E-science appears to be another excellent resource to help us serve those users and not just in academic libraries.

The answer is obvious. Personally, I think we would operate far more cooperatively. Every item we catalog would be processed once and we would catalog significantly more material in house, especially serials and data sets. We would collect far more information and make it available with less limiting restrictions.

The fact that we aren’t presently doing these things inhibits our ability to further E-science, which is a great example of why all libraries need to start asking tough questions.

What’s clear from Hilary’s article is that we’re trapped by our assumptions about institutional boundaries and money, and by our understanding of the requests we hear from those we serve.

What people want is accurate information they can readily assimilate, and they’re willing to pay a premium for it, though they prefer to buying in bulk (currently through tax and tuition dollars). The thing is, they don’t care who provides their information, so long as they get it quickly and it’s sufficiently trustworthy.

As for public libraries and E-science: of course we should support it. For one thing, it’s intrinsically interesting. As librarians we can help our neighbors find out about the studies that may affect their lives or could enrich their understanding of the world. Public libraries could also serve as an ideal gateway for scientists to reach a large, valuable, and diverse group of volunteers. Citizen science is a great example; I think positive deviance is another. Certainly, there are multiple possibilities.

But that’s a small part of a larger point. The distance between where we are and where we should be is huge. To cross that divide, to support contemporary uses for information, we’re going to have to be willing to change.

@Hilary citizen science… this is fascinating stuff. I just wrote a post connecting a friend at the Exploratorium w/ some public librarians doing interesting programming. I wonder if citizen science programming might be a good way for the Exploratorium to reach the 18-35 demographic. It sounds sensible to me…

Much of scientific research depends on federal grant dollars which are generated from taxpayers. The costs of generating the data that leads to progress are enormous, therefore finding ways to preserve that data and make it accessible to others to learn from and build upon becomes paramount. The public education system is one area that benefits from these kinds of data. Hands-on learning with students and members of the community taking an active role in contributing to and adding to research (“citizen science”) is a great instance where taxpayers can see a return on their investment.

A couple of examples of where Citizen science has been used to advance research: Galaxy Zoo led by four major research universities is a project where citizens can help classify galaxies; and eBird which is a project initiated by Cornell Univ and the National Audubon Society where anyone can help study changes in how birds are distributed in North and Central America.

Just search your favorite search engine for “citizen science” for other examples.