The British Library has announced its forthcoming exhibition on the transformations we can expect to see in the world of research. The event 'Growing Knowledge - the Evolution of Research,' will run from October 12, 2010 to July 16, 2011. It will showcase some of the latest research tools, content and spaces in a fully interactive future-research environment. The exhibition will stimulate and inspire visitors as well as consult with them on the research services they want to experience from the library of the future.
The British Library's first Researcher in Residence, Dr Aleks Krotoski, will launch the exhibition. Dr Krotoski will engage in discussion and debate with the research community to explore some of the issues highlighted by the exhibition, as well as continue her own research. Designed to demonstrate the organic development of digital research and the growth of data using natural patterns, visitors will discover a new world of research that will seem a far cry from the traditional setting of Library Reading Rooms.
Through partnerships with HP and Haworth, users will experience an immersive digital environment in specially-designed multimedia research workstations. Using large touch-screens, each pod will offer access to interactive demonstrations, enabling researchers to experience digital research tools of the future. From these pods users will be able to explore digital maps and linked data, experience live crowd-sourcing, manipulate digital assets across multiple media and see how mobile technologies can be used to support research beyond the desktop.
To ensure broad access to the exhibition, Growing Knowledge will also be available online. Visitors who register when they visit the exhibition will be able to continue their interaction with the content online and contribute to the evaluation from home, cafe or external work space.
A major component of the Growing Knowledge exhibition will be evaluating the tools and services. Working with JISC and the Ciber Research Group, part of UCL, Library users and exhibition visitors will be invited to leave their feedback either at the exhibition or online to voice their views and indicate their interest in future discussions. The Library will also hold discussion groups for postgraduate students to explore some of the issues in more depth. This information will be fed into the overall evaluation of the 'Growing Knowledge' project, for which a final evaluation report will be delivered in July 2011, as well as two interim reports to be delivered in December 2010 and March 2011.
Search for more research tools
Get customisable STM news alerts in your Mobile. Visit http://www.scopeknowledge.com/scoope.jar via your mobile browser to download the SCOOPE application
