How to become a data publisher

In this section, you will review the steps to become a data publisher.

Organizations wishing to share data through GBIF can register here to request endorsement as a data publisher.

register
Click on the How-to menu on the GBIF website to navigate to the Become a publisher page

Prospective new publishers are asked to complete an online form. The answers provided help GBIF to give proper credit and attribution for the datasets shared by the new publisher.

Register3

Before GBIF indexes datasets, an institution must receive endorsement as a data publisher from one of the Participant nodes that coordinate activities of the national and organizational Participants in the GBIF network. If the country is not yet participating in GBIF, endorsement is sought on the publisher’s behalf from within the GBIF community.

The endorsement procedure aims to ensure that:

  1. Published data are relevant to GBIF’s scope and objectives

  2. Data hosting arrangements are stable and persistent

  3. Data publishing and use are supported by strong national, regional and thematic engagement

  4. Data are as open as possible, and available for sharing and reuse

  5. Data publishers can respond to feedback and improve data quality

At present, GBIF and its Participants only publish data from organizations—that is, institutions, networks and societies—rather than individuals. Individuals wishing to publish data should work through their affiliated organizations to seek endorsement as a publisher.
register4

The answers provided will also help users to understand more about the provenance of data shared through the GBIF network.

register5

Be sure to search existing publishers before registering a new one to make sure the publisher is not already registered.

BID and BIFA projects are required to register at least one data publisher (or provide evidence of an already registered publisher) by specific milestone dates.