Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Scholarly Communications | Main | "Scholarly Communication in Turmoil"
December 06, 2007
Learning Lab Lore
Vannevar Bush, in his 1945 essay As We May Think, spoke of the necessity of being able to access science's "... millions of fine thoughts, and the account of the experience on which they are based ..." Traditional journals documented these "fine thoughts," but information that did not rise to the level of a publishable report - protocols and tips, lab lore, history, and even negative results - still is transmitted in an inefficient and haphazard manner. However, there are a number of sites seeking to address this issue, and below are some interesting examples.
• Tools of Brain Research - a "down-and-dirty lab manual" covering information usually somewhat difficult to track down, including "all the gory details of procedures, photographs, movies, where to buy reagents, catalog numbers, names and telephone numbers of salespersons, et cetera."
• Open Wetware seeks to share "information, know-how, and wisdom among researchers and groups who are working in biology & biological engineering," which they hope will facilitate collaboration between groups.
• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's Memory Board, "an experiment in interactive storytelling," uses personal anecdotes to document the history of the research at the lab, and provide it with a more human face as well.
Sites like these have difficulty acquiring a critical mass of information, due to the effort required by scientists and their reluctance to divulge "trade secrets," but the benefit to the next generation of researchers is undeniable.
-- James Gergel
Posted by colldev at December 6, 2007 02:28 PM