The paper seeks to describe the establishment and progress of an online initiative: RIC – Researching the Information Commons.
Who has really challenged and thought through in a research sense about the issues that surround the commons provision of information; a concept dear to the hearts of many of the world's librarians? This question leads to the development of a researcher networking initiative, represented on the web as RIC (http://infocommons.curtin.edu.au).
The web site has a growing number of participants, not all working together, but who are interested in information commons matters from a research point of view.
RIC is a federated network of colleagues researching in this many faceted arena and it is slowly gathering momentum. Expressions of interest to join have been sought, and a web site has been developed.
RIC will operate through: openness and feedback; shared decision making; diversity within the commons; honouring social and legal equity amongst its members; and fostering sociability within the commons.
The vision for the RIC Group is to nurture and mentor a community of researchers interested in matters relating to the information commons, by being in itself an information commons.
The topic of information commons has considerable use and currency but there appears to be only one RIC.
