Session 1

Group 1: Implications of multiple- purpose forestry for information providers (Horrendous, unfamiliar, stressful) Wide audience – wide net for information gathering – increasing volume of info. Cost, coping & management User expectations changing Evaluating information – librarians would need to rely on researchers to organise info. Mechanisms: Collaboration : shared repositories, finances Need to prioritise

Group 2: forestry education patterns – meeting the demands Librarian needs as service providers: rate of change, content changes, format changes (Internet), Improved search engines needed Information overload Limitations in licensing (access problems) Access to ‘grey’ literature Indigenous knowledge – different formats, different types of databases, integration with existing d’bases Abstracts databases – how to link content better Diverse databases

Group 3: what sort of information is needed (CULTURAL LANDSCAPES Social, economic & technical aspects – information needed for all apsects Keywords – difficulties with issues less easy to describe (colour, smell,etc.) Metadata Interoperability/semantic interdisciplinary work – working with other disciplines, using same language, definitions Indigenous knowledge – mechanisms for discovery and feedback Intellectual property rights Data/inforamtion/knowledge: definitions - wisdom

Group4: how intellectual property issues are influencing information provision IP related to authors Copyright related to publishers (but much overlap) Publishers need to clarify copyright IP issues are not perceived to be a significant barrier to information in forestry

Group 5: how accurate is the information we access Need to know who, where they are and what they want to do with information? Need to know source of information to evaluate validity, reliability & quality Control mechanisms for quality control – international validating ? Assessing quality of information necessary to evaluate, e.g. google-extracted information IP issues – free and open access to quality information Networking /partnership between different sectors Social, cultural, environmental aspects of forestry

Panel comments When do we have enough information to take a sound decision? Should we make more use of wisdom/delete button rather than over-printing and forgetting Logical relationship between broadening of info & content and increasing sophistication of our IT tools International decision-making bodies making decisions that lead to funding - simple, narrow judgements leading to unhelpful policy decisions Abolish EU? Discuss……

Panel comments: PB Frontiers: things we know/not know What do we do when we reach frontiers? ‘facing’ frontiers could be perceived as a negative reaction Look over other people’s spaces – Look at borders of those working in other areas – map these areas that border ‘forestry’ to each other Forestry information ‘borders’ and frontiers need to be challenged, reduce, change? Crossing borders – how? (indig. Vs. estbalished info; librariers vs. researchers, etc. Emerging communities dealing with these challenges Will information itself become less diverse (like cultural landscapes) Does google, amazons, gfises, promote uniformity not diversity?

Other comments Changes in publishing world also reflect reducing diversity Do we need diversity in search engines to find the information? Different technologies will be needed to search for different types of information: ‘don’t trust just one search engine’ Important to look more deeply at information retrieved on web Google not useful for forestry information because of terminology – need subject specificity Static approach to disciplines, communities, boundaries and google, etc. – historical view would reveal a more fluid situation. Always have been difficulties communicating between groups Different approaches between ‘hard’ and ‘softer’ science disciplines? Closer integration between disciplines does seem to be occurring (e.g. social studies) ‘Frontiers as opportunities for exploration’ Borders vs. frontiers – definition: border implies control, demarcation lines, but operating as a boundary Frontiers allow forward looking, but perhaps also are things that you ‘face’ not look over Communication challenges between groups on different sides of the frontier language as a frontier…words and how they are defined limit common understanding Criteria & Indicators – many (e.g. FAO) look also at social indicators not just traditional inventory approaches. Necessary to look at historical pedigree of how info was collected and used Forest=that which is beyond the farm/fence: defn. of frontier Evidence-based research necessary for forestry decision-making Danger of diminishing role of forestry education