A reference space for information management standards, tools and methodologies: the AIMS portal

Abstract

The Agricultural Information Management Standards (AIMS) portal provides to information specialists in the agricultural domain good practices and methodologies on the management and dissemination of agricultural information by using widely accepted standards and methods. AIMS is a resource container where users can find experiences in applying semantic technologies and information standards to agricultural situations from related partnerships within (or for) the agricultural domain. AIMS is facilitated by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations with support from an external Consultative Group which provides feedback and guidance on technical improvements, outreach activities, new services, and strategic recommendations. This paper reviews the AIMS portal as a reference place for agricultural information management professionals with regard to standards, tools and methodologies for managing agricultural information and systems. It provides an overview of the AIMS portal content and the AIMS Community. Initiatives, such as the development and application of the AGROVOC Linked Open Data (LOD), Linked Open Data Enabled Bibliographic Recommendations (LODE-BD) or OpenAGRIS, are some of the products that are of interest to the agricultural information management community. The paper concludes with a sample re-enactment of how access to the AIMS portal may help an information management specialist to solve an archetype information management scenario.