uBio - purpose

[David Remsen]

I am posting this for Cathy Norton, director of our library and of uBio.

All:

The uBio project is based at the MBL/WHOI library and has  been
supported by the Mellon Foundation to develop a  network service
designed to act as an indexing system for  biology able to  work
through the internet.  uBio will  make available its compilation of
names and software for  contributors to manage and edit as well as to
researchers,  educators and libraries for use in information retrieval.

uBio is not a commercial operation.  It is an academic  research and
development exercise and as such adopts the  norms of the academic
world in seeking co-operation and a  two way flow of information and
insights.

uBio is rooted in the new digital library initiatives and  its main
goal is to provide a contemporary context to data  resources and make
them readily accessible. uBio does not  have a taxonomic opinion but
rather needs to identify  published sources that already exist. uBio
recognizes its  dependence on the taxonomic community and is working
with  taxonomists and other initiatives such as GBIF,  Species2000, and
ITIS.

As a library initiative the questions of intellectual  property and
copyright are always uppermost in our  treatment of sources. We are
working with both computer  scientists and copyright experts to make
sure contributors  are protected and credited. Some of the members of
the  advisory committee
(http://www.ubio.org/people/advisory_board.html) have worked on the
Unified Medical Language System (UMLS)  at the National Library of
Medicine that has similar  constructs with more than 90 medical
terminologies that  have ownership rights and offers a model that makes
  information available while protecting the rights of the  contributors.

By embedding the power of taxonomy into network services  that benefit
the user community it can provide taxonomists  with  a strong argument
as to the value of their  discipline and the ongoing need to support
taxonomists.  This will also enable the library community to provide
their vast resources within a biological context.

uBio services will be available for review January 2004  and progress
can be viewed at http://www.ubio.org

We would be pleased to receive enquiries from individuals  who wish to
know more about the project.

C. Norton (uBio Director) cnorton at mbl.edu.
  D. Remsen (uBio Software and Services) dremsen at mbl.edu.
D. J. Patterson (uBio Names) paddy at mail.usyd.edu.au

Cathy Norton MBL/WHOI Library Director
MBL Information Technology Director