An introduction to the BioCASE programme (A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe)
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BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
An introduction to the BioCASE programme(A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe)
The Irish National Node Workshop: October 13th, 2003. The Royal Irish Academy, Dublin.
Brian BeckettEcological Consultancy Services Ltd. (EcoServe)
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
This Presentation:
• Participation
• Historical overview and predecessor projects
• Implementation of the information service
• How can you participate / the future of BioCASE?
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE – An Introduction
“The aim of the BioCASE programme is to enhance the over-all value of biological collections as an essential, but presently fragmented and under-exploited European research infrastructure for environmental sciences, systematics, and life sciences in general, by means of implementing a sustainable and expandable information service, which provides researchers with unified access to all European collections, while leaving the control over the information supply in the hands of the information providers.” – www.biocase.org
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
Potential Participants
Biological collections of primary importance for biodiversity research include those housed in:
• natural history museums• herbaria and arboreta• botanical and zoological gardens, marine stations / aquaria• microbial and tissue culture collections• plant and animal genetic resource collections• geological museums • universities / research centres• and other observational data (biological surveys, mapping projects)
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE: new information access
BioCASE will potentially be useful for:
• taxonomists
• scientists / public researchers
• industrial / private sector applications
• General public information
BioCASE’s national and international importance
• Standardisation of collection holding practice
• Information dissemination through the internet
• Enhance the profile of collections on all scales
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE: predecessors
• Data structure research and modelling (CDEFD project 1993 – 1996)- A Common Datastructure for European Floristic Databases
• Resource identification and project proposals (BioCISE project 1997 – 2000)
• CETAF Collection networking (ENHSIN Project, Jan. 2000 – ongoing)- Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities
• European Network for Biodiversity Information (ENBI ~ March 2002 – ongoing)
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
The BioCISE Project: User requirements
• What has been collected in area X, and when?
• Where has species Y been collected?
• Where can I find (bulk) material of species Y for (destructive) analysis?
• Where can I get substance Z
• What biological collections do I find in X?
• Easy-to-use search and result interface
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
The BioCISE Project
• Data received from 470 collection holders
• Total no. of collections estimated at > 5000
• Address list of c. 2600 collections
• 253 with database, total 401 databases
• Est. x * 106 electronic specimen records
• Est. x * 107 electronic survey records
• Collection holders are willing to share unit-level data
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
The BioCISE Project: Identified Problems
1. Data availability
• Low percentage of recorded objects• Low percentage of records online• Disparate data structures• Inconsistent vocabulary• Different technologies• Inconsistent and undocumented data quality
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
The BioCISE Project: Identified Problems
2. Collection Community fragmentation
• along taxonomic boundaries • species survey vs. specimen collection • collections: archives or means to an end • along national and organisational lines • according to size
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
European Natural History Specimen Information Network
• January 1999 – December 2003
• Networking project of CETAF members
• Focus on mobilizing specimen data
• Investigating problems related to that task (IPR, User needs, Technologies, etc.)
• Berlin workpackage: implementation of a prototype for a common search and access system
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
Data Levels
• BioCISE prototype– Collection-level data (“metadata”)– Data on the contents of entire collections or
subcollections: BioCISE prototype
• ENHSIN prototype– Unit-level data– Data on individual specimens or observations
(ENHSIN: only specimens)
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
By January 2002……..
• CDEFD had prepared the theoretical base
• BioCISE assessed resources and prototyped a collection-level network
• ENHSIN united some key players, investigated some basic questions, and prototyped a unit-level network……..
BioCASE implementation
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE: implementation
A Biological CollectionAccess Service for Europe
• Proposal organised by BioCISE, supported byCETAF and ENHSIN
• BioCASE -implementation phase
• www.biocase.org
35 Institutions: 31 National Nodes
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE: Programme Information
• 3 year programme, running from November 2001 to 31st October 2004
• Principal Coordinator – Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem (Walter Berendsohn, project leader)
• 35 Institutions involved with 31 National Nodes in total
• Approximately a 2 million Euro budget, funded from the EU fifth framework programme (Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development)
• 7 principal contractors: FUB-BGBM (Berlin), NHM (London), USOTON (Southampton), UPMC/LIS (Paris), INPA (Tel-Aviv), UvA (Amsterdam), RBGKEW (Kew)
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE: the concept
BioCASE unites earlier approaches:• Combines unit- and collection-level access
– Collection-level organised by National Nodes – Unit-level data remains under control of the
collection holders• Overcomes fragmentation• Organizes unit-level access: mobilise data• Provides support services (thesaurus and indexing)
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE: the work packages (major tasks)
• National node development & networking• Collection profile development• “Central” node development• Thesaurus modelling, design, data acquisition• Indexing• User interface. User panel input• Legal base & best practice. Business model
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE: programme schematic
National Nodes
User Panel
Central Node
Thesaurus
Collection Profile
User Interface
Indexing
Legal Basis Future Plans
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
Summary
• BioCASE collection-level network functional
• BioCASE unit-level network starting
• BioCASE user-interface under development
• BioCASE business, IPR and access models under discussion
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
BioCASE: How can you contribute?
Your contribution:
• We would like you to consider participation in the BioCASE programme
• Participation will involve simply providing us with some basic metadata information on you biological collections
• This information will be incorporated into the central database, integrating in a European and global resource.
• Evolution of the project: BioCASE after 2004.
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
Where does BioCASE go after 2004?
Related Projects:
• GBIF – Global Biodiversity Information Facility
• ENBI – European Network for Biodiversity Information
• Species 2000 europa (a.k.a. EuroCat)
– Fauna Europaea, Euro+Med Plantbase, ERMS – Global Species Databases located in Europe
• SYNTHESIS – FP6 project by the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF)
• Further proposals under Framework Programme 6
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
EN
BI
(Eur
ope’
s co
ntri
buti
on to
GB
IF)
GB
IF
LICHI
Specimen Db
Case
Search tools
Specimen Db
Additional information
sources Catalog
of Names
Euro-Hub 1
EU Taxon-based Db
EU Taxon-based Db
Euro-Hub 2
Global Hub
Global Species Db’s
Global Species Db’s
BioCASE – A Biological Collection Access Service for Europe
Further Information
• BioCASE project: www.biocase.org
• ENHSIN project: www.nhm.ac.uk/science/rco/enhsin/
• ENBI: www.faunaeur.org/enbi/info.html
• EuroCat: www.sp2000.org/
• ERMS www.erms.biol.soton.ac.uk/
• TDWG: www.tdwg.org
• ABCD: www.bgbm.org/tdwg/
• Ecological Consultancy Services Ltd: www.ecoserve.ie