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FEATURE


Open APIs


Innovative tools Elsevier initially collaborated with NextBio, a provider of a search and discovery platform for life science researchers, to integrate its ontology-based semantic tools with SciVerse ScienceDirect. After the launch of SciVerse Applications, NextBio used its text-based search technologies in order to create a range of applications for the SciVerse platform. NextBio introduced its Matching Sentences, Methods Search and Prolifi c Authors applications in September 2010 – and, as part of its collaboration with Elsevier, facilitated more search capabilities through two application launches in April 2011. The applications help researchers fi nd relevant text in all types of content at the document, section, paragraph and sentence level. Elsevier also forged a partnership with Quantifi nd Inc., a data analytics start-up, to introduce a tool to the SciVerse platform allowing researchers to gain insights from numerical data rather than traditional keywords. The application contextualises and aggregates data from SciVerse ScienceDirect, allowing researchers to understand trends indicated by thousands of data points.


Reader to the SciVerse platform. The application enables users to convert full-text articles within SciVerse ScienceDirect into natural sounding voice fi les. By facilitating a hackathon, Elsevier discovered a useful new solution for researchers and iSpeech was able to bring its technology to another market. Elsevier has now broadened the reach of


Springer recently held its fi rst API challenge, which was won by Springer Quotes, an application that lets users search more than 80,000 thousand articles from the company’s open-access journals


Among the many companies conducting developer activities is Yahoo!, whose developer network holds annual open hacks. For startups, as well as individual developers and students, such events represent a chance to achieve signifi cant notoriety. In fact, the start-up Karmasphere received substantial venture capital investment and drew the attention of Amazon’s Web Services website after presenting the idea for Hadoop Studio at an all-night hack.


‘The release of APIs by publishers is empowering researchers to shift their adept problem-solving from the lab to powerful web-based platforms’


Such collaborations showcase the potential


for developer networks working with open APIs to drive the development of workfl ow solutions for the scientifi c community.


Cultivating developer communities Not only is it important for STM content providers to offer the necessary resources and support within developer networks, but it is also essential to cultivate vibrant communities of engaged participants who are empowered to bring their creativity and exchange ideas that help solve scientists’ workfl ow problems. Taking cues from the start-up tech


culture of Silicon Valley, STM companies such as Springer and Mendeley are hosting hackathons as well as application challenges to spur the creativity of their developer communities, which include students, researchers and librarians. By providing participants with the opportunity to share ideas and program during intense, collaborative sessions, STM content providers are able to identify talent and uncover innovations.


28 Research Information OCT/NOV 2011


Unexpected links Whether it is a hackathon, application challenge or API workshop, activities designed for developer communities are fuelling rich interactions within the knowledge ecosystem. Often, developer events bring academic institutions, start-ups, researchers, students and librarians into the fold, setting the stage for unexpected linkages. For example, Elsevier collaborated with the New Jersey Institute of Technology(NJIT) to arrange its fi rst USA-based hackathon, offering a real-world programming experience to augment the concepts that students were learning in the classroom. A team that included a graduate student from NJIT, who also happened to be a software developer at iSpeech, a cloud-based speech technology startup, won fi rst place for developing a tool that allows users to mark favourite articles, share them through social networks and convert text to speech. Realising the benefi t of text-to-speech conversion for researchers, Elsevier collaborated with iSpeech shortly after the hackathon to deliver the iSpeech Audio


its developer programmes through events such as the World Health and Life Sciences Hackathon at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and the Elsevier/NUS SgCodeJam24 in Singapore.


Looking ahead As the STM information industry continues to transform into one of the most dynamic and exciting industries today, adaptability will be essential, especially when interacting with the global community. As Jamsetji Tata, founder of the Tata Group, explained: ‘In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder in business, but is in fact the very purpose of its existence.’ In much the same way that government organisations rely on the power of the networked community to spur innovation among society, STM content providers are increasingly turning to developer communities to drive creativity. The new knowledge ecosystem will continue to thrive on the trusted and fruitful connections forming between STM publishers and developer communities. Diverse participants are stepping into the crowd to offer the valuable insights needed to fuel meaningful innovation within the scientifi c community. Whether it is a student competing to build the best application during a hackathon or a start-up bringing its expertise to a developer community, a variety of contributors in today’s knowledge ecosystem are transforming the user experience with powerful new solutions. By providing APIs and the right resources


to developers, STM content providers will become more agile in delivering customised solutions through their platforms. Within the new knowledge ecosystem, the vital role of STM publishers will be to empower the scientifi c community to develop and share solutions that the research community truly needs, which will ultimately bring a dynamic soul and energy to their platforms.


Rafael Sidi is vice president product management, applications marketplace and developer network for Elsevier


www.researchinformation.info


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