29 International Information Systems: Services and Products: AGRIS
Shalini Lihitkar Waghmare
I. Objectives
In this unit, we will learn about International System for Agricultural Science and Technology (AGRIS), its history, Products and services, new vision AGROVOC, OpenAGRIS, AgriMetaMaker. After reading this module you will be able to know the importance of AGRIS and its services in Agricultural Science and Technology.
II. Learning Outcome
After studying this module, you will learn that the AGRIS, created by the FAO of the United Nations, provides worldwide bibliographic coverage of agricultural science and technology literature. You will also learn that AGRIS offers an international perspective on crucial agricultural research and covers various aspects of agriculture, including forestry; animal husbandry, aquatic sciences and fisheries, and human nutrition from over 135 participating countries are covered. The agricultural literature includes unique material such as unpublished scientific and technical reports, theses, conference papers, government publications, and more. You will also know about its history, products and services, new vision AGROVOC, OpenAGRIS and AgriMetaMaker.
III. Module Structure
1. Introduction
2. History
3. Products and Services
3.1 AGRIS CD-ROMs
3.2 AGRIS Database On-line
3.3 Information Services on Request
3.4 Other Services
4. AGRIS Repository
5. AGROVOC
6. Limitations in AGRIS
7. The New Vision
8. Accessibility of the New AGRIS
8.1 OpenAGRIS: the New AGRIS Linked Open Data Model
8.2 OpenAGRIS
8.3 AgriMetaMaker
9. Summary
10. References
1. Introduction
AGRIS became operational in 1975. It is sponsored by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FA). The AGRIS is designed to carry out the collection, storage and retrieval of information related to currently produce agricultural documents. AGRIS is a decentralized system of national and regional input centres throughout the world that provide bibliographic data to the AGRIS coordinating centre in Rome for integrating and computer processing. The subject areas of the AGRIS include agriculture, food, environment, animal science, fisheries, forestry and all other aspects related to agricultural sciences.
2. History
The AGRIS initiative was set up by the FAO in the 1970s and created a worldwide cooperation for sharing access to agricultural science and technology information. Based on available technologies, AGRIS was initially collecting bibliographic references for a central database. However, since the advent of the Internet in the late 90s AGRIS has become the brand name for a network of centres, which are promoting the exchange of agricultural science and technology information through the use of common standards and methodologies. As information management flourished in the 1970s, the AGRIS metadata corpus was developed to allow its users to have free access to knowledge available in agricultural science and technology. AGRIS was developed to be an international cooperative system to serve both developed and developing countries. With the advent of the Internet, along with the promises offered by open access publishing, there was growing awareness that the management of agricultural science and technology information would have various facets: standards and methodologies for interoperability and facilitation of knowledge exchange; tools to enable information management specialists to process data; information and knowledge exchange across countries. Common interoperability criteria were thus adopted in its implementation, and the AGRIS AP metadata was accordingly created in order to allow exchange and retrieval of Agricultural information Resources.
3. Products and Services
The AGRIS database, covering international agricultural literature is available online through ESA/IRS, DIMDI, DIALOG Information Services, Inc and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Keywords are searchable in English, French, and Spanish. Online access and SDI Services are also available through the coordinating centre and some national and regional AGRIS centres. The coordinating centre in Rome offers the AGRIS output tape to participating centres on a monthly basis.
The centre provides different services as discussed below:
3.1 AGRIS CD-ROMs
A CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read-Only-Memory) uses an electro-optical technology for storing and retrieving large amounts of data. The whole collected AGRIS information is distributed using a series of CD-ROMs:
a. AGRIS CD-ROMs: all collected information, stored on archival CD-ROMs and one current CD-ROM, which contains the last collected information (quarterly updated)
b. AGRIS FHN CD-ROM: contains information in the domains of Food and Human Nutrition extracted from all AGRIS CD-ROMs (semi-annually updated)
c. AGRIS FORESTRY CD-ROM: contains information in the domains of forestry and primary forest products extracted from all AGRIS CD-ROMs.
d. AGRIS and AGRIS FHN CD-ROMs are produced by SilverPlatter Information Ltd., using data prepared by AGRIS Processing Unit Vienna; the SilverPlatter’s software WinSPIRS is used for retrieving the information.
e. AGRIS FORESTRY CD-ROMs are produced by WAICENT/FAOINFO of the Library and Documentation Systems Division (GIL) of FAO; The retrieving software, HEURISKO (CDS/ISIS based), is included.
f. For information retrieval from AGRIS CD-ROMs, the existing software (WinSPIRS, HEURISKO) permits different searching operations to accommodate different searching needs of users:
• Searching by descriptors defined in the AGROVOC Thesaurus
• Searching by subject category codes, authors, publication year, publication language, etc.
• Searching free text in different description fields
• Logical search operators (OR, AND, NOT, WITH, NEAR)
• Limiting search operators (less than, greater then, range, etc.)
• Truncation of words (to retrieve all variants)
• Lateral searching (forward/backward)
3.2 AGRIS Database On-line
On-line access to the global AGRIS database is provided by:
a. AGRIS DATABASE ON-LINE (FAO/WAICENT, FAO Web Server)
b. DIALOG (Palo Alto, USA): non-USA portion only
c. DIMDI (Cologne, Germany)
d. AGROVOC Thesaurus (FAO/WAICENT, FAO Web Server)
3.3 Information Services on Request
APU Vienna provides, if requested, in printed form or on magnetic media the following:
a. Retrospective searches through the entire data base;
b. Selective dissemination of information (SDI) service, by which users can request the AGRIS Processing Unit, to keep them informed of any new AGRIS entries on specific subjects of concern to them.
c. National bibliographies, containing all entries generated in a country and those concerning this country and published outside. Master copies can be prepared on a high resolution laser printer in Agrindex format, ready for reproduction by offset or photocopy.
d. Subject bibliographies, can also be prepared upon request from specialised cooperating centres such as the CGIAR IARC’s, or FAO divisions.
3.4 Other Services
a. Developing and distribution of AGRIS working methodologies
b. Developing and distribution of the AGROVOC Thesaurus
c. Distribution of the UNESCOs CDS/ISIS database software for PCs
d. Developing and distribution of software for AGRIS input data preparation (AGRIN/AGCHK)
e. Training material and courses
f. Other products on Web Server (APU Vienna):AGRIS Reference Series
g. Products available on FTP Server (APU Vienna):
h. Current monthly AGRIS output file
i. AGROVOC Thesaurus
j. Agrindex (AGRIS monthly bibliography in English, French and Spanish; only up to December 1995)
k. Training materials (AGRIS Reference Series).
4. AGRIS Repository
Its content includes unique grey literature such as unpublished scientific and technical reports, theses, conference papers, government publications, and more. A growing number (around 20%) of bibliographical records have a corresponding full text document on the web which can easily be retrieved by Google.
Access to the AGRIS Repository is provided through the AGRIS Search Engine. As such, it:
• enables retrieval of bibliographic records contained in the AGRIS Repository,
• allows users to perform either full-text or fielded, parametric and assisted queries.
The AGRIS repository exploits the advantages of both open source search platform (Solr), and structured XML. It facilitates the exchange of information among developing countries and between developing and developed countries. Furthermore, it contains records from national journals – especially from developing countries that are not always represented in commercial indexing services.
The AGRIS partners contributing to the AGRIS Database use several formats for exchanging data, including simple DC, from OAI-PMH systems.
5. AGROVOC
In traditional libraries, finding works of interest is directly related to how well they are catalogued. However, complex and born-digital works require substantially more effort. AGROVOC is a comprehensive multilingual agriculture thesaurus that was developed with the cooperation of FAO member countries. It is used for indexing data in agricultural information systems and it strives for continuous improvement and updating. The first version of AGROVOC was produced in 1982 and distributed to all AGRIS centres. Vocabulary updating is done by FAO in collaboration with national AGRIS centres. Staff at the centres proposes new terms for the database to FAO subject specialists for consideration. The terms selected by the experts are added into AGROVOC. In the past, an AGROVOC supplement was then published and provided to the centres. Now the updated AGROVOC is available online. The proposing of new terms and corrections also can be done through the FAO/AGROVOC web site.
6. Limitations in AGRIS
An assessment of AGRIS was conducted in 2000. It was noted that the network had only been partially successful in achieving its goals. Limitations in AGRIS were identified in four areas: i) difficult access to the original documents, ii) incomplete coverage, iii) independent systems. and iv) structural and institutional constraints. As the AGRIS system aims to decentralise data processing and to prioritise national capacity building, enhancing autonomous management of national agricultural information; a new strategic vision has been developed.
7. The New Vision
In order to address those limitations, a “new vision for AGRIS” has been under work since 2000. In 2009, AGRIS adhered to Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD), a global initiative of international partner organizations (such as, DFID, CIARD, GFAR, etc. committed to working to increase the public benefits deriving from investment in agricultural research and innovation for development.
The underlying principle shared by CIARD’s stakeholders, which FAO is contributing to with its AGRIS portal, is that, information is to be made publicly “available”, “accessible” and, “applicable”. At the same time, all of CIARD stakeholders equally recognize the need to respect the roles of national, regional and international institutions, whilst aligning their efforts to develop better interlinked information collections and services.
Currently, AGRIS continues its research into improving access to science technology and agricultural information globally available on the web, under the CIARD umbrella.
8. Accessibility of the New AGRIS
While AGRIS is striving to keep abreast of the technology available, enhanced resource accessibility may be identified as one of the core objectives of the new AGRIS.
According to the new vision, the AGRIS search engine should be able to retrieve and interpret a wealth of diverse information sources including full-text documents, threads from discussion fora, blog entries, news articles, and organizational, regional, national, international information (re)sources. Partnerships with established search engine technology leaders such as Google, Yahoo or Scirus will be explored in order to provide customized search capabilities.
8.1 OpenAGRIS: the New AGRIS Linked Open Data Model
AGRIS data was converted to RDF and the resulting linked dataset created some 80 million triples. AGRIS is also registered in the Data Hub at http://thedatahub.org/dataset/agris
8.2 OpenAGRIS
OpenAgris is a Web application that aggregates information from different Web sources to expand the AGRIS knowledge providing much data as possible about a topic or a bibliographical resource. Using Agrovoc as backbone, OpenAgris can interlink with a lot of existing datasets (currently DBPedia, World Bank, Geopolitical Ontology, FAO fisheries dataset, AGRIS serials dataset, and so over), showing as much information as possible about a specific topic, as statistics about fish species or geographical distribution of plants. In this way, OpenAgris will be a centralized portal that will aggregate all information the Web knows about a specific topic, research area (in the agricultural sector) or bibliographic reference.
OpenAgris is based on four internal FAO RDF datasets:
a. The AGRIS records dataset: It is the direct translation of AGRIS XML records to RDF. Considering that AGRIS contains more than 5 million of XML records, this new dataset consists of more than 130 million triples.
b. The Agrovoc RDF dataset: AGROVOC is the world’s most comprehensive multilingual agricultural vocabulary that contains close to 40,000 concepts in 22 languages covering subject fields in agriculture, forestry and fisheries together with cross-cutting themes such as land use, rural livelihoods and food security.
c. The AGRIS journals dataset: since around 75% of AGRIS records are journals articles, we created a dataset of more than 22,000 agricultural journals with complete information about each journal (ISSN, start date, frequency, publisher…).
d. The AGRIS centers dataset: It contains information about data providers, thus the AGRIS, source of information.
The external datasets which OpenAGRIS is currently linking to are:
• DBPedia
• World Bank
• Google (Google Custom Search API)
• nature.com
• FAO Country Profiles
• FAO fisheries dataset
• GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility)
• IFPRI
• Europeana
8.3 AgriMetaMaker
The AGRIMetamaker is a web form developed using the Drupal CMS, that allows you to generate metadata as easily as possible. You can create new references and enter the information manually in a few minutes. You just need to fill in as many fields as you think are necessary to describe your document, save the reference, add as many you wish, review and edit the data, if necessary, and lastly export them to your computer. The same data, once delivered to FAO/AGRIS, is published in the AGRIS database. If your Institution or publishing company does not use a document management system and your articles have never been catalogued before, if you want to publish your data in AGRIS, you need to create bibliographic references from scratch. The AGRIS team simply receive your data and publish it in the internet in the AGRIS Database. Your data will surely acquire higher visibility, both given the international importance of the AGRIS portal as a hub of world-wide agricultural research information and to the fact that all the whole collection of 2.7 millions references is indexed by Google Scholar. AGRIS harvests and publishes data encoded in a specific XML format. The AGRIS Application Profile describes in detail the specifications of this metadata format including a data model for bibliographic description of resources in the domain of agriculture. One of the great advantages of the AGRIMetaMaker is that it can give you the opportunity to create AGRIS data on the fly, without even knowing what XML and metadata is.
9. Summary
The International Information System for the Agricultural Sciences and Technology is created by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). AGRIS provides worldwide bibliographic coverage of agricultural science and technology literature. Assembled by the AGRIS Co-ordinating Centre, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, AGRIS offers an international perspective on crucial agricultural research. The many aspects of agriculture, including forestry, animal husbandry, aquatic sciences and fisheries, and human nutrition from over 135 participating countries are covered. Literature includes unique material such as unpublished scientific and technical reports, theses, conference papers, government publications, and more. Approximately 130,000 records are added each year with key words in English, French, and Spanish. The archival discs now cover 1975 through 1990. The current disc covers from 1991 to the present.
10. References
1. “AgriOceanDSpace | Agricultural Information Management Standards (AIMS)”.
Aims.fao.org. Retrieved -07-09-2013.
2. “Cost Calculator | 360 MARC Updates | Services”. Serials Solutions. Retrieved -07- 09-2013.
- “Information Technologies and Standards for Agricultural Information Resources Management: AGRIS Application Profile, AGROVOC and LISAGR” available on ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/ag870e/ag870e00.pdf and retrieved from the web on 16 July 203.
- “The AGRIS Application Profile for the International Information System on Agricultural Sciences and Technology Guidelines on Best Practices for Information Object Description”. Fao.org. Retrieved -07-09.-2013.
- “What is CIARD? | Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development”. Ciard.net. Retrieved-07-0.-2013
- A new strategic vision for the AGRIS network was called for at two technical Consultations on Agricultural Information Management (COAIM) held in 2000 and 2002, which continues to provide the basis for some of the technical standards and methodologies adopted by CIARD. Please see: 2000 COAIM report and 2002 COAIM report.
- arc.sci.eg
- “AgriDrupal | Agricultural Information Management Standards (AIMS)”.Aims.fao.org. Retrieved 07-09-2013-.
- “Knowledge and information sharing through the AGRIS Network | AGRIS :: International Information System for the Agricultural Sciences and Technology”. Agris.fao.org. 2007-02-12. Retrieved 07-09.-2013-
- http://aims.fao.org/standards/agrovoc/about[dead link]
- Koehler, AEC. Some Thoughts on the Meaning of Open Access for University Library Technical Services Serials Review Vol. 32, 1, 2006, p. 17
- Information Sources, Systems and Programmes-2. Course material of IGNOU School of Social Sciences. Unit -8.pp.82.,1994, New Delhi.
- “Google Maps”. Maps.google.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved -07-09.-2013
- http://www.fao.org/aims/ag_alpha.jspArchived May 5, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- “agris.fao.org”. Retrieved -07-09-2013.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGRIS. Retrieved 2-1-2014.
- “EGFAR web Site”. Egfar.org. Retrieved -07-09.-2013
- “agris.fao.org”. agris.fao.org. Retrieved-07-09 -2013.
- Rijsberman, Frank “CGIAR Home”. Cgiar.org. Retrieved-07-09.-2013