"Museum databases in the global village"

Tuesday, 28th November 2006: 10am - 12pm
A seminar and discussion with
Aaron Steel (UC Berkeley) and N. Sivasothi (NUS)

DBS Conference Room
Blk S5, Level 3,
Department of Biological Sciences
National University of Singapore
Science Drive 4
Visitors may park at Carpark 10
Map -

About the talks:

I: "Going global: The evolution of Raffles Museum's specimen databases." (20
mins)
By N. Sivasothi,
Database Manager,
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research,
National University of Singapore.

In the 1970's, data about museum specimens was recorded on a system of
catalogue books. In 1999, databasing was initiated. Use of condemmed
computers and favouring the ubiquitous Microsoft Excel above the unsupported
proprietal MUSE software overcame the non-existent budget. A verified
database of some 19,000 specimens was eventually established for the reptile
and amphibians. After a volunteer converted the database to SQL, global
researchers were finally provided with web-access. This database is now
being georeferenced in preparation for HerpNET, a collaborative effort by
natural history museums to establish a global network, funded by the
National Science Foundation (US) and Global Biodiversity Information
Facility (GBIF).

The practical issues involved in this migration, conservation use and
security will be discussed, as well as the reasons for adopting HerpNET, and
the challenges ahead.

II: "Collaborative Databases on a Global Scale" (40 mins)
By Aaron Steele.
Programmer/Analyst
Biogeomancer, DigirMapper & Digital MVZ Projects,
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology,
University of California Berkeley, USA.

Globally distributed database networks facilitate the national and
international scientific exchange of biodiversity information. The recent
impact of aggregating and integrating these data from multiple collections
has led to a worldwide authoritative source of knowledge about the identity,
relationships, and properties of species across the globe.

In this seminar I will discuss the origins and types of collaborative
databases, explain what the DiGIR (Distributed Generic Information
Retrieval) Project has accomplished, and examine the HerpNET Project and
BioGeomancer as a case study in how collaborative database projects are
successful. We will also discuss the IT resources required to operate and
maintain these systems in perpetuity.

Aaron Steele is a Herpnet programmer in Singapore to setup the RMBR Herpnet
server, and to provide the capability for the similar collaborative
vertebrate databases, Manis and Ornis. Although he is a geek, he is used to
talking to biologists!

Links:
Herpnet - http://www.herpnet.org/
Herpnet at Raffles Museum - http://herpnet.rafflesmuseum.net/


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