Understanding eScience: Reflections on a Houston Symposium

EScience is a research methodology combining data collection, storage and networking on a massive scale. By its very nature, eScience presents new and diverse opportunities in librarianship. While various academic institutions such as Cornell, Georgia Tech, and the University of Massachusetts are already engaged in well-established projects at their libraries, eScience is still relatively new to many others. To explain eScience and its implications for medical librarians within the Texas Medical Center, The Texas Medical Center (TMC) Library hosted an event on February 13, 2012, called Understanding eScience: A Symposium for Medical Librarians.

Funded in part by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine--South Central Region (NN/LM-SCR), this symposium’s core was a panel of scientists and librarians serving various roles in eScience research. These experts described their work to identify concrete opportunities and challenges for libraries hoping to take on similar roles. Designed with an emphasis on medical librarians, the symposium provided an educational and collaborative opportunity for librarians of all specialties.

Within this article, the authors share their experiences in planning and hosting an eScience event and the catalyst it provided for The TMC Library’s on-going involvement in eScience research and collaborations.