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www.cangeoref.org The ultimate Canadian geoscience reference database Report to CFES Council, October 2012. Carolyn Relf , Elisabeth Kosters. What is CanGeoRef ?. Bibliographic database, subscription based
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www.cangeoref.orgThe ultimate Canadian geoscience reference databaseReport to CFES Council, October 2012 Carolyn Relf, Elisabeth Kosters
What is CanGeoRef? • Bibliographic database, subscription based • An integral subset of GeoRef, containing references to all Canadian Geoscience literature, currently with ca. 210,000 references • Web-based, updated weekly • Target market: organizations that are unlikely candidates for the full GeoRef file (price)
Background 1. • 2007: AGI invites CFES to partner in CanGeoRef • Motivation AGI: • successful partnership with Geoscience Australia in AusGeoRef since 2002: non-traditional GeoRef market • AusGeoRef: especially ‘grey’ (mineral) literature more accessible to greater audience
Background 2. AGI’s research into Canadian part of GeoRef file: • ca. half of all Canadian references were missing from GeoRef • Most of these were references from provincial and territorial geological surveys (‘grey literature’), generally since 1994
Background 3. Missing References challenge • Reason for missing P/T references: • in 1994 GeoScan (NRCan) stops incorporating references from provinces and territories (GeoScan incorporated in GeoRef) • Repair attempt: Canadian Geoscience Knowledge Network • funding problems
START OF CANGEOREFSept 2009 – CPTG • Provincial and Territorial geological surveys (CPTG) support CFES to produce CanGeoRef by: • One time financial support for start-up expenses • $15,000, in 2 halves of $7,500 each, second half only when necessary and when project remains on track • Making staff available to work with CFES’s data-entry contractor • CFES will: • have a ‘director for CanGeoRef’ on the board • Have a steering committee for CanGeoRef, chaired by a CPTG rep. To date: these 2 positions have been combined in 1 person, Carolyn Relf, director of the Yukon Geol. Survey
START OF CANGEOREF: Oct 2009 Sign contract with AGI (Regina Council meeting): • Business model agreed • Pricing agreed • AGI will train contractor(s) • Agree to launch 1.5 years after signing of contract • Data-entry contractor recruited in January 2010, hence launch agreed for early Fall 2011
CanGeoRef Business model CanGeoRef Steering Committee: 3 information specialists (librarians), one each from industry, government, academia Committee meetings at least 2 x per year. AGI Director of Information Services always attends • CFES Board of Directors with 1 Director for CanGeoRef • CFES/FCST executive manager: day-to-day management advice invoicing reporting invoicing communication Contractor for data entry: Purple Rock Inc., Victoria BC Data QA, incorporation in (Can)GeoRef data submission
Financial agreement • CFES pays Purple Rock: • Can $3.25 for references without abstract • Can $3.75 for references with abstract • (these amounts have not increased since project start) • AGI pays CFES: • US $3.75 for references without abstract • US $4.75 for references with abstract • (these amounts have been annually increased on the basis of the CPI) • Price difference helps to offset CFES expenses (time of executive manager, marketing efforts)
LAUNCH OF CANGEOREF: 13 Sept 2011 • CanGeoRef contains references to: • Books, (chapters in) books * • Refereed journal articles pertaining to Canadian Geoscience* • Conference abstracts: only when published in refereed journals * • Theses titles and abstracts: only when delivered by Canadian universities, still to tackle completeness * • All NRCan references (reports, maps, etc.) * • All Provincial and Territorial references, complete for AB, MB, ON (CFES contribution) * automatic weekly updating by AGI
complete and up to date October 2012: AB, MB, ON, BC (order of priority set by jurisdictions) NL before end 2012 Remainder 2013 Project on track BC NL AB MB ON
CanGeoRef Price: A commercial subscription to GeoRef costs > $10,000
Why pay when Google is free? • CanGeoRef is is objective: different users obtain the same results. • Free online search engines, including Google scholar, are subjective: they show the user what they calculate that that user finds important, based on earlier searches by that same user. Thus, these search engines personalize the search process: different users get different results • Free online search engines are not subject to QA and are therefore incomplete.
Marketing year 1: Fall ‘11-Spring ’12(marketing plan August ’11, approved by CFES Board) • Fall ’11: CFES executive manager marketing tour at open houses of P/T Geological Surveys: NS, NB, ON • Fall ’11: MB independent marketing effort • Jan ’12: BC (Roundup) by Purple Rock director • Spring ‘12: CFES exec manager “does” Calgary
Additional marketing (no cost) • CIM Magazine: article (November) • PDAC Magazine: article (November) • Ontario Geological Survey: CanGeoRef prominently on home page - http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/mines/ogs/default_e.asp • PDAC: AGI booth + individual marketing by Carolyn Relf, Bill Stiebel and Bill Mercer • CSPG and CSEG Lunches – Doug Uffen
CanGeoRef subscriptions • 5 institutional subscribers • companies, library consortia of community colleges • 4 individual subscribers • Total royalties to date: ca. $550.- • Royalty agreement: 25% of gross subscription revenue for every new CanGeoRef license for the first 3 years and 50% thereafter
Two common misconceptions • CanGeoRef contains only references produced by Canadian authors: • Correct / Wrong • CanGeoRef contains no references from jurisdictions that haven’t been updated yet by Purple Rock • Correct / Wrong
CanGeoRef uptake after 1 year disappointing • Sept 2012: Steering comm + AGI evaluate year 1 • Recommendation • Explore whether commercial hosts (e.g. EBSCO) are willing to host CanGeoRef. • Commercial hosts take a cut, but will actively market product • Recommendation from ON: carry out survey among customers visiting P/T open houses
Financial overview 2010, 2011, 2012 INCOME • FROM CPTG : $ 7,500 • INVOICED TO AGI : $ 82,941 • ROYALTIES $ 550 + ====== + TOTAL INCOME $ 90,991 EXPENSES • TRAINING Purple Rock: $ 2,905 • Purple Rock MARKETING at ROUNDUP $ 1,906 • Purple Rock at CFES Council $ 75 • DATA ENTRY Purple Rock: $ 73,405 • CFES OFFICE (185hrs + expenses) $ 14,950 + ====== + • TOTAL EXPENSES $ 93,241 Balance: - $ 2,250
Negative balance to date explained by • ON data entry: 14,000 references without abstract • Disappointing sales to date Negative balance offset by • Generous donations from NS, NB and ON Geological Surveys • CFES executive manager donation: ca. 10 working days CanGeoRef is a very long term project. With continued proper management, the balance will eventually turn.
Acknowledgements AGI (especially Sharon Tahirkheli) Purple Rock Inc. (Nicole Barlow and staff) CanGeoRef steering committee members: Jeanne Kimber (Encana), Lori Janower (MB DNR), Laura Briggs (Waterloo Univ)