[Taxacom] GBIF data

[Donald Hobern]

David,

Thank you for summarising some of the things we are trying to do right 
now with the GBIF data portal.  Even if it has taken some time to get 
this far, I think we now have a much better understanding of how we can 
support providers of biodiversity data. 

As several posters have suggested, Darwin Core is actually a very simple 
data model and almost exactly what Wolfgang described.  We are certainly 
keen to lower any barriers to connecting data with the network and the 
new data portal currently under development will be able to handle data 
provided as Darwin Core text files.

We are also trying to provide some of the other "value-added features" 
David mentions, including feedback for providers including automated 
validation of their data (by e.g. performing nomenclatural checks and 
verifying correspondence between latitude/longitude and country).  The 
new portal will provide each data set in the network with a home page 
with mapping, summaries, data access and links to analytical tools.  We 
hope that this will provide better visibility for the work of each 
institution involved in digitising data and will make it more attractive 
for those with relevant data to get them online.

TDWG is working to produce better user-oriented documentation for the 
tools and standards in use within the GBIF network.  I hope that these 
will help to remove some of the apparent complexity in what is actually 
a rather simple process.

Donald

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Donald Hobern (dhobern at gbif.org)
Deputy Director for Informatics 
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat 
Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: +45-35321483   Mobile: +45-28751483   Fax: +45-35321480
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David Shorthouse (dps1 at ualberta.ca) wrote:
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 14:52:32 -0700
> From: "Shorthouse, David" <dps1 at ualberta.ca>
> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] GBIF data
> To: <Faunaplan at aol.com>, <TAXACOM at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> Message-ID: <002201c70e80$83658620$8a309260$@ca>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"
>
> Wolfgang,
>
> You have essentially commented on the ultimate goals for GBIF, but it's
> unclear to me how your email or text file solution using pipes helps solve
> the issue of digitizing invertebrate collections. Folks at GBIF are
> considering text file uploads among other data exchange protocols, but this
> really isn't the bottleneck. The true bottleneck is the human-power and
> associated funds to enter the data. If "bugs" came with geotagged barcodes,
> it would be much easier ;)~ To encourage data entry, I'd argue for
> value-added features to assist the data entry process & thus streamline it
> as much as possible e.g. real-time nomenclatural checks, geocoding checks,
> etc. because what comes out of GBIF is really only as good as what goes in.
> As for the choice of fields and XML schema, GBIF has a pretty elegant
> (though somewhat sluggish) system with DiGIR and other communication
> protocols...not all fields are required and you may use any database system
> you want so long it is tied to a web server that can serve PHP. Perhaps what
> they also need is better documentation about this system & step-by-step
> installable packages.
>
> David P. Shorthouse
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Department of Biological Sciences
> CW-403, Biological Sciences Centre
> University of Alberta
> Edmonton, AB   T6G 2E9
> Phone: 1-780-492-3080
> mailto:dps1 at ualberta.ca
> http://canadianarachnology.webhop.net
> http://arachnidforum.webhop.net
> ------------------------------------------------------