A web page for every species Tom Garnett, Biodiversity Heritage Library Program Director

Marie Studer, Education and Outreach Director

AIBS Council Meeting

May 14, 2008

Introduction to the Encyclopedia of Life

1. Overview

2. Biodiversity Heritage Library

3. Education and Outreach

Who?

Cornerstone institutions:

1. Smithsonian Institution2. Harvard University3. Biodiversity Heritage Library4. Field Museum5. Marine Biological Laboratory6. Missouri Botanical Garden7. Atlas of Living Australia

Plus thousands of other partners –

You and your organizations!

What?

What is EOL:

• On-line resource—plants, animals, micro-organisms

• Web pages for 1.8 million known species• Plus millions more yet to be described

Guiding Principles:

• Common format• Customizable by user• Freely available• Accessible from a common portal• Never completed

Introduction

• 21st century biology: From Microscope to Macroscope

• Genome, protein databases led to revolution in biology– Data freely and openly available, assimilated from many sources– New applications in education, research, commerce, medicine– Biology fast becoming an information-driven science

• Databases for organismal biology less well developed– Individual species banks exist, but all in different formats, styles

• Public shows avid interest in biological information– But hard to find, sort authoritative information in ever vaster Web

• Developing countries often lack access to literature and specimens

Enter the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)

EOL—why now?

• Technology can enable it– Linking of databases is now relatively simple– Aggregation (mashup) assembles dynamic, fast, low-cost draft pages– Wiki allows vetting and continuous improvement by experts

• “Species name” is a field common to virtually all biological databases– So it can be used to link these databases together

• Many specialized databases to work with– Catalogue of Life, FishBase, AmphibiaWeb, GBIF, Ocean Biogeographic

Information System, Barcode of Life Database

• Capable institutions interested in making it happen• Foundations willing to fund initial phase• Great community & user interest in the idea

EOL—why now?

James Dwight DanaZoophytes. Atlas, 1849

Biodiversity Heritage Library

1. American Museum of Natural History2. Field Museum of Natural History3. Natural History Museum, London4. Smithsonian Institution5. Missouri Botanical Garden6. New York Botanical Garden7. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew8. Botany Libraries, Harvard University9. Ernst Mayr Library of the Museum of

Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

10. Marine Biological Laboratory / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Where Are We Now?

– >3,000,000 pages, 10,000 volumes scanned– Enhanced taxon searching working– Taxonomic intelligence services under development– Migration to the BHL Portal to Fedora Commons

Platform in 2008.– In discussion with collaborating mass digitizing

projects in Europe, Brazil, and others.

Classes of Texts

Each class presents a unique set of issues to resolve:

– Public Domain: pre-1923– Post-1923 monographs

some with copyright renewalssome without copyright renewals

– Non-profit learned society journals with permissions– Commercial journals – Grey literature– Archival material; field and expedition notebooks

BHL Seeks Permissions from Copyright Holders

Opt in Copyright Model, BHL will:

– digitize learned society backfiles and mount them through the BHL Portal at no cost;

– provide a set of files to the publishers for reuse as they see fit;– index the articles using Taxonomic Intelligence, thereby vastly

increasing their usability.

Embedding Content in the Knowledge Ecology• Species names, taxon concepts, and the classification of living

organisms are the basis for linking multiple disciplines such asevolutionary biology, taxonomy, genomics, agriculture, conservation, etc.

• Taxonomic intelligence algorithms are being developed to mine the BHL content to link species names with other biological resources.

• Similar algorithms will be developed to mine for embedded historical distribution data embedded in the past literature and

• To mine and structure species relationships, e.g. prey/predator,host/parasite, disease organism/disease vector, embedded in the past literature.

What Does the BHL Offer to Publishers?

• Use of the articles will increase as evidenced by citation upsurge.• Long-term management of the digital assets is provided by the BHL

at no cost so it’s “SEP.”• Publishers’ content is embedded in the emerging knowledge

ecology that is sweeping biology in this century .• Structural markup of backfiles into conformance with NLM DTD

(working on it).• Permissions to digitize 49 journals or series have been negotiated.

More discussions underway.• 15 titles completed and mounted on the BHL Portal under

negotiation.• Integration with gray literature in later phases of project.

Goals:• Raise global awareness, understanding and appreciation of biodiversity• Explore and promote new and exciting uses of EOL in diverse settings• Develop EOL as a reliable, reputable resource about biodiversity• Foster new educational technologies

Global target audiences:• Educators and students in formal education settings• Educators and learners in informal education settings• Citizen scientists or amateur naturalists• Capacity building for professionals and institutions

Education and Outreach

PS I need your help!

Unprecedented global collaboration of novices and experts

– Scientific community• Assembles and authenticates scientific information

– General public• Anyone can submit photos, other information for scientists to consider• Best is brought into authenticated page

Creatively combines scientific credibility with public enthusiasm

– Share information on topics that influence our world– More than just a scientific project—a new social phenomenon

How?

Education and Outreach Year 1:

• Establish goals

• Articulate methods for involvement

• Establish communities of partners and users

• Develop metrics of success and evaluations

2008 – 2009

Goals

1. Key international audiences use and value EOL as a resource;

2. Education and Outreach portals, tools and services to engage non-scientists developed;

3. Pilot projects selected to test ideas and provide feedback for future development;

4. Outreach strategy to reach key segments of the general public and target audiences created.

Pilot Projects

Identify, implement, evaluate1. Build innovative, transferable

tools, resources and knowledge about using EOL;

2. Test the efficacy of EOL within specific target audiences;

3. A year of rapid learning and change as information is gained and new ideas presented.

Hub Coordinator:• EOL is one of 3 COPUS Boston regional hub coordinators

Toolkit for Scientists and Community Groups:• Build a toolkit for researchers to work with community groups and schools

Additional opportunities:• Support K-16 teachers incorporate science into their classrooms

Looking for additional input from AIBS members

Challenges

• Enlisting the global scientific community• Meeting the needs of a diverse user base• Managing expectations• Ensuring EOL is truly global• Creating a sustainable business model• Interoperability with other projects

Join us on this grand adventure!

www.eol.org