‘…but for the benefit and use of life…’
why science is opening up
Lee-Ann Coleman
Head of Science, Technology & Medicine
@LAScienceBL
Our daily bread
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But what should we be eating?
Without being pejorative or
elitist, I think that is an issue that
we should think about very, very
carefully, because there are very
few members of the public, and
very few people in this room, who
would want to read some of this
scientific information, and in fact
draw wrong conclusions from it.
Dr John Jarvis, Managing Director, Wiley Europe (2004)
Oral transcript of evidence given to the UK Government’s House of Commons Science &
Technology Committee enquiry on Scientific Publishing in 2004
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Something more nourishing?
June 2012
Accessibility, sustainability, excellence:
how to expand access to research
publications
Report of the Working Group on Expanding Access
to Published Research Findings – the Finch Group
Science as an open enterprise
Royal Society report
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Patients, carers, people!
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Citizen scientists
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Active involvement
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Who needs access?
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Berlin declaration 2003
'The Internet has fundamentally changed the practical
and economic realities of distributing scientific knowledge
and cultural heritage. For the first time ever, the Internet
now offers the chance to constitute a global and
interactive representation of human knowledge, including
cultural heritage and the guarantee of worldwide access.‘
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Francis Bacon
“Lastly, I would address one general admonition to
all; that they consider what are the true
ends of knowledge, and that they seek
it not either for pleasure of the mind,
or for contention, or for superiority to
others, or for profit, or fame, or power,
or any of these inferior things; but for
the benefit and use of life; and that
they perfect and govern it in charity.
(Preface, Inst. Magna: Bacon, IV [1901], 20 f.).
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Anthony Panizzi
‘I want a poor student to have the
same means of indulging his
learned curiosity, of following his
rational pursuits, of consulting the
same authorities, of fathoming the
most intricate inquiry as the richest
man in the kingdom...’
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Enable access to everyone who wants
to do research
National library of the UK.
Serves researchers, business, libraries,
education & the general public
Collection includes over 2m
sound recordings, 5m reports, theses
and conference papers, the world’s
largest patents collection (c.50m)
Collection fills over 600km of shelving
and grows at 11km per year
70 Tb of digital material through
voluntary deposit
The largest document supply
service in the world. Secure
e-delivery and ‘just in time’ digitisation
enables desktop
delivery within 2 hours
Helping people advance
knowledge to enrich
lives
Science, Technology & Medicine
Managing our collections
Delivering new content
Establishing an evidence base
Engaging
and
inspiring
Developing new services
Initiating new projects
A small core STM
team
TalkScience@bl.uk
WHAT: Evening event series of informal but
informed debate on topical issues in
contemporary science
WHO: High-profile, expert speaker and an informed audience with diverse views
WHY: Showcase the Library as a place to engage, entertain and inform those interested in
science, technology and medicine
Events - Building Partnerships
Environmental Science
Understanding the sector and its information needs
Academia
Local Government
NGOs and Charities
Consultants & SMEs
Government Departments &
Agencies

Demonstrator to improve access and discovery of
environmental information
•
•
Search EnviA through external partner websites
Trialling GATE text mining technology
 Improve our understanding of information use
 Forge partnerships with the environmental science community
•
MoU with the Living with Environmental Change partnership
What access is there to biomedical
and health research literature?
Does access make it accessible?
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Patients Participate!
A 7-month feasibility study to investigate the possibility of involving patients in the
production of lay summaries of biomedical research.
A workshop at the Library, found that;
• There are barriers for patients who want to access biomedical information
• Patients are often overwhelmed by its volume, complexity and technical language
• Medical research charities already provide lay summaries - patients would like more
• Academics struggle to describe their work in a way that is understood by all
‘The patient with a disease has an acute need for
information - your motivation is survival and you
want information, yet you face many barriers.’
PP! - Key Recommendations
1. A lay summary for every UKPMC article
2. Guidelines, structures, templates and
standards for producing lay summaries
3. Develop evaluation methods
4. Involve patients, the public and researchers
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Science@BL
Thank you to key team members
Stephen Andrews
Johanna Kieniewicz
Anna Kinsey
Elizabeth Newbold
Allan Sudlow
Karen Walshe
www.bl.uk/science
Follow us on Twitter: ScienceBL or UKPMCUpdates
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