Channelling Data through the National
Biodiversity Network Gateway
Richard Ostler
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
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How data flows through the NBN Gateway
Who provides the data
Where the data goes
What are the issues?
What are the challenges?
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
Quick Intro to the NBN Gateway
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www.searchnbn.net
Online species and site mapping and reporting
Species data downloads
Dataset discovery metadata
Controlled access to data
High demand (>120,000 visits/month and increasing)
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
Flows of Data
XML/SOAP
NBN-SXF
NBN
Database
<NBN>
<WebService>
….
</NBN>
DiGIR
Data Providers
HTML/HTTP
www.searchnbn.net
METADATA
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
Providers
Good
Metadata Quality
Local Record Centres
National Recording Schemes
and Societies
Conservation Organisations
Countryside Agencies
Local Wildlife Groups
Research Centres
Private Sector
Poor
Low
Technical expertise
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
High
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
Issues for data providers
 We want their data
• We’re vulnerable to their whims
 Getting their metadata is hard
• Getting an ontology…..
 Providers do not like their dataset being integrated with
other datasets
 Providers disagree on taxonomy
 Internal politics between recorders
• Some recorders distrust others data.
• We have no means to assess recorder reputations.
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
Getting the data out there
 Who is our audience?
• Originally intended to be Conservation Agencies –
policy makers
 But… data is on the web
• Conservationists
• Developers, planners, consultants
• Natural historians
• Universities, research institutes
• Joe public
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
Disseminating the data
 Over the web: www.searchnbn.net
• Controlled dataset access
• Dataset management tools
 Web Services
• Customised web reporting
• Integrate with desktop GIS
• Controlled dataset access
 GBIF, OBIS
• limited set of public data exposed using DiGIR
provider.
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
But we have no Ontologies
 Is it possible?
• Consider problems getting metadata
 Is it desirable?
• Through our own applications - probably not
• Through other routes – probably yes
 Different ‘language’ for different audiences.
• Public may not understand scientific terms
• Scientists may not understand recorder terms
• Duty to make data accessible.
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006
Summary
 Diplomacy and understanding the social issues are vital
to making data available
 There is a need to make data understandable to a broad
user base
Richard Ostler, Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Edinburgh, June 9th 2006