Aquatic Commons. Content Development Group

From the Content Development Group (Joan Parker, Jan Haspeslagh, Janet Webster, Jean Collins)

Every time I start to write this – something new clicks into place for the Aquatic Commons and I never quite manage to communicate news from this Group.

Here is a brief resum̩ of some of our efforts to build the Content of AC Рto promote the use of AVANO as our harvester Рand to ask more IAMSLIC members to get involved:

Aquatic Commons brochure – available on the IAMSLIC AC page http://www.iamslic.org/index.php?section=175 All members are requested to display and/or distribute the brochure as part of the awareness raising campaign.

Building content – The CDG has started a work-in-progress spreadsheet to help us keep track of which collections or institutions or even individual series are at the planning stage or on an IAMSLIC member’s wish list for digitization and inclusion in AC. Some members are digitizing the publications of their own organization (or plan to) , others are digitizing and/or depositing for another organization. In the latter case a signed copy of an agreement with the originating institution is needed for the IAMSLIC archives. A suggested Contributor agreement is available http://www.iamslic.org/index.php?section=175

Once we have consolidated the spreadsheet i.e. tidied it up a bit, we will find somewhere it can be accessed by members.

Some of the areas we have been targetting so far include those institutions with publications up on a website but not in a Repository – obviously the priorities of the CDG may not be the same as yours. The best way to make sure we are more inclusive is by sending your wishlist to any one of the CDG. Be prepared to be asked to contact the institution/s and make them aware of AC and the advantages of getting their publications into a Repository.

Avano is doing a very nice job of harvesting our institutional repositories as well as the thematic ones. It harvests FAO metadata now – even though our Repository is not OAI-PMH compatible. The list of repositories being harvested is impressive http://www.ifremer.fr/avano/archives.htm Check that yours is included.

A lot of people are working behind the scenes to make AC a big success and of course more bodies are always needed. Have a look at the IAMSLIC AC page and see where you might contribute your skills.

Linking your library website to the Aquatic Commons http://aquacomm.fcla.edu and Avano http://www.ifremer.fr/avano/ is also a good way to publicize.

Comments, ideas, volunteers – any one of the Collection Development Group will be happy to hear from you.

Jean Collins

1 Comment

  1. iamslic Said,

    May 7, 2008 @ 10:43 pm

    Dear editor,

    Can you help?

    I am seeking online versions of FAO Reports, especially “Yearbook of Fisheries Statistics”

    Many Thanks,
    Graeme Watt, Assistant Lib. Client Services, AAD Library, Kingston, Tasmania, (e-mail graeme.watt@aad.gov.au)