Vision of a knowledge economy in IYCr2014

The research landscape is changing at an alarming rate, it is now impossible to talk to any professional engaged in the research community without mentioning open data, big data, new search optimisation tools, or tools geared for the digital age. Without a doubt these developments and new tools are fostering change which is revolutionising the way researchers work, share their results and interact with colleagues across the crystallographic community. Publishers too are embracing the technology shift and evidence of this can be found in many new product launches which focus on new innovative open access models, tools for analysing and quantifying masses of data, right through to bringing experts from different research departments together to discuss common problems and hopefully find novel solutions. At the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) we have a wealth of current and historical data relevant to today's research arena in our 9 journals. What many researchers may not know however is we also have novel tools for writing and submitting articles, such as publBio and publCIF, communities such as the world directory of crystallographers and solutions such as the International Tables for Crystallography. All of these products, tools and services help our research community across a broad range of disciplines find answers they can trust in a timely manner. This presentation will explore some of the opportunities currently being explored to expand our crystallographic communities, and how we can share with and embrace other scientists employing crystallographic methods. The presentation will also look at how we can provide new and smarter products and services so we can truly reflect the interdisciplinary nature of crystallography in 2014 and beyond.