TITLE:   LTER Information Management: Paradigm Shift or Paradigm Stretch? 
AUTHORS: K.S.Baker(PAL), B.Benson(NTL), J.Brunt(NET), N.Gardiner(CWT),
	 D.L.Henshaw(AND), E.Melendez(LUQ), J.Porter(VCR), P.McCartney(CAP),
	 D.Steigerwald(MCM)
DATE:    2-4 August 2000
PLACE:   LTER All Scientists Meeting 2000, Long-Term Ecological Research:
	 Unifying Principles & Global Applications, Snowbird, Utah

         University of California, San Diego, CA 902093-0218
         Poster - Session: Information Management and Beyond (W94)

ABSTRACT
As our understanding of data management broadens into information 
and knowledge management, both individual research sites and 
networks of sites are using a variety of methods to structure,
process, synthesize and present data. The Long-Term Ecological
Research (LTER) network, consisting of a network office and twenty-four 
research sites, incorporates an information management component at each 
site. The strategic vision for the LTER Network Information Management is 
"to promote ecological science by fostering the synergy of information systems
and scientific research".
A conceptual model for the Network Information System balances
local-site science and network coordination through a flexible, 
modular design. An information management paradigm must address
key elements such as to describe, sustain, integrage, inform, elicit, 
interface and visualize data.  The LTER cooperative efforts provide a 
range of examples for these tasks including metadata standards, 
intersite databases, exchange formats, Web forms for data entry, 
and visualization.