Training Program for Biological Information Specialists (BIS)‏ Specifically, the program provides applied skills in building and evaluating systems that mediate effectively between users and collections, and emphasizes the range of library and information science including: collection development, classification schemes, information retrieval, knowledge representation, user evaluation, data curation, and policy standards. Our students are taught to develop information management systems in biological applications, with opportunities to consider a broad spectrum of domains including molecular biology, environmental ecology, and biomedicine. The degree requires a total of 36 hours of coursework. Students will arrange custom programs of study, suitable for the information management of their particular bioinformatics application. For more information on the MS Program, including course requirements and electives, please see: bioinformatics.html The program provides students with access to international experts from across the University who specialize in many areas of biology and information management including information science, bioinformatics, biology, chemistry, statistics, and computer science. Biological Information Specialist’s Training P. Bryan Heidorn, Carole L. Palmer, Melissa H. Cragin, Dan Wright, Jennifer Hill Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 501 E. Daniel St., Champaign, IL INTRODUCTION Biology across the scales from molecule to ecosystem has become extremely data- intensive. Numerous challenges are associated with the rate and complexity of data being generated as well as the complexity of the underlying biology; both have consummate consequences for scientific discovery. Unfortunately, few scientists are trained in scientific information management. Worse, the data and information challenges can consume a large share of time from practicing scientists, interfering with the conduct of science. Increasingly, new discoveries in the biological sciences will depend on the integration of data across multiple scales – of size, time, and orders of complexity. Researchers will need to draw on data from other disciplines to gain new insights into their own research questions. This situation calls for a new breed of information professional who is trained in best practices of biological information collection and management, and is knowledgeable about the differences and commonalities of these practices across domains and can promote interoperability and sharing. To build this kind of professional capacity, we have developed two complementary educational programs at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: a Biological Information Specialist (BIS) master’s degree, and a concentration in Data Curation (DC) within the existing Master of Library Science degree program. Our approach to BIS and DC education is grounded in the recognition that while the volume of information is escalating in the digital environment, the character of information and research is also changing. We are currently conducting a needs assessment and best practices research to draw on the expertise of practicing data scientists to ensure that the curriculum will meet the data-driven needs for the changing character of biological science. Here we report on preliminary results from that research and their implications for educating information professionals in the biological sciences. Examples of Biological Information Problems addressed in our Research Biological Information Expertise Areas of information support that have emerged as priorities to complement the expertise of biological and computer scientists include digital library and repository development, data curation and preservation, ontology and standards development for interoperable systems, and literature-based discovery. To respond to the qualitative changes in biological research and the specific workforce gaps identified in our research, we are developing a comprehensive master’s level training program in scientific communication, as part of a campus-wide bioinformatics initiative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The program will train a new generation of Library and Information Science professionals to serve in scientific research environments. Cooperating Institutions Many scientists and other professionals have already developed many of the skills that we need to teach to the students in our masters programs, and they work in some of the nation’s leading biological research institutions. These same institutions run large scale biological informatics programs that will serve as ideal areas of study and examples of best practices for our students. We are partnering with those listed below, as well as other institutions. The operations of a our primary collaborative sites are outlined below. The Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) is one of the world's top botanical research and conservation institutions. MBG is a leader in information technology with many cutting edge projects including for example, TROPICOS, the world's largest database of plant information, contains fully web-searchable records for over 900,000 plant names and nearly 2 million specimens. ( The Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) consortium currently involves 26 research sites from 19 universities and hospitals that participate in one or more of three test bed projects: Morphometry BIRN, Function BIRN, and Mouse BIRN. These projects are centered on structural and/or functional brain imaging of human neurological disorders and associated animal models of disorders including Alzheimer's disease, depression, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit disorder, brain cancer, and Parkinson's disease. ( The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., annually hosts 5.4 million visitors and over 11 million visitors to the National Museum of Natural History website. The year 2005 saw the publication of over 500 research articles, including 19 in high impact journals, such as Science and Nature. Their Collections and Research Information Systems (CRIS) is a distributed, multimedia system supporting the documentation, management, analysis, and delivery of collections, educational, and research resources held and produced by the Museum. ( Data Curation Education Program Summary The Data Curation Education Program (DCEP) is designed as a concentration within the ALA-accredited Master of Science (M.S.) degree at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The M.S. requires a total of 40 credit hours of course work that includes required core courses. In addition to the courses required for all master’s students, those in the data curation concentration have two additional required core courses: Foundations of Data Curation and Digital Preservation. Courses recommended as electives include: Biodiversity and Ecoinformatics; Metadata in Theory and Practice; Museum Informatics; Ontologies (Humanities or Natural Sciences); Design of Digitally Mediated Information Services. A major component of the DCEP will be participation in a practicum or internship related to the management, maintenance and preservation of data. We are developing a range of field experience sites in information-oriented institutions, including museums, data centers, libraries and institutional repositories, archives, and private industry. The ECHO DEPository is a 3- year digital preservation research and development project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in partnership with OCLC and funded by the Library of Congress under their National Digital Information Infrastructure Preservation Program (NDIIPP). EchoDep (NDIPP) Unsworth, Sandore, Library of Congress Preservation BioDiversity Survey Collaboration and Verification Heidorn and Palmer, NSF BDI Investigating Data Curation Profiles across Research Domains IMLS grant collaboration with Purdue Digital Collections and Content, Cole, IMLS National Leadership Grant LG Next Generation Digital Federations, Palmer, IMLS Grant LG Automatic Museum Label Metadata Extraction Heidorn, NSF DBI , NSF DBI ; Georeferencing Museum Specimen Sources Heidorn, Moore Foundation ; Plant Description Standards Heidorn, IMLS NR TeleNature is a project designed to bring together scientists and citizen scientists for research and information sharing. The project is built upon wireless technology and individual enthusiasm for natural areas. IMLS Digital Collections and Content (DCC) is building an infrastructure for adaptable, interoperable, and sustainable digital collections. After 5 years of development, as new phase of research is now underway to develop strategies for scaling and adding value and to enhance federated collections through metadata relations. HERBIS automates herbarium specimen label imaging and data capture using OCR and machine learning. The process populates label data and a specimen images into a structured collection database. The BioGeomancer Project is a worldwide collaboration of natural history and geospatial data experts developing automation to assist in georeferencing. Georeferencing is the process of converting text descriptions of locations to computer-readable geographic locations. Collaborative data collection Metadata and collections Automated metadata extraction and inference and Terminology, schema, and ontology development Advisory Committee Contributions: Identify information problems and collect best practices from our partners to provide a broad understanding of information and data techniques, issues, and needs Facilitate field placement opportunities Develop case studies for use across the curriculum Cultivate new partners and new collaborative research Acknowledgments NSF IIS Award # IMLS Award RE