Dear Colleagues
As you all know I have recently been conducting a series of surveys into
commercial zooarchaeology in the UK. One of the main points raised
during the primary survey was the lack of facilities to share the grey
literature reports we produce. Last year the zooarchaeologists who took
part in the survey produced around 500 reports of a varying nature
(assessment, full publication etc.). Although we can post the
bibliographical details of these reports on the Environmental
Archaeology Bibliography on ADS (please see the Professional
Zooarchaeology Group website
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.9066), and I would
encourage members to do so, until now there has been no effective way
for us to share the documents themselves.
To help with this, in coordination with Umberto Albarella (zooarch) and
Sarah Kansa (bonecommons) I have set up a zooarchaeology social network
website. The site allows members to freely share documents by either
posting them in the discussion forum or on their own member page. The
site is an enclosed network and therefore the documents posted will not
be accessible to other members and they will not turn up on any internet
searches. This makes the network ideal for the sharing of documents for
which you do not have permission to post openly. It also means when a
member of zooarch is looking for a specific article a supplier can post
the document on the social network removing the need for further request
emails and the sending of the document to numerous email addresses.
However I would like to encourage all members to try and gain permission
to openly post their documents, be they grey literature reports or
articles, and to post them on bonecommons.
The aim of the site is to compliment the services offered by the zooarch
mail list and the bonecommons website. In union these services allow
discussions within the zooarchaeological community (zooarch); the
sharing of publications and reports for which you have permission
(bonecommons); and the sharing of documents you cannot openly post (the
zooarchaeology social network).
Although the site was inspired by work in the United Kingdom, I hope it
will prove useful to all members of the zooarchaeological community.
Members can join the network by following the below link.
http://zooarchaeology.ning.com/?xgi=d4aSz5g
The network also has a number of other features which I would encourage
members to explore. A section of the site is linked into bonecommons;
members can post events including RSVPs; members can start their own
subgroup within the site; and the site has a number of links to key
references and zooarchaeology websites which members can add to and
finally members can invite their colleagues to become members of the site.
It is my hope that the network will grow and develop into a useful tool
for the zooarchaeological community. As it grows I will be asking active
members to also become administrators to help the site grow so it serves
the needs of the community it was created for.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the
site.
best wishes
Jim
--
Dr James Morris
Zooarchaeologist
Museum of London Archaeology
Mortimer Wheeler House
46 Eagle Wharf Road
London
N1 7ED
Tel:020 7566 9332
Fax:020 7410 2201
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www.animalbones.org
www.museumoflondon.org/archaeology
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