New Social Network to Expand the Research Impact of Atmospheric Scientists
A new online community designed specifically for researchers, scholars, librarians and students in the atmospheric science community leverages the collaborative power of social networking across discipline-specific information to create a research workflow tool that will accelerate scholarship in this critical field. <em>AtmosPeer</em>, which was launched in mid-January by information technology leader ProQuest, connects atmospheric scientists to not only their colleagues, but also to emerging research trends, current news feeds, conference information, and funding opportunities.
“AtmosPeer’s design is driven by the needs of atmospheric scientists,” said Bipin Patel, Chief Information Officer of ProQuest. “Our research showed an extremely high interest in social networking among these scientists, but frustration that traditional models don’t address their most important need: information and tools that are specifically geared to their research. AtmosPeer is part of our drive to continually innovate with new tools for scholars.”
Created in close cooperation with the atmospheric science community, AtmosPeer offers a tailored research environment for scientists in the field. It allows scholars to identify peers doing similar research and creates a simple method for document sharing and collaboration. Users can create discussion topics and share ideas and best practices in a community forum. To help users stay current on the latest developments in the field, AtmosPeer acts as a central source of community news from such Web sites as American Meteorological Society (AMS), UCAR, Royal Meteorological Society, Scientific American, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Background on current and upcoming conferences is easily accessible for quick reference and abstracts from emerging research can be searched and explored. Further, relevant articles from AMS publications can be quickly surfaced with a unique deep indexing tool that uncovers data and findings not only in the text, but in the tables and figures, too. The site also allows a quick, simple search of material that has been presented at conferences in the atmospheric sciences, specifically by linking to the content stored at The Conference Exchange, an AtmosPeer partner.
"AMS views AtmosPeer as another vehicle to inform users of the vast material available in the atmospheric sciences,” said Keith Seitter, Executive Director, AMS. “In addition to providing information on funding opportunities, conference dates, and news specifically related to atmospheric science, it also has the prospect of becoming an important portal for sharing gray literature that can be important to the community."
AtmosPeer was designed with an advisory group that includes AMS, Environment Canada, Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is a free service from information technology leader ProQuest that was developed in partnership with AMS, the Atmospheric Science Librarians International (ASLI) and The Conference Exchange. To learn more or create an account, visit www.atmospeer.net.
About ProQuest
ProQuest creates specialized information resources and technologies that provide the most successful ways for people to search, find, use, and share information.
A global leader in serving libraries of all types, ProQuest offers the expertise of such respected brands as UMI®, Chadwyck-Healey™, SIRS®, and eLibrary®. With Serials Solutions®, Ulrich's™, RefWorks®, COS™, Dialog® and now Bowker® part of the ProQuest brand family, the company supports the breadth of the information community with innovative discovery solutions that power the business of books and the best in research experience.
More than a content provider or aggregator, ProQuest is an information partner, creating indispensable research solutions that connect people and information. Through innovative, user-centered discovery technology, ProQuest offers billions of pages of global content that includes historical newspapers, dissertations, and uniquely relevant resources for researchers of any level and sophistication—including content not likely to be digitized by others.
The company is nearing launch of an all-new platform that will transform delivery of several highly-regarded individual platforms into a consolidated research experience that will encompass all ProQuest family products over time. Inspired by its customers and their end users, ProQuest is working toward a future that blends information accessibility with community to further enhance learning and encourage lifelong enrichment.
For more information, please visit www.proquest.com.