Coreoidea Species File Online: Learned in Creating a Comprehensive Taxonomic Inventory

<p><strong>Presentation given at the International Heteropterists' Meeting, July 2014 - Washington D.C.</strong></p> <p><strong>Abstract:</strong> Coreoidea Species File Online (CSFO) is a comprehensive taxonomic database of the world's Coreoidea which has been available online since 2008. Prior to CSFO there was no recent catalogue for the group with the last comprehensive catalogue published in by Lethierry & Severin (1894) followed by a significant update by Bergroth (1913). As of May 2014 CSFO contains data for over 3,000 valid species with over 22,500 citations, 6,100 specimen records and 2,200 images. This data is freely available to all under a Creative Commons license and is harvested and used by major biodiversity aggregators such as Encyclopedia of Life and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. In the past year the site has had over 8,500 visits and has been used for over 890 hours (average visit 6+ minutes). We review the progress made so far, the decisions made during the project, the underlying Species File application, issues of database custodianship and sustainability, and the future role of taxonomic databases.</p

Scratchpads: Virtual Research Environments for taxonomic and biodiversity related data

<p><strong>Presentation given at the "e-Flora of South Africa to Online World Flora Workshop" as part of the biodiversity informatics software for taxonomists session. SANBI, Pretoria, 27 November 2014.</strong></p

Scratchpads: An online platform for biodiversity data

<p><strong>Presentation given at the 2015 NFBR and BES Conference: A Question of Ecology – Answers from Biological Recording</strong></p> <p>23rd April 2015, Sheffield</p

Mass digitisation at the NHM, London

<strong>Presentation given by Laurence Livermore at the Inselect and Computer Vision Workshop. 24 October 2016. </strong><b>Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm.</b

An Introduction to Scratchpads: Making your data work for you

<p>A Scratchpads presentation with slides in English.</p> <p>I gave this talk as an introduction for a workshop on monocot plants (part of the eMonocot project) at the 63º Congresso Nacional de Botânica and also as a seminar at Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.</p> <p>A link to the Portuguese version is provided.</p

Scratchpads Publication Module: A paradigm shift in publishing

<p>An introduction to the new Publication Module in Scratchpads which allows authors to assemble a formal manuscript for publication in the Pensoft's new Biodiversity Data Journal.</p> <p>Biodiversity data are structured in Scratchpads for content like taxonomic descriptions, specimen records, bibliographies and images.</p> <p>These can then be readily assembling into the format of a traditional taxonomic manuscript with minimal effort.</p> <p>Once finished the author can submit the manuscript for publication in a simple one-click process.</p

Emerging Informatics Technologies

<p><strong>Presentation given by Laurence Livermore at the Royal Entomological Society Taxonomy Special Interest Group. 3 December 2015. Natural History Museum, London.</strong></p

Small Pieces Loosely Joined: Products of the ViBRANT Virtual Research Community

<p>Virtual Biodiversity Research and Access Network for Taxonomy (ViBRANT) is a European Union funded project that supports the development of virtual research communities involved in biodiversity science.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2009, when ViBRANT was planned, the landscape of biodiversity informatics systems and software was highly fragmented. The FP7 funded ViBRANT project has played a significant role in reducing that fragmentation, by developing a robust network of compatible services that are integrated through the Scratchpad virtual research environment.</p> <p><br>Scratchpads are a tool that allow individuals or groups to self-assemble around research topics of mutual interest and share their data in a structured and reusable form. Scratchpads are the coordination point for ViBRANT, helping to bring together a diverse network of biodiversity tools and connecting them to researchers in a unified way. Through this<br>network our goal was to shed light on the long tail of dark data being generated by biodiversity scientists, and make these data accessible and reusable to all.</p> <p>Within this booklet you will find brief descriptions of the major products of the ViBRANT project and see how they are interlinked. Although the EU-funded phase of ViBRANT comes to an end in November 2013, all these products have been adopted by a host institution and have a sustainable future beyond the project. On behalf of the ViBRANT consortium, we hope that you will find something in here of direct<br>relevance to your own work.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p

Digital Collections Programme: A structured approach to mass digitisation

<p><strong>Presentation given by Laurence Livermore at the SPNHC symposium: Specimens Full Circle: Collection to Digitization to Data Use. 21 May 2015.</strong></p> <p>Abstract:</p> <p>Undertaking mass digitization within large collections institutions requires more than imaging and data basing. It often spans far wider than the physical process itself including but not limited to: agreeing and documenting standards for data and image capture; the preparation of specimens and organization of the collection; and the modification of collection management systems. Each challenge requires significant organizational and cultural change that must be addressed in a cohesive, structured way.</p> <p><br>In 2014, the Natural History Museum (NHM) London launched its Digital Collections Programme (DCP) with the aim of digitizing a quarter (20 million) of its collection within five years. The Museum holds a total of over 80 million objects varying in size, scale and discipline, so establishing a coordinated approach to its digital agenda has been paramount.</p> <p>This talk will outline how DCP has used formal project and program management methodology to both lay the foundations for mass digitization and prepare for transformation change within its people, processes and systems. We will explore the techniques used to aid project planning, track complex dependencies and prioritize collections at an institutional level. Finally we will show how a benefits-led approach to mass digitization can maximize the products of digitization by defining clear curatorial and research use-cases.</p> <p> </p

Making small data big : What can Scratchpads do for you?

<p>Eight case studies from the 550 communities using Scratchpads.</p> <p>Scratchpads is an open source and free to use platform that enables you to work in a collaborative online environment. </p> <p>With a Scratchpad you can easily create your own website to structure, manage, link and publish your biodiversity data.</p