marty, Ph.D. ( mailto:marty@fsu.edu marty(a)fsu.edu ) Assistant Professor, College of Information Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306-2100 http://info.fsu.edu/~pmarty http://info.fsu.edu/~pmarty Thanks and Regards Bhojaraju G Knowledge Management Practice *********************************************************************************************************** GCI Solutions (SEI CMM Level 4 Company), 31 Grape Garden, 17th H Main, Kormangala, 6th Block, Bangalore - 560 095. INDIA. Ph: 91 80 2552 2059 Ext. 421, Fax: 91 80 2553 8415, Cell: +91 944 836 9905 URL: http://www.g-c-i.com www.g-c-i.com *********************************************************************************************************** KM Cyberary: http://www.bhojarajug.freeservers.com/cyberary.html http://www.bhojarajug.freeservers.com/cyberary.html KM-Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KM-Forum/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KM-Forum/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=3319898 https://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=3319898

1 0

new stuff
by Thapar, Amit 06 Feb '06

06 Feb '06

Libraries Using IM Reference http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Online_Reference#Libraries_Using_… If you're thinking about using instant messenger for reference service, and want to ask librarians who are already doing it how it's working for them, start here. Library Grants Blog http://www.librarygrants.blogspot.com/ The authors of a new book, Grants for Libraries, update you here on funding opportunities. Not categorized by topic, but it is searchable. amit@niper Cell: 9855701060 / 9417419457 e-mail: amit_thapar(a)yahoo.com URL: http://www.niper.gov.in/ "Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive." "Reality is the only obstacle to happiness" "Life is just Fun, like a scoop of Ice Cream, - Enjoy it before it melts ! " Libraries Using IM Reference http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Online_Reference#Libraries_Using_… http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Online_Reference#Libraries_Using_… If you're thinking about using instant messenger for reference service, and want to ask librarians who are already doing it how it's working for them, start here. Library Grants Blog http://www.librarygrants.blogspot.com/ http://www.librarygrants.blogspot.com/ The authors of a new book, Grants for Libraries, update you here on funding opportunities. Not categorized by topic, but it is searchable. mailto:amit@niper amit@niper Cell: 9855701060 / 9417419457 e-mail: mailto:amit_thapar@yahoo.com amit_thapar(a)yahoo.com URL: http://www.niper.gov.in/ http://www.niper.gov.in/ "Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive." "Reality is the only obstacle to happiness" "Life is just Fun, like a scoop of Ice Cream, - Enjoy it before it melts ! "

1 0

Search Engine for Health Science
by Sreeharsha_Gopalakrishna＠i2.com 06 Feb '06

06 Feb '06

Dear All, Here is one search engine in its Alpha Stage, developed by 2 Indians related to Health Science. Unlike Google this has many features... For ex: If you give a keyword you will get Basic information, Expert opinion, Blogs related to that concept, and organization working on it, etc... Here is the URL - http://www.kosmix.com/ Thanks ~Sreeharsha BG

1 0