Disseminating crystallography results the Indiana way John C. Huffman and John C. Bollinger Indiana University Molecular Structure Center, Bloomington, IN.

What is the Reciprocal Net? A distributed digital library of molecular structure information An information management system for crystallography laboratories A tool for disseminating crystal structure information to collaborators, colleagues, and the general public

Molecular Structure Information Metadata –Formulae –Cell parameters –Agreement indices –etc. Files –CIF –Report document, image files, data, program output, etc.

The Indiana Way Structural results are disseminated strictly electronically, via the local Reciprocal Net site All information previously distributed in hardcopy is available, plus much more Results are kept “private” until publication or until it is determined that they never will be otherwise published

Application Security Application avoids premature data exposure –To preserve the ability to publish in a journal –To hide unpublished results from scientific competitors Application manages user access and rights Application suitably limits information visibility

Site Network A virtual network of like sites Operates over the Internet Uses standard protocols

Site Network Shared view of the site network Shared view of public samples Private, non-shared view of non-public samples Clear demarcation of site boundaries Synchronization via automated messaging

Digital Library Concepts Collection Collection items Metadata and harvesting