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Advancing BHL’s Data for a Sustainable Future: Meet Tiago, Our New Wikimedian-in-Residence

A person with short brown hair, black glasses, and a blue and white shirt smiles at the camera

Tiago Lubiana, BHL Wikimedian-in-Residence. Photo credit: Maria Eugenia Tita / Personal Archive / CC0 Dedication

We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Tiago Lubiana as the new Wikimedian-in-Residence (WiR) at the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL)! This crucial role, shaped by community-driven recommendations from the Unifying Biodiversity Knowledge to Support Life on a Sustainable Planet white paper, is aimed at advancing BHL’s goal of making biodiversity data more accessible, actionable, and impactful for a sustainable future.

Cover of white paper with image of earth from space

Dearborn, J. (2023). Unifying Biodiversity Knowledge to Support Life on a Sustainable Planet. Biodiversity Heritage Library. https://doi.org/10.21428/bcf8962c.699434fb

As BHL’s new Wikimedian-in-Residence, Tiago will expand BHL’s data presence within Wikimedia platforms, convert legacy data to structured data on Structured Data on Commons for BHL’s vast image collection, and provide training to the broader biodiversity wiki community. His expertise in open science, data modeling, and the semantic web will help connect BHL’s data to the growing biodiversity knowledge graph, fostering collaboration and ensuring our information is accessible, interoperable, and integrated into the emerging semantic web ecosystem.

BHL Flickr Image Collection

Tiago will be enhancing BHL’s Image Collection via the Structured Data on Commons Project. Photo credit: BHL / Screenshot/ CC0 Dedication

About Tiago

Tiago is a bioinformatician and independent Wikimedian based in São Paulo, Brazil, with a strong focus on open science, open knowledge, and life sciences. He holds a PhD in Bioinformatics from the University of São Paulo, where his research explored Wikidata as an open biocuration platform for disseminating knowledge about human cells. Tiago is also an active member of the International Society for Biocuration, the Wiki Movimento Brasil User Group, and has contributed significantly to various WikiProjects on Wikidata, including WikiProject COVID-19 and WikiProject Biodiversity.

A passionate advocate for biodiversity and open knowledge, Tiago is also the developer behind the inat2wiki tool, which bridges data between iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons. Outside of his work in bioinformatics and open data, Tiago’s early passion for biology was sparked by his experience attending the International Biology Olympiad in Singapore in 2012, where he won a bronze medal.

Tiago holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences (University of São Paulo, 2014–2017), a Master’s Degree in Bioinformatics (University of São Paulo, 2018–2020), and a PhD in Bioinformatics (University of São Paulo, 2020–2024). For more information, visit his website.

The BHL-Wiki Working Group: A Global Collaborative Effort

In addition to Tiago’s role, we are also excited to officially announce the BHL-Wiki Working Group newly formed in 2024, which will help guide and support BHL’s wiki initiative. The group is made up of 30 members from 20 GLAM organizations worldwide, working to strengthen the biodiversity data infrastructure through greater interoperability and accessibility in the Wikimedia ecosystem and beyond. With diverse expertise spanning biodiversity research, open data, user engagement and technology, the group is committed to integrating semantic web technologies and adhering to open data principles, including FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and CARE (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics).

Leadership of the BHL-Wiki Working Group includes:

  • Siobhan Leachman (User:Ambrosia10), BHL-Wiki Chair, a Wikimedian laureate and long-time advocate for the Biodiversity Heritage Library and Wikimedia projects.
  • Jake Orlowitz, BHL-Wiki Vice Chair, Wikiblueprint, Independent Wikimedian and Wikimedia Consultant
  • Giovanna Fontanelle, WMF Institutional Representative, Program Officer, Culture and Heritage, Wikimedia Foundation
  • JJ Dearborn, Smithsonian Institutional Representative, BHL Data Manager / Secretariat

Together, the BHL-Wiki Working Group is working towards the following key objectives:

  1. Maximizing Accessibility & Interoperability through Semantic Web Integration
    Ensuring biodiversity data is discoverable, accessible, and interoperable across global research networks by leveraging semantic web technologies and open data standards, supporting global biodiversity research and climate action.
  2. Advancing Data Modeling for Global Challenges
    Developing data models that enable better insights into climate change and biodiversity loss, while harmonizing with international initiatives to address pressing sustainability challenges.
  3. Strengthening User Engagement & Global Partnerships
    Enhancing community engagement, integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and fostering collaborations with marginalized voices to ensure BHL’s data is scientifically rich and culturally inclusive.

The working group is excited to have a new Wikimedian-in-Residence on board and see Tiago’s appointment as a critical need to push forward on the group’s collective goals. Chair of BHL-Wiki, Siobhan Leachman commented that:

“Having a Wikimedian-in-Residence at BHL is extremely important as this will help both the Wiki community to continue to actively and appropriately interweave content sourced from BHL into the Wikiverse and will also encourage and support members of the BHL community to contribute to the Wiki movement. In doing so the Wikimedian-in-Residence will be assisting BHL with its aim of helping to document and understand the world’s biodiversity.”

Presentation - What can a Wikipedian in Residence Do for You?

Presentation by Jake Orlowitz – “What can a Wikipedian in Residence Do for You?” Credit: Wikiblueprint.

If you are a BHL partner and you are interested in hosting your own Wikimedian-in-Residence, please check out the presentation from Wikiblueprint explaining the myriad benefits that hosting a Wikimedian at your home institution can bring.

Building a Global Ecosystem for Biodiversity Knowledge

The work led by the BHL-Wiki Working Group will lay the foundation for a more connected, sustainable biodiversity knowledge ecosystem. The BHL-Wiki initiative will amplify the impact of biodiversity data, support urgent climate action, and foster a more sustainable and inclusive future.

We are excited for the journey ahead and look forward to the innovations and collaborations that will emerge from this partnership!

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November 20, 2024
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JJ Dearborn joined the Biodiversity Heritage Library as Data Manager in 2022 and works to open-up BHL data to the larger biodiversity community and the world. As a longtime advocate for the free-culture movement, she has worked on open access projects for the Peabody Essex Museum, Harvard University’s Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the City of Boston, and the State of Massachusetts.