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TDWG 2017 Annual Conference: Data Integration in a Big Data Universe: Associating Occurrences with Genes, Phenotypes, and Environments

The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an institutional member of TDWG. TDWG was formed to:

establish international collaboration among biological database projects. TDWG promoted the wider and more effective dissemination of information about the World’s heritage of biological organisms for the benefit of the world at large. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) now focuses on the development of standards for the exchange of biological/biodiversity data.

The TDWG 2017 Annual Conference, the theme of which was “Data Integration in a Big Data Universe: Associating Occurrences with Genes, Phenotypes, and Environments” (see the full program here),  provides the opportunity for bioinformatics professionals to meet and exchange a wide variety of ideas. Held in Ottawa, Ontario, the conference was hosted by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Museum of Nature (a BHL Affiliate).

This year, The Biodiversity Heritage Library organized a symposium, “500 Years of Big Data from the Biodiversity Heritage Library”, organized by BHL Program Director Martin R. Kalfatovic and BHL Program Manager Carolyn A. Sheffield. In addition to the BHL symposium, BHL web developer Mike Lichtenberg participated in the symposium “Using Big Data Techniques to Cross Dataset Boundaries – Integration and Analysis of Multiple Datasets”, organized by Kalfatovic, Matthew Collins, and Robert Guralnick.

See details about the symposiums below:

BHL Symposium (abstracts found in the links below)

Symposium: Using Big Data Techniques to Cross Dataset Boundaries – Integration and Analysis of Multiple Datasets

Excursion

TDWG also offered the opportunity for excursions. The Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN) provided an amazing tour of their collections facilities located just outside the city. The CMN library is also located at this facility and it was great to meet with the library staff and see their collections.
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November 17, 2017
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Martin R. Kalfatovic is BHL Program Director and Associate Director, Digital Programs and Initiatives Division, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. As the BHL Program Director, Mr. Kalfatovic functions as the executive director and manager of the international consortium of over 80 natural history, botanical garden, government, and university libraries engaged in the mass digitization of taxonomic literature. The position also serves as a key contact for government, NGO, and academic leaders at both the national and international level. Within his role at Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, Mr. Kalfatovic is responsible for the Libraries’ active Digital Library program. This program includes the creation of digital editions of library materials, online exhibitions, and new digital publications.