Project Summary Sheet

Project: Development of a Digital Library for the South Florida Ecosystem

Web Sites: http://sofia.usgs.gov, http://everglades.fiu.edu/eol/

Location (Subregions & Counties): Total System; Broward, Charlotte ,Collier ,Miami-Dade, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, and St. Lucie Counties

Funding (Source): USGS Place-Based Studies, Critical Ecosystem Studies Initiative (CESI)

Principal Investigator(s):Roy Sonenshein, sunshine@usgs.gov, 305.717.5824

Project Personnel: Gail Clement, gail_clement, 703.812.4824, Laurence Hammond (contract), lhammond@usgs.gov, 305-717-5873; Tarla Toomer, ttoomer@usgs.gov, 305-717-5800; Trudy Morris, mmori4875@bellsouth.net

Supporting Organizations: None

Associated / Linked Projects: SOFIA Website (Heather Henkel, hhenkel@usgs.gov, 727.803.8747x3028), SOFIA Metadata (Jo Anne Stapleton, jastapleton@usgs.gov, 703.648.4592), SOFIA Database (Roy Sonenshein, sunshine@usgs.gov, 305.717.5824), SOFIA Geospatial Interface (Roy Sonenshein, sunshine@usgs.gov, 305.717.5824)

Overview & Status: 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, 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 addresses the need for timely, high-quality and relevant information through the development of a digital library for the South Florida ecosystem. The digital library and related services will 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. Project design combines advanced information management technologies, national/international standards and best practices, and the information technology expertise of the USGS. The resulting digital library will provide a coherent, widely available, and enduring online repository that documents the scientific knowledge and tools created through USGS-related studies in south Florida. It will also complement and interoperate with other federal agency information systems such as the South Florida Information Access (SOFIA) (http://sofia.usgs.gov/), developed and sponsored by the USGS South Florida Ecosystem Program; the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Clearinghouse (http://www.nbii.gov/index.html) maintained by the USGS Biological Resources Division; and the National Digital Library (http://memory.loc.gov) maintained by the Library of Congress. The digital library is also designed to work together with leading state-sponsored initiatives such as "Everglades Online" (http://everglades.fiu.edu/eol/), "Linking Florida's Natural Heritage" (http://susdl.fcla.edu/lfnh/), and the Florida Data Directory (http://als.dms.state.fl.us/~fdd/).

During FY02, an effort was started to digitize historical USGS documents and prepare them for online dissemination through the SOFIA web site. All online documents will be indexed on the Everglades online web site. A preliminary draft of a South Florida Ecosystem Thesaurus has been compiled using a two—part process: merging existing vocabularies and indexing a sample of highly relevant documents. The thesaurus is being prepared as both a USGS report and as an alphabetically arranged web-based document. Preliminary work has started on the development of a gazetteer of place names for South Florida. The gazetteer will update the current USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) that is currently available at http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/gnis/. The work is being done in collaboration with personnel from the USGS-GNIS office, the US Army Corps of Engineers in Jacksonville, the state of Florida Technology Office, and the University of Florida.

Needs & Products: The information systems project addresses the need for timely, high-quality and relevant information through the development of a geographically referenced digital library for the South Florida ecosystem. This digital library focuses on textual and multimedia scientific information concerned with the resources of the south Florida ecosystem. Among the products being developed are online versions of historical USGS documents, a thesaurus, and a gazetteer.

Application to Everglades Restoration: 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, efforts to synthesize, manage and disseminate high-quality scientific information about the greater Everglades ecosystem have gained increasing support and urgency. The availability of historical and current documents will provide stakeholders with the tools needed to make informed planning decisions of resource-management problems.