To enable all stakeholders of the south Florida community to use sound science as a basis for informed planning decisions and resolution/prevention of resource-management problems (USGS Place-Based Studies Program, "Program Priorities", 1999), efforts to synthesize, manage and disseminate high-quality scientific information about the greater Everglades ecosystem have gained increasing support and urgency. The information systems project presented here addresses the need for timely, high-quality and relevant information through the development of a biologically and geographically referenced digital library for the greater Everglades. This digital library focuses on textual and multimedia scientific information concerned with water, minerals, biota, and land in the south Florida ecosystem. The digital services of the system include tools for searching, evaluation, visualization and acquisition of needed information resources from any Internet-connected computer. In combination, the collections and services of this digital library provide a comprehensive and coherent information system that facilitates the exchange, analysis and use of high-quality information resources across the diverse agencies, disciplines, and communities concerned with Everglades research, restoration and resource management.

The "digital library" approach encompassed in this project recognizes the importance of users' needs, skills, and concerns in designing and developing a large-scale information system. Modeled on the concept of a library, the institution most experienced in putting relevant, high-quality information into the hands of users, the digital library approach enhances users' abilities to identify, find, browse, and retrieve information by combining powerful information and publishing technologies with the convenience and ease of the Internet. Through the processes of selection, classification, indexing, and archiving, the digital library developed in this project provides coherent access to, and long-term preservation of, a comprehensive knowledgebase about the south Florida ecosystem – from field studies and records of the early 20th century to the latest results reported by scientists and managers today.

The design and architecture of this digital bio-geolibrary reflects the specific needs and issues relating to Everglades research and restoration. Digital collections are primarily place-based, referencing specific locations or regions within the greater Everglades by geographic coordinates or by place name. A large part of the collections are also biotic, referencing specific plant or animal species, habitats, or the biotic and abiotic factors impacting their survival or eradication. Ensuring access to these collections based on their geographic and biotic (in addition to the more ‘traditional' attributes of topic or author) is a key design feature of digital library development in this project.

The design and architecture of the system is based on sound information standards and practices, including the application of extended Markup Language (XML) for structured text files; the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) /National Biological Information Infrastructure Content Standard for descriptive metadata; and the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) for taxonomic nomenclature. Best practices from existing digital libraries such as the Alexandria Digital Library Project at the University of Santa Barbara; the Florida State University System's Digital Library; and the Florida Data Directory's Automated Library System maintained by the Florida Geographic Board provide proven methodologies for describing content and digital objects. Adherence to standards will ensure that the digital library is extensible, enduring, secure, and interoperable with related information systems maintained by other agencies.

The digital bio/geo-library for the greater Everglades ecosystem comprises four principal elements, tiered as follows:

Repository.—The foundation of the digital library is the repository, providing storage of the digital objects and associated metadata files. Services for loading and storing files, generating derivative versions for browsing and access, and digital archiving and back-up are also provided in the Repository. Delivery of files into the Repository is designed to occur through two possible events: either by direct loading by project personnel, using secure file transfer procedures, or by disposition of digital files as a final step in an electronic publishing process. The latter process is being developed as an enhancement to agency document management and media asset systems, in cooperation with the USGS Domino Development Team.

Applications and Services.—The applications operating in the "middle tier" of the digital library system include services in support of information retrieval, including indexing of text files, parsing and indexing of metadata records; on-the-fly conversion of digital objects for on-demand Web viewing or publishing; and tools for displaying and visualizing items retrieved from the repository.

In support of effective indexing and metadata services of the digital library, two specialized tools are being developed in this project to facilitate retrieval in a biotic/place-based context. The South Florida Ecosystem Thesaurus provides a set of keywords and phrases used to describe digital items on the supply side, and to search for information resources on the user side (fig. 1).

Initial collections include materials from Florida International University, the University of Miami, the Historical Museum of South Florida, Everglades National Park, the USGS Florida Caribbean Science Center, and the USGS South Florida Place-Based Program.

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(This abstract was taken from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration (GEER) Open File Report (PDF, 8.7 MB))

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