Marine Institute joins worldwide database as National Partner
The Marine Institute is pleased to announce its recent approval as National Partner in the international database Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA). ASFA is one of the premier sources of bibliographic information on the aquatic environment, which captures and disseminates the world’s aquatic science literature.
The ASFA partnership is made up of International and National partners, under the sponsorship of the United Nations, and includes organisations such as the Fisheries and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC); the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP); the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT); the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES); International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and national representatives from some 49 countries worldwide.
The database content is contributed by ASFA partners, thereby increasing the visibility of their scientists and research initiatives on a worldwide scale. Each partner agrees to be responsible for monitoring and preparing bibliographic input to the database.
“The Marine Institute’s joining of ASFA will be of mutual benefit to subscribers of ASFA and to Irish marine science as a whole,” said Anne Wilkinson, the Institute’s Library Development and Information Manager, who has recently completed comprehensive training in management of the ASFA database content.
Anne will be responsible for inputting records, not only of Marine Institute publications, but also of all other relevant Irish aquatic reports and “grey literature” such as technical articles, reports and non peer-reviewed information. Coverage of Ireland’s marine research output, including material from various SEA CHANGE projects, not only in ASFA, but also in other international marine databases will therefore significantly improve.
“The addition of bibliographic references to Irish aquatic science literature to the ASFA database will provide a much wider coverage of up to date Irish publications, which will be immediately available to all subscribers,” said Anne. “This means that Irish marine scientists will now enjoy increased world-wide visibility for their publications and greater recognition for the work they do.”