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

– 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 modelCFES Board of Directors with 1 Director for CanGeoRef•CFES/FCST executive manager: day-to-day management

Contractor for data entry:Purple Rock Inc., Victoria BC

CanGeoRef Steering Committee:3 information specialists (librarians), one each from industry, government, academiaCommittee meetings at least 2 x per year. AGI Director of Information Services always attends

data submission

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Data QA, incorporation in (Can)GeoRef

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communication

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

CanGeoRef is the latest of several subsets of GeoRef

ABMB

ON

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 trackBC NL

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 misconceptions1. CanGeoRef contains only references produced by

Canadian authors: – Correct / Wrong

2. 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

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

Financial overview 2010, 2011, 2012

Balance: - $ 2,250

Negative balance to date explained by 1. ON data entry: 14,000 references without abstract2. Disappointing sales to date

Negative balance offset by1. Generous donations from NS, NB and ON Geological Surveys2. 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)