Peter Murray Rust, responds to some leading questions

Cambridge scientist and Internet Librarian International keynote speaker, Dr Peter Murray Rust, sets out his views on social networking, the internet's biggest challenge, the future for libraries, books, the semantic web, and other stories...Peter Murray Rust, responds to some leading questions from ILI...

Q. How are social networking tools changing the ways scientists work?
A. Early adopters are wired in everywhere - we use Twitter in our group, I also use FriendFeed. Some use Facebook. Conventionalists poo-poo them, but it is changing.

Q. What does the semantic web hold for the future?
A. Limitless. Typical new arrivals this year are GoogleWave (collaborative, interactive, pervasive, communal, universal and Open) and Wolfram Alpha - a dark horse that goes beyond OWL-based reasoning.

Q. How do you see the future of libraries? Are they becoming obsolete?
A. For scientific research, probably. There is a need for purchasing which should be done nationally by specialists but most of the rest will be web-based.

Q. What's the biggest challenge facing the internet?
A. The destruction of Net-Neutrality (hot topic in European Parliament last month and still in danger). If we lose then Time-Warner and Disney will choose which sites are offered to us.

Q. Will print books ever be replaced by ebooks in an academic context?
A. Yes. It may take 20 years but exciting new technologies continue to evolve.

Q. What's your favourite website?
A. Wikipedia for content. mySociety because it represents the way we can change the world. OpenStreetmap.org because it shows true bottom-up liberation.