Cornell University has developed an exciting new knowledge base for life sciences called Vivo: Virtual Life Sciences Library. In addition to being a research guide with life sciences databases, tutorials, and image collections within and beyond Cornell, Vivo also directs users to information on and links to fee-for-service facilities across campus, education and training resources, and a list of selected faculty, researchers, and staff active in the life sciences at Cornell. The true innovation of this site is this last feature, a continuously updated database of life scientists at Cornell with contact information, departmental affiliations, specializations, professional background, education, research interests, publications, current projects, etc. Using Vivo, researchers can now instantly see who on campus is working on a particular research topic, read the latest publications of colleagues, and develop exciting collaborations across departments. Here is a sample faculty page from Vivo.
I recently chatted with Medha Devare, Life Sciences and Bioinformatics Specialist at Cornell’s Mann Library (and one of Vivo’s creators), at a Columbia conference. She mentioned how one of their objectives has been to automate the People section of the site so that contact and other information can automatically be generated from HR and other administrative departments. Faculty update their list of current publications and research interests once a year using a standard Web form. Additional data is gathered and added to the site by work-study students.
The project has just received a grant to expand the database to include all academic departments at Cornell. Viva Vivo!
