ORI Library submitted a session proposal
(Session ID 210) to SciDataCon (The Scientific Conference addressing the
frontiers of data in research) which has since been accepted. SciDataCon, which
is an integral part of International Data Week (IDW), that will be held on 5-9
November 2018 in Gaborone. The theme of the week-long conference is The Digital
Frontiers of Global Science.
Session topic:
Preservation of Personal Biodiversity Data Collections
Session Type:
Mixed Papers
(research, practice papers and posters)
Session
synopsis
Biodiversity
data collections become more useful when such collection is available to
support further research. The data “… remain embedded within a matrix of
situational and summative information (Karasti et al., 2002)”, where their
scientific value can be more readily evaluated, and the data better built upon
with new observations. For this reason, natural history data should be
preserved with links to descriptions of the conditions under which the data was
obtained. These descriptions are often found in records made up of
correspondences, field notebooks, reports, photographs and other grey
literature.
Materials
collected by a single scholar or natural history enthusiast – as opposed to
those captured by institutions and projects - are attractive candidates for
capture in electronic form because they promise a resource that is much more
than the sum of its parts, a resource that reflects and, to some extent,
recreates the knowledge of the collector and the context in which he or she
worked.
Personal
biodiversity collections, while common, are at high risk because they are often
created informally and stored in conditions determined by the personal
resources of the collectors. Their content can remain inaccessible to other
researchers throughout the life of the owner, especially if the owner wishes to
produce knowledge products based on the collected data, and can be lost upon
the death of the collector.
Identifying
such collections, recognizing and communicating their value, and negotiating
their on-going preservation and use, should be considered essential activities
in the role of memory institutions as data stewards.
Digitization
projects that attempt to capture this rich combination of original materials
and cultural context are resource -intensive exercises that require a high
level of focus, dedication and know- how as well a significant investment in
technology. While it is not necessarily difficult to obtain funding for this
type of project , mainly because the work can be expressed as a project with a
finite lifespan, it is a challenge to embed the work in a memory institution so
that existing staff gain capacity without crippling current operations.
Strategies to meet this challenge are needed.
This
session intends to highlight the importance of preserving local personal
collections of biodiversity data, and to discuss strategies and good practice
in making their content and context available to support on-going research.
Presenters will share experiences and case studies of rescued collections and
those that are candidates for rescue, and successes and challenges in
processing these collections.
Proposals are invited for
the submission of abstracts by the deadline of Monday 30th April
2018 at http//www.scidatacon.org/IDW2018/submit/.
Abstracts
are invited on the proposed subtopics below;
1. Rescue
of research data at risk
2. Long
term digital preservation of biodiversity collections
3. Challenges
associated with digitizing and preserving biodiversity data in developing
countries
4. Processing
biodiversity metadata for use by
researchers
5. Encouraging
entities and individuals to share their biodiversity collections
For further information on the
conference, refer to:
https://www.scidatacon.org/conference/IDW2018/call_for_papers/https://www.scidatacon.org/conference/IDW2018/call_for_papers/
For more Clarification email: bthupe@ub.ac.bw; mboiditswe@ub.ac.bw; osuwe@ub.ac.bw
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