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The Marine Realms Information Bank: A Coastal and Marine Digital Library at USGS

by Fausto Marincioni, Frances L. Lightsom, Rebecca L. Riall, Guthrie A. Linck, Thomas C. Aldrich

U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543

http://mrib.usgs.gov

USGS OPEN-FILE REPORT 03-213, POSTER

Abstract

The Marine Realms Information Bank (MRIB) is a distributed geolibrary of the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program that:

1. links information existing in distributed and independent sources,

2. prioritizes search and display of information by place (location on the Earth's surface).

The MRIB aims to provide easy access to knowledge pertaining to the ocean and the associated atmospheric and terrestrial environments to scientists, decision-makers, and the interested members of the public.

1) Collection

The collection of online documents accessible through the MRIB includes text, pictures, charts, maps and data files relevant to coastal and marine science.

2) Concept

The MRIB is modeled after the operations of a traditional library and is executed through computer network technology. This system builds a central index of metadata about documents that exists in remote and independent sources, and uses a multifaceted catalog with map-based geographic search capabilities.

3) Software Architecture

The MRIB software architecture is divided in three independent components:

EIC Database: A metadata profile, called an Electronic Index Card (EIC), is created for each idocument indexed in the MRIB. The collection of all the cards creates the EIC Database;

Search Engine: A customized database management system that sorts the EICs according to the MRIB classification scheme and the users' needs;

Web Interface: The user interface is designed to encourage browsing as well as searching, so as to preserve the strengths of a traditional library catalog while taking advantage of the flexibility of digital technology.

4) Electronic Index Cards

EICs contain metadata fields describing space, time and other classifying attributes of a document:

Essential Attributes: Authors, Curators, URL, Title, Last Modified Date, Participating Agencies, Content Type, File Type, Abstract, Geologic Time;

Procedural Attributes: Project Title, Location of Study Areas, Research Methods, Research Start and End Time;

Conceptual Attributes: Academic Disciplines, Physiographic Features, Biota, Hot Topics;

EIC Information: Indexers, Indexers Comments, Date of EIC Creation, Date of EIC Last Modification.

5) Classification Scheme

The classification scheme of the MRIB catalogues documents using 13 categories:

Location: Place of interest
Geologic Time: Era or period
Biota: Biological organism
Physiographic Feature: Dominant attribute
Discipline: Scientific field of investigation
Research Method: Scientific technique
Hot Topics: Contemporary matters of concern
Project Title
Agency: Participating organization
Author: Principal investigator
Audience: Project purpose
Class: Level of data interpretation
Format: Appearance of information

6) Search and Retrieval

The MRIB provides users with three search strategies to locate documents:

1. Select categories,

2. Browse maps,

3. Search keywords.

These seach strategies can be used separately or combined. The MRIB query process begins with the user issuing a search request on the Web browser. The Common Gateway Interface module parses this request and passes it on to the search module. The search module queries the EIC database for matching records. For geographical searches the map interface module is also invoked to handle latitude and longitude parameters. Once the matching records are retrieved, the search module calls upon one of several HTML templates chosen by the user (table, map or category view). Finally, the web page of results is sent back to the user.

7) Web Interface

The MRIB Web interface comprises three sections:

Search History Menu: enables users to see the already selected search criteria, and if needed, change them;

Selection Menu: enables users to select one or a combination of categories. Selections can also be made by panning or zooming maps of the areas of study;

Content Cell: shows the search results, display options, and navigation tools.

8) Outputs

The MRIB search results are displayed in two basic formats:

Table containing hyperlinks and brief descriptions of the documents that met the selected search criteria;

Map containing symbols marking the geographical locations discussed in the documents that met the selected search criteria. The symbols are hyperlinked to the remote documents.

This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards or with the North American Stratigraphic code. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although all data and software released with this open file have been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and related materials and (or) the functioning of the software.

Scientific contact: Fausto Marincioni