To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday, We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning, We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day. To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica Glistens like coral in all of the neighbouring gardens, And to-day we have naming of parts. (Henry Reed, 1942) Attending a talk at the [...]
Archive for July 2009
Naming of parts and other things
July 26, 2009ALA Chicago
July 25, 2009Put the world’s largest library/information conference – that of the American Library Association – in the city with the greatest concentration of skyscrapers, if not any longer the world’s tallest building – Chicago, of course – add a bit of jet-lag, and the result is a bit overwhelming. Never mind, ALA was very much worth [...]
Codex Siniaticus; the good side of digital
July 8, 2009A very impressive example of the power of digitisation to support ‘book culture’ comes from the creation of the digital version of the Codex Siniaticus, the earliest version of the Christian Bible, dating from the fourth century. No complete version of the original parchment manuscript exists anywhere; the 800 pages are scattered in museums and [...]
Impact factors and half-lives
July 7, 2009It’s that time of year when academic journal editors nervously look at the Web of Science data to see how they’ve done compared with their competitors, as assessed by the magic bibliometrics that are now the basis of any assessment of how ‘good’ a journal is. In my case, of course, I was looking to [...]
Transferred illusions
July 7, 2009I’ve just written a review of Marilyn Deegan and Kathryn Sutherland’s Transferred lllusions: digital technology and the forms of print for the journal Alexandria. This is a modified version: The so-called ‘digital transition’ has been at the forefront of the minds of many library / information specialists over the past few years, as the certainties [...]
