The
BioCASe (Biological Collection Access System for Europe) is a web-based
information service providing
unified access to information about biological collections held by
European and
Israeli institutions.
The
BioCASe provides access to two categories of
information about biological collections:
- collection level information
- unit level
information
Collection
level information consists of
general
information about collections and the institutions that hold the
collections. You can use collection level information to locate
collection holders and the details necessary to contact them by
conventional means.
Unit level information consists of information about particular specimens and observations.You can use unit level information to obtain specific information about individual specimens and observations.
For
more
information about the BioCASe click here.
The
collection
level information accessed by the BioCASe is
provided by a network of national nodes. Every country taking part in
the
BioCASe has a national node that holds a repository of
information
about collections that are located in that country and whose curators
have
agreed to
share information with the BioCASe.
Unit
level information is not stored in a national repository, but is drawn
directly from the data provider when searches for unit level data are
executed.
Providers
choose which information about collections and units to make available
via
the BioCASe, so the collection level and unit level
information for various collections may vary greatly. Currently,
many more collections have
shared collection level information than have provided access to unit
level information,
so there is a discrepancy between the quantity of collection level and
unit
level information available with the service.
Quality
control of the information content is the
responsibility of the data providers and national nodes. If you
encounter any
problems with the content of the data provided by the BioCASe please notify us.
The
BioCASe user interface is divided into two main
sections: Collections and Institutions and Specimens and Observations.
You can choose
either of these sections from the navigation menu, which is located at
the left
side of
the BioCASe user interface.
The
Collections
and Institutions section of the
BioCASe lets you to search for general information about collections
and
institutions, such as the name, location, and administration of a
collection, as well as details about the collection contents.
The Specimens and Observations section lets you to search for specific information about individual specimens and observations. You can search for specimens or observations by search criteria such as scientific or common names, stratigraphic time periods, and gathering details. Search results for unit level data are highly individual, depending on the information that the provider has made available.
There
are
two types of searches that are available for
unit level information: basic
search and advanced search.
Basic search
lets you
search for specimens and observations by a scientific name. Advanced
search
lets you create a more specific search for specimens or observations by
using
multiple search criteria. These search options are available from the
navigation menu when you select the Specimens
and Observations menu tab.
Recommended
System Configuration
BioCASe
performs best with the following system
configuration.
Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher.
Netscape
Navigator™ version 7.0 or higher.
You
must
have cookies enabled in order to use the
BioCASe for data searches. Edit your
browser
preferences so that your system will accept cookies.
You
must
have javascript enabled in order to use the BioCASe
for data searches. Edit your browser preferences to
enable
javascript.
BioCase is best viewed at a screen resolution of 768×1028 or higher.
To enable cookies in Internet Explorer 6:
1. From the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. From the Privacy tab, click Advanced.
3. Click to select Override automatic cookie handling and Always allow session cookies.
4. Click OK.
To enable cookies in Netscape Navigator 7:
1. From the Edit menu, click Preferences.
2. In the Category window, click the arrow next to Privacy and Security and then click on Cookies in the menu that opens.
3. Click to select Accept all cookies to enable cookies for all web sites or click to select Enable cookies for the originating web site only.
4.
Click
OK.
To enable javascript in Internet Explorer 6:
1. From the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. From the Security tab, click Internet and then click Custom Level.
3. Within the Security Settings window, scroll to Scripting. Below Active Scripting, click to select Enable.
4. Click OK.
5. Click OK.
6. You will need to close and re-open all of your browser windows for the changes to take effect.
To enable javascript in Netscape Navigator 7:
1. From the Edit menu, click Preferences.
2. In the Category window, click the arrow next to Advanced and then click Scripts and Plugins in the menu that opens.
3. In the Enable Javascript for section, click to select Navigator.
4. Click OK.
5. You may need to close and re-open all of your browser windows for the changes to take effect.
