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| National Invertebrate Genetic Resources |
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History of the ROBO Database
The genesis of the ROBO database began with the
formation of the Biological Control Documentation Center
(BCDC) by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in 1982. Following an
intensive "user survey" in 1984, a ROBO database was developed on a
Wang computer system at the ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in
Maryland. This early development is described by J.R. Coulson (1992, Crop
Protection 11: 195-205). Information on the development of ROBO was also
included in the reports of releases of beneficial organisms in the first three
years recorded in the database, 1981-83, published by the USDA in 1988, 1992,
and 1994, respectively. Paper or microfiche copies of these reports are
available from the National Technical Information Service (5285 Port Royal
Road, Springfield, VA 22161, telephone 703-487-4600). Limited numbers of paper
copies of the reports are also available from the BCDC.
By 1991, it became obvious that a much more "user friendly" system
for data entry and access than was possible on the Wang was needed for
ROBO. An agreement was entered into between the
ARS
BCDC, the ARS Germplasm Resources
Information Network (GRIN), and the APHIS National Biological Control
Institute (NBCI) to bring about this needed modernization of the database,
to be accessible via the GRIN system. A Workshop on Biological Control
Documentation was organized by the three cooperating units, and was held
in May 1994 at Beltsville. Responses to prior questionnaires, and comments
made by the participants at the Workshop, provided the groundwork for
reprogramming of a more "user friendly" ROBO. Information on the participants and minutes of
the Workshop are available from the BCDC or NBCI.
In 1997, a detailed description of the proposed new ROBO was prepared and
sent to USDA and university entomologists and microbiologists at selected
foreign and quarantine facilities. In 1998, ROBO data was successfully
moved from the Wang to the Sun computer of the ARS Germplasm Resources
Information Network (GRIN), and programming of the revised new ROBO
database commenced, initially under an ARS contract with
Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc. Subsequently, the ARS-GRIN Database
Management Unit carried out extensive modification and further
programming activities. Though the new ROBO database is still in
the process of development, in 1999, it was made available via the
Internet and importation and release data for 1981-1985 could be
searched. These data are still in the process of being corrected as
necessary, and search capabilities are being refined.
In 2001, the first of the new ROBO on-line data entry forms became
operational: the 941 form for recording importations into the United
States of invertebrate biological control material, and the export of such
material to other countries. By the end of the year, all importations into
USDA and some cooperating state and university quarantine facilities had
been entered into ROBO for the years 1986-1990, and these data can be
searched. Information on exports during this period has also been
entered and is searchable. By this date (December 2001), the on-line
941 form is still being refined.
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