BioSharing: curated and crowd-sourced metadata standards, databases and data policies in the life sciences

Area of Science:

• Life Sciences
• Biological Sciences
• Environmental Sciences
• Biomedical Sciences

Background:

• BioSharing is a manually curated, searchable portal launched in 2011.
• It comprises three linked registries: standards, databases, and data policies.
• It is built by the same team behind the MIBBI portal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe BioSharing, a portal for life science resources.
• To highlight the role of community curation in its development.
• To showcase its benefits for various stakeholders in the life sciences.

Main Methods:

• Community curation to collate and cross-reference resources.
• Interlinking records to show relationships between different life science infrastructures.
• Collaboration with journals, registries, and organizations like RDA/Force11 and the International Society for Biocuration.

Main Results:

• BioSharing enhances the findability and accessibility of life science resources, aligning with FAIR principles.
• It serves diverse stakeholders including funding bodies, publishers, librarians, and researchers.
• The user base has grown by over 40% in the last year.

Conclusions:

• BioSharing is a valuable, community-driven resource for navigating the life sciences metadata landscape.
• Its interlinked registries and collaborative approach facilitate research and data management.
• Continued community engagement is driving its growth and utility.