To be successful, research information management must be integrated into research planning. This approach can be implemented easily at other research stations. 1988-93 Tape library ported to Novell server, restructured and cleaned LTER database, development of generic maintenance tools. FSDB client server architecture. Space limitations preclude delving deeply into all aspects.
Relevant literature is included in the bibliography.
The legacy data sets are a double-edged sword. They also pre-date, in many instances, computer technology, so data collection was done differently then and far more care is required to insure adequate documentation of field procedures and study objectives. In addition, the original researchers are frequently no longer on-site and some are deceased. Metadata database structure. We have used standardized metadata structures that are identical for every database.