[open-science] Launch of living books breaks barriers between humanities and science

Frank Norman fnorman at nimr.mrc.ac.uk
Fri Nov 25 08:29:38 UTC 2011 

This is a nice example of re-use of open access science content.  The books mostly comprise collections of OA articles plus some videos, bound together with an introduction and some other newly-written text.

Frank Norman

>Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:05:10 +0000
>
>From: Nicola Yeeles <n.yeeles at JISC.AC.UK>
>News release
>24.11.2011
>
>Launch of ‘living’ books breaks barriers between humanities and science
>
>A series of 21 ‘living books’ has been launched online as part of a pioneering initiative designed to provide a bridge between the humanities and the sciences.
>
>Explore the books at <http://bit.ly/uO81ro>
>
>The Living Books About Life series is written and produced by humanities scholars from universities across the world ­ from the UK and Ameerica to Poland and Australia ­ and has re-packaged and re-presentted science-related research material to make it more accessible to a humanities audience.
>
>Funded by JISC and published by the Open Humanities Press (OHP), the books address a number of scientific topics whose unifying theme is life, such as air, agriculture, bioethics, cosmetic surgery, energy, neurology and human cloning.
>
>Alastair Dunning, programme manager at JISC, said: “By drawing only on Open Access material to create these ‘Living Books about Life’, the team is helping define a new era of scholarly communication ­ and thereby exploiting JISC’s vision to make the reesults of publicly funded research available to all.”
>
>The books present recent research on these subjects in a palatable way using interactive maps, podcasts and audio-visual materials. The result, which can be shared freely amongst both academic and non-academic individuals alike, is an engaging and diverse resource for researching and teaching relevant science issues across the humanities.
>
>As well as bridging the divide between the humanities and sciences, the three partner institutions working on the project ­ led by Coventrry University and including the University of Kent and Goldsmiths, University of London ­ have ‘rethought’ the conventionall book by developing a new, low-cost and sustainable model for creating, publishing and sharing content.
>
>By embracing the age of open information and the increasing prominence of crowdsourcing, the project leaders ensured each volume in the Living Books About Life series is a ‘living’ medium itself, able to be updated by readers through ongoing collaborative processes of writing, editing, remixing and commenting.
>
>Gary Hall, Professor of Media and Performing Arts at Coventry University, said: “The ‘Living Books About Life’ series doesn’t just represent a new, exciting and more easily digestible way for people without a background in science to learn about important scientific issues ­ it also has the potential to refashion the processs of book publishing itself. It’s a pioneering example of a sustainable, low-cost, low-tech approach to publishing high-quality books that can be shared easily and freely on an open access basis with anyone who has an interest.”
>
>Nicholas Mirzoeff, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, said: “This remarkable series transforms the humble reader into a living form, while breaking down the conceptual barrier between the humanities and the sciences in a time when scholars and activists of all kinds have taken the understanding of life to be central. Brilliant in its simplicity and concept, this series is a leap towards an exciting new future.”
>
>Explore the books at <http://bit.ly/uO81ro>
>
>Read more about the initiative at <http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/digitisation/econtent11/livibl.aspx>

Frank Norman
Librarian, MRC National Institute for Medical Research
The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA,  UK
tel 020 8816 2227   fax 020 8816 2230   email fnorman at nimr.mrc.ac.uk 
twitter @franknorman

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