Main

DS&T 11

Title

Updating the literature database for the Southern African arid zone

Project leader(s)

Prof. M. Timm Hoffman
Director: Leslie Hill Institute for Plant Conservation, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

Project description

It is envisaged that a person with background and training in information science will be employed for a period of four months in order that the bibliography be brought up to date. This will entail correspondence with government departments, academic institutions and individual researchers in an attempt to secure the reference details of all literature published and unpublished since 2001. In addition, the person responsible will search a controlled list of journals both through standard literature search engines as well as hard copy journal entries. Searches on the Internet will also be used to locate articles of relevance to southern Africa’s arid zone. The computer software programme Endnote already contains over 10 000 arid zone references for southern Africa and the new information will be entered into this database. Keywords will be inserted for each reference and if available, abstracts will accompany the entry. Finally the updated bibliography will be announced and made available to interested parties via an appropriate Internet site. It is currently housed on the NRF arid zone ecology forum site but this may be linked, for example, to the BIOTA website address.

SADC and International Links

SADC linkages: Since the arid zone of southern Africa incorporates several neighbouring countries (e.g. South Africa, Namibia, Botswana) this information will strengthen linkages within the region, particular since the database will be available via the Internet to all interested parties.

Links to BIOTA: Foreign students are generally unfamiliar with southern Africa’s arid zone literature and the researchers within BIOTA already make use of the current Karoo bibliography. This updated version will serve as a useful tool for German researches and particular students who are completing their diplomas in the region.

International links: The maintenance and archival treatment of information is one of the key pillars of SAEON strategy. The database will also serve members of the ELTOSA and ILTER network.

Partnerships: The nature of the database means that partnerships between active scientists and their host institutions will be developed. Since the database is hosted by the Arid Zone Ecology Forum website, partnerships with the NRF will also be strengthened