Building Biodiversity Data Communities
Martin R. Kalfatovic | 30 October 2010 | Museum Computer Network | Austin, TX
http://xkcd.com/731/
Specimen collections Databases Publications Observations ‘Gray’ literature Index cards Field notebooks
Taxonomic Impediment
Biodiversity Heritage Library American Museum of
Natural History Field Museum California Academy of
Sciences Museum of Comparative
Zoology (Harvard) New York Botanical
Garden Natural History Museum
(London)
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Missouri Botanical Garden
Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia)
Marine Biological Laboratory/WHOI
Harvard Botany Libraries
BHL Global data sharing
BHL Global
BHL Europe
BHL China
BHL Global
Brasil
Australia
Egypt
Achievements
> Digitization of biodiversity literature
> Creation of a global partnership> Engagement of the research
community
31+ million pages
Six Continents
~1.5 m users
231 countries
AccessPutting biodiversity literature in the hands of researchersSet the data freeSuck it; mash it; broadcast itIncreaseReuse, recycle, expand
An inordinate fondness for data
Open Software & DevelopmentBHL Bits:Portal code, utilities, serviceshttp://code.google.com/p/bhl-bits/Taxonomic Literature GroupGoogle Group for discussion of “taxonomic literature & the services required to make literature interoperable within biodiversity research and biodiversity informatics.”http://groups.google.com/group/taxonlit
Open Data
DownloadsSimple tab-delimited exports of core data http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/data/BHLExportSchema.pdf
Data modelDB schema as ERD http://bhl-bits.googlecode.com/files/20090930_BHLDataModel.pdf
ServicesNames ServiceReturn all occurrences of a name throughout BHL digitized corpusDocumentation: http://bit.ly/2e6sg9Access to 51million name strings using TaxonFinder1.4million unique namesWorking out a strategy for obscure speciesAlgorithm improvements to detect nomenclatural & taxonomic acts
OpenURLFacilitate links to citations: protologues, articles, referencesDocumentation: http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/openurlhelp.aspxUseful to Nomenclators, Reference SystemsIPNITropicos
Other Consumers
EarthCape LabsSort/Search capabilities with harvested namesYouTube demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw7qw87JTOs
BioGUIDBHL Name Timelinehttp://bioguid.info/bhl/
BHL Name Comparisonhttp://bioguid.info/bhl/compare.php
Dear Sir / Madam Can i just congratulate you on an absolutely brilliant online resource. I am compiling a report on an invasive hydromedusae and could not believe the ease and efficiency of this web page which genuinely saved me weeks of my life
Dear Sir / Madam Can i just congratulate you on an absolutely brilliant online resource. I am compiling a report on an invasive hydromedusae and could not believe the ease and efficiency of this web page which genuinely saved me weeks of my life
What Users Say
Dear Biodiversity Heritage Library: I am in awe of your work. Thank you so much. As an illustrator who scans a lot of my work, I know how very onerous the task is. Many thanks!
Dear Biodiversity Heritage Library: I am in awe of your work. Thank you so much. As an illustrator who scans a lot of my work, I know how very onerous the task is. Many thanks!
Just a quick line to thank you and your organisation for the foresight and generosity in allowing these works to be dowloaded.
Just a quick line to thank you and your organisation for the foresight and generosity in allowing these works to be dowloaded.
The Biodiversity Heritage Library
Extensive. Open. Global.
Thank You
Thanks to:Chris Freeland, Bianca Crowley, Suzanne Pilsk, Team BHL Global