NBN Toolbox

The NBN Trust oversees the development of the Network and has made a number of resources available to those involved in biological recording and the exchange of data.

Tools for recording - OS map tiles

To help with the recording of accurate biological data the NBN Trust can supply Ordnance Survey map tiles for use within Recorder. Recorder is a powerful piece of biological recording software based on a collect/collate system. See below for further information.

The use of Ordnance Survey map tiles enables users to accurately store and manage biological data by visually pin pointing sightings as opposed to entering eight figure grid references.

The digital map tiles are provided on a set of five CD’s which contains all 812 map tiles covering England, Scotland and Wales in areas of 20 by 20 km. The 1:50,000 scale map tiles are designed to form the ideal mapping backdrop for capturing and displaying biological data in all versions of Recorder. The cost is £15 and can be ordered here

The licence has been agreed only for use within Recorder software and because of this each tile is encrypted in such a way as to prevent their use in any other software, including GIS packages. Encryption keys are available free of charge from the NBN Trust Secretariat to registered users of Recorder.

Watsonian Vice County Boundaries

The Vice County system for Great Britain was devised by an English botanist, Hewett Cottrell Watson, for the purposes of illustrating plant distributions. To mark the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Watsonian Vice County system in 2002, the NBN Trust commissioned the digitisation of the 112 Vice County Boundaries covering England, Scotland and Wales so that they could be used in modern geographical information systems and recording software such as Recorder.

Watson’s 1852 Vice County map showed little detail being at a scale of 1:4,000,000 and even an updated version which appeared in Topographical Botany in 1883 was only at 1:3,000,000. The NBN Trust and partners have captured the Vice County Boundaries at a scale of 1:10,000, much more detailed than ever previously available.

The Boundaries are available free-of-charge to recorders, mapping scheme organisers, local records centres and others on a CD. The CD includes a software tool that can be used to generate single Vice County Boundaries, country sets or any combination of individual counties. Because the boundaries are at a scale of 1:10,000 a GIS system such as MapInfo is needed to view the boundaries against suitable map backgrounds although the boundaries can also be loaded and viewed in Recorder and it is hoped that Dmap versions will also become available. The Cost is FREE and can be ordered here

EXISTING USERS - if you already in receipt of the boundaries you are entitled to receive this updated version. Contact us with your licence number and we will send out your copy

Order your software

Please use the order form to order. Please note that the OS Map Tiles are priced at £15 for the set of five CDs, the Vice County Boundary CD is free of charge for not-for-profit use to support biological recording activities strictly under licence with the NBN Trust.

The NBN Trust Secretariat are always happy to provide general information or advice and can be contacted through our contacts page. For help or advice & support relating to the NBN Gateway e-mail gateway@nbn.org.uk

Recorder

Recorder is a biological record collection, collation and reporting package developed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to help people manage their data and easily contribute it to the NBN Gateway. The programmes have been altered and refined since its launch in 2000 to suit the requirements of the users and new versions continue to be released. As part of the work of the NBN Trust, a number of standards, concepts and pieces of guidance have been developed. These range from metadata standards to a Species Dictionary and model licences for exchange of data. Recorder embodies a number of these key NBN standards and concepts. It also allows scheme organisers to define their own standard terms, recording cards and locations to help in the collation and management of records from a number of recorders.

Recorder is designed to be a flexible tool. It offers a complete system from data capture through to reports, along with excellent mapping facilities. It is also designed to work in partnership with a variety of other packages from spreadsheets for data entry to GIS packages for spatial analysis. It is compatible with a number of data capture tools used by the recording community and can, therefore, collate records coming from many different sources. Once records are held within a copy of Recorder they can be edited, shared and managed in the most convenient way, whilst, retaining a transparent link back to their original identity. A record may be safely shared with other copies as tools are in place to ensure that duplication of data does not occur and that any edits done do not obscure the original record. The data exchange procedure between copies of the programme is easy and effective as is data transfer to the NBN Gateway.

JNCC supplies Recorder through Resellers who are able to offer tailor-made support and training packages for individuals and groups. Resellers are experienced not only in purely technical aspects of the programme, but can give advice on broader issues, such as the setting up of master satellite systems and data transfer from old systems. Resellers are also able to offer affordable customisation of the package to meet individual recording and reporting needs. Additional support and information can be found on the NBN website. In addition there is a users’ SmartGroup, which is available for anyone who wishes to join. Visit http://forums.nbn.org.uk/index.php. Visit www.recordersoftware.org for more information

Species Dictionary

The Species Dictionary provides a standard reference for names of organisms found in the United Kingdom. It is a resource needed for the National Biodiversity Network Gateway and is hosted and managed by the Natural History Museum.

The Dictionary is made up from a collection of over 210 separate checklists containing more than 196,000 versions of taxonomic names and other associated information. You can either search individual lists or find organisms by their common or scientific name. A basic classification of life is also provided as a navigational tool.