Encyclopedia of Life
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Encyclopedia of Life | |
|---|---|
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 Main page of the EOL project |
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| URL | http://www.eol.org |
| Commercial? | no |
| Type of site | Encyclopedia |
| Registration | optional |
| Available language(s) | English |
| Created by | MacArthur Foundation, Sloan Foundation |
| Launched | 2008-02-26 |
| Current status | active |
Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online collaborative encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.8 million species of living organisms known to science. The EOL went live on February 26, 2008 with 30,000 entries.[1] The site immediately proved to be extremely popular, and temporarily had to revert to demonstration pages for two days when it was overrun by traffic from over 11 million views it received.[2] It is compiled from existing databases and from contributions by experts and non-experts throughout the world.[3][4] It aims to build one "infinitely expandable" page for each species, including video, sound, images, graphics, as well as text.[5] In addition, the Encyclopedia will incorporate the Biodiversity Heritage Library, which will contain the digitized print collections from the world's major natural history libraries. The project is initially backed by a $50m funding commitment, led by the MacArthur Foundation and the Sloan Foundation.
At this time, the project's steering committee has senior officers from Biodiversity Heritage Library consortium, Field Museum, Harvard University, MacArthur Foundation, Marine Biological Laboratory, Missouri Botanical Garden, Sloan Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution.[3][6][7]
Contents |
[edit] Intention
Information about many species is already available from a variety of sources, in particular about the megafauna. Gathering currently available data on all 1.8 million species will take about 10 years.[8] The initiative will rely on established efforts, including the ITIS Catalogue of Life, Fishbase and the Assembling Tree of Life project of NSF. The initial focus will be on animals and plants, then later fungi and microbes, and finally extinct species. As the discovery of new species is expected to continue at a rapid rate, in particular on the micro scales such as bacteria and viruses, the encyclopedia will grow continuously.
The goal of EOL is to be a tool for students, scientists and the public,[9] and it will eventually become multi-lingual.[10]
The estimated cost is $110.5 million.[8]
[edit] Vision
Biologist Ed Wilson announced a "dream" that someone would fund the project during a TED speaking engagement in March 2007,[11] a yearly forum in which luminary speakers are given the opportunity to ask for a "dream prize". On 9 May 2007 that dream "came true" when five science foundations announced an initial 50 million dollar grant to get the project started.[12]
Wikipedia and other existing online works served as an inspiration for the Encyclopedia of Life.[13][14] EOL will be built largely on various Creative Commons licenses. [15]
[edit] See also
[edit] Citations
- ^ Zimmer, Carl. "The Encyclopedia of Life, No Bookshelf Required", New York Times, 2008-02-26. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
- ^ Associated Press. "Life Encyclopedia Debut Too Popular to Stay "Live" February 27, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2008
- ^ a b Who is ultimately responsible for constructing the Encyclopedia of Life?. FAQ. Encyclopedia of Life (2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ What does Encyclopedia of Life seek to accomplish? What are its objectives?. FAQ. Encyclopedia of Life (2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ Odling-Smee, Lucy (2007-05-09). Encyclopedia of Life launched. news @ nature.com. DOI:10.1038/news070508-7. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ Scientists compile 'book of life'. BBC (2007-05-09). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ Demonstration pages. Encyclopedia of Life (2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ a b une arche de Noé virtuelle. radio-canada (2007).
- ^ EOL Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ EOL Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ " E.O. Wilson: TED Prize wish: Help build the Encyclopedia of Life"
- ^ "E. O. Wilson's Encyclopedia of Life gets over $50m in funding"
- ^ EOL Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ "Leading Scientists Announce Creation Of Encyclopedia Of Life", Science Daily, May 9, 2007. Adapted from a Harvard University news release.
- ^ EOL Terms of use, http://www.eol.org/terms_of_use
