In addition to those consultations for other volunteer databases one by one, we are now developing more generalized supporting systems for databasing and publicizing biological research resources. Since 1997, we have joined another project, "Fundamental research and development for databasing and networking culture collection information" (shortly "Bio-Resource project", URL; http://bio.tokyo.jst.go.jp/biores/index.htm) at JST (Japan Science and Technology Corporation).
In this project, we have developed various support systems for biologists to make databases by themselves, which are accessible through the Internet. Those systems are: 1) Optimized procedures for digitizing and assembling still images into a database; 2) Systems for making on-line movie databases, including optimization for the techniques of digitizing movies, methods for compression and decompression of the movies, and construction of the server for the movie databases, etc.; 3) A method for making WWW-browsable "digital image book" which will make easier to read rare but important books or papers.; 4) Editing manuals for the maintenance and the management of the databases, which will be published by printing and web pages (Tsukii & Kihara, 1999).
In the course of these activities, we gradually became aware of an important defect of the Internet with regard to scholarly communications, which make researchers to hesitate publicizing their own resources on the net. The defect is lack of public systems for qualifying and preserving information voluntary-delivered (or self-published) by researchers on the Internet. |