Opening Remarks

Executive Summary<Collections Analysis > Functional Req. > Functional Req. 2 > Putting it together > Future Needs > Final Thoughts

Tom Garnett, SIL -- Welcome, introduction, and thanks

His agenda was to update us on the status of BHL -
Including membership, funding, short term goals, long term goals, the later being strategically worked out by library directors at the next meeting.


He thanked Suzanne Pilsk and Martin Kalfatovic, then Keri Thompson, Ninette Dean, and Marcia Adams for all their ways of helping to organize the meeting.

Then he gave a brief summary of where we are:

There was a BHL meeting last May, but it really all began at a prior meeting at Telluride, Colorado, where the Encyclopedia of Life, Brewster K’s Internet Archive, and scanning and digitizing on the web were discussed. They decided to “Do It All”!

In 2005 they again met at the Natural History Museum in London, with the National Museum with American Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Institution participating. Tom G. realized that there is a digital divide among Conservators, those working in biodiversity, and managers who can somehow get to web access whether it is by going to field stations, waiting, or subscriptions and the rest of the developing world, where old, literature is not available. Quoting Terry Irwin of the SI only 5-10% of species have an enormous amount of published literature, with genetics being well studied, another 10% have some literature written, rest…have little. We also don’t know what we know! At the above meeting the group signed off on a document of cooperation.

In early 2006 BHL got a Lounsberry grant for a Metadata Data Repository (for actual database design). To enact it, problems need to be solved. For instance, Keys and bibliographic information vary. For example, MoBot has all items barcoded vs SIL with its item level records, especially for serials, which are MARC based.

OCLC consolidated data of the above three libraries. The rest of the libraries need to send their data as efficiently as possible to them.

In terms of subject content, no one library has the entire corpus. The taxonomic literature is not widely duplicated among libraries as a whole, but heavily duplicated within these libraries. Empirical data is needed to sort it all out.

1, Also we need to determine master scanning. What gets done and where. OCLC has its own ideas. There are issues of migration to the Repository.

Other developments:
Large proposal has been given to the McArthur Foundation for BHL, including scanning. We will know if we received it later this summer. They want to do this with the Encyclopedia of Life, which includes species pages, written by biologists for a total biota inventory. We would provide the literature side. We need to look at other funding possibilities.

Tom then gave an outline of the rest of the day. For a clear vision, he wants to establish how it all fits together to create a seamless web. He wants to give assignments. BHL very soon needs a document including immediate functional requirements for work on database, with names. To get the level of detail needed he wants to establish taskforces of 2-3 volunteers, who bring back the information to the listserv.

Next, libraries directors will be meeting for a less technical, more strategic meeting dealing with membership, governance, funding, long term goals, He will have possible dates by September.

By October the grant will be coming in.

He then asked for questions and comments