DOIs assigned to crystal structure datasets in the CSD
THE CCDC TEAMS UP WITH DATACITE TO BRING DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIERS TO THE WORLD’S COMPREHENSIVE CRYSTALLOGRAPHY DATA RESOURCE
Cambridge, UK; March 2014
The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) today announces an important collaboration with the DataCite (UK) team, based at the British Library, to assign Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to datasets of crystal structures deposited with the CCDC. This initiative enhances existing CCDC services that provide free and easy access to crystallographic data associated with any deposited structure - an invaluable resource for any scientist with an interest in structural chemistry.
The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre compiles and distributes the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), the world’s only comprehensive resource for small molecule crystal structure data, to more than 1,200 academic and 200 commercial organizations worldwide. The CSD contains approaching 700,000 organic and metal-organic crystal structures, with associated crystallographic and bibliographic data. In the weeks ahead, the CCDC and DataCite teams will associate Digital Object Identifiers, DOIs, to every structure in the CSD.
DOIs are already proving of great value to researchers by allowing them easily to access cited publications. This development extends the principle to datasets underlying publications, allowing all scientists to quickly discover and examine data relevant to their studies. Each DOI will connect to a Web page from where deposited data can be freely downloaded. Chemists depositing structures in the CSD can be more confident than ever that their work will be widely and easily discoverable by anyone with interest in their field.
Colin Groom, Executive Director of the CCDC emphasized the importance of this development “By assigning DOIs to datasets, we are adding to the array of services we currently provide to the whole scientific community, reinforcing our position as the definitive source of crystal structure data for small organic and metal-organic compounds. Beyond this we have laid the foundations for providing even more services that will aid in the discoverability and subsequent reuse of datasets deposited with us. This raises many further possibilities and we will work with our user groups to build on this for the benefit of the wider scientific community”.
Dr Lee-Ann Coleman, member of the DataCite Board and Head of Science, Technology and Medicine at the British Library stated: “We are pleased to support The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre in their goal. They will be joining a growing cadre of institutions in the UK, and across the world, recognising the importance of being able to discover, access and cite data and we warmly welcome their participation.”
DOIs will now be assigned to all structures within an hour of their being published in the CSD, and will facilitate improved discoverability of data from published articles and other information resources, underlining the CCDC’s commitment to ensuring easy access to structural data for all the world’s chemists.
About The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) was established in 1965. It supports structural chemistry research through its Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), the world’s only comprehensive and fully-curated database of small molecule crystal structures, containing around 700,000 entries, and through knowledge-based tools to support receptor modeling, ligand design, docking, lead optimization and formulation studies. Its database and modeling systems are in use at research operations worldwide, including over 1,200 academic institutions and all of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies.
The CCDC is a fully independent institution constituted as a non-profit company and a registered charity since 1989. The CCDC is financially independent, supported entirely through annual subscriptions received for the Cambridge Structural Database System and industry-leading software such as GOLD and Relibase+. The CCDC has a strong track record in basic research through more than 700 peer-reviewed publications; these papers have attracted more than 18,000 citations in the international scientific literature.