Mar
This is one of my occasional off-topic posts.
One of my clients, the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) has an innovative program to help digitize some of their technical reports that are currently only available in paper format and I thought I’d spread the word.
Adopt-A-Doc? is a service focused on getting full text technical reports from OSTI’s Energy Citations Database digitized. Here’s a description of the Energy Citations Database :
The Energy Citations Database (ECD) provides free access to over 2.3 million science research citations with continued growth through regular updates. There are over 209,000 electronic documents, primarily from 1943 forward, available via the database. Citations and documents are made publicly available by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
ECD includes scientific and technical research results in disciplines of interest to DOE such as chemistry, physics, materials, environmental science, geology, engineering, mathematics, climatology, oceanography, computer science and related disciplines. It includes bibliographic citations to report literature, conference papers, journal articles, books, dissertations, and patents.
Here are the first few questions from the Adopt-A-Doc? FAQ:
What is Adopt-A-Doc?
Adopt-A-Doc? is an on-demand service that provides individuals the option to sponsor the digitization of full-text DOE technical reports for a nominal fee, thus making important research broadly available via the World Wide Web.How much does it cost to sponsor digitization and broad availability of a technical report?
$60.00 – approximately the same cost as ordering a hard copy. This is payable by check or Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Bravo or Private Issue credit cards.How do I request this service?
You may request to adopt a document via phone at (865) 576-5699; email at [email protected]; or via the comment form on the Energy Citations Database (ECD) at http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/comments.jsp.
Adopt-A-Doc? is a nice way to share a research paper with the world. I like that the cost of adopting a document is roughly the same as the cost of having it digitized and placed online for everyone to benefit. And, if you like, you can get recognition for your adoption:
Will I receive recognition for sponsoring reports for digitization?
If you sponsor digitization of a report, you can receive recognition via a “certificate” indicating that the electronic availability of the technical report was made possible by your contribution. A copy of this “certificate,” which will include the associated URL for the digitized document, will also be sent.to the author of the report. A notification will also be included in the front of the digitized report.
Clever idea? I think so.
Tags: federated search, OSTI
