AAS Boosts Bright SPARCS

As announced in the previous edition of HASN, Bright SPARCS, ASAP's database of information on Australian scientists, is now publicly available through the World Wide Web. Development of Bright SPARCS is continuing apace, and version two of this unique resource is expected to be revealed in the second half of this year. (About the same time as Windows 95 maybe...)

What can you expect? There will be more information, more scientists, more photographs, and, in general, more accuracy and consistency. We will be working through all of the biographical notes to ensure that they provide an adequate and consistent summary, correcting any errors along the way.

In addition (yes there's more), we'll be adding in a range of other useful resources. The Australian Academy of Science has generously agreed to provide us with the funds necessary to convert all the biographical memoirs published in Historical Records of Australian Science into electronic form. Close to a hundred detailed biographical articles will be processed and linked into Bright SPARCS. We will also be scanning in a large number of portrait photographs from the AAS's collection. The contents of Rod Home's Physics in Australia to 1945 will be integrated shortly as well.

But that's just the beginning! ASAP has already begun contacting scientific societies to collect information about other biographical and historical materials. This year we will be seeking to establish an active network of contributors to ensure that Bright SPARCS continues to grow and develop. We hope all HASN readers will be keen to be involved.

Contact the ASAP Canberra Office for further details.

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