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

[Jenny Molloy]

People might be interested to check out the living book on Open Science!
Digitize Me, Visualize Me, Search Me: Open Science and its Discontents
http://www.livingbooksaboutlife.org/books/Digitize_Me,_Visualize_Me,_Search_Me

Jenny

On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 8:29 AM, Frank Norman <fnorman at nimr.mrc.ac.uk>wrote:

> 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.â€
> >
> >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.â€
> >
> >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.â€
> >
> >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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