Unlocking Index Animalium: From paper slips to bytes and bits

Area of Science:

• Library Science
• Biodiversity Informatics
• Taxonomy

Background:

• Smithsonian Libraries (SIL) began digitizing collections in 1996, focusing on rare natural history volumes.
• Initial digitization efforts centered on page imaging, revealing limitations in accessing granular data within texts.
• Traditional library metadata proved insufficient for researchers seeking detailed information within taxonomic literature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To convert Charles Davies Sherborn's Index Animalium from a print index to a digital database and dataset.
• To enhance researchers' ability to connect with and retrieve granular data from taxonomic literature.
• To integrate the Index Animalium database with the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and taxonomic intelligence tools.

Main Methods:

• Digitization of page images and re-keying of data from Index Animalium.
• Development of a complex database for quality field searching of species names and bibliographies.
• Integration with the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) and exploration of Linked Open Data standards (RDF markup).

Main Results:

• Successful conversion of Index Animalium into a searchable database, overcoming challenges with inconsistent data.
• Establishment of a collaborative project involving partnerships with Thomson Reuters and the Global Names Initiative.
• Development of pathways for seamless researcher access from species names to original digitized descriptions in BHL.

Conclusions:

• Digitizing and restructuring legacy print resources like Index Animalium is crucial for modern biodiversity research.
• Integration of diverse data sources and the adoption of Linked Open Data principles are key to advancing taxonomic informatics.
• Collaborative efforts are essential for creating robust, interconnected resources that facilitate discovery and access to scientific literature.