Malaysia’s FRIM opens digital access to century-old forestry resources
Free registration gives users access to 77,600 digital files and 160,244 metadata records covering tropical forest science and biodiversity.
The Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) said its online repository is making more than a century of tropical forestry knowledge available worldwide. In a November 12 statement, the institute said users could register free to consult 77,600 digital files through the FRIM Research Depository, known as FRED.
The portal provides access at any hour and holds 160,244 metadata records. FRIM reported an annual average of 2,885 user accesses. Available materials range from theses and scientific papers to books, journals, maps of forests and newspaper cuttings.
The digital service extends access beyond FRIM’s library in Kepong, which averages 2,200 visitors a year. Established before 1918, the library survived British and Japanese administrations and holds nearly 200,000 reference materials across 82 forestry-related subjects.
FRIM said documents and historical records held by the library helped secure its recognition as a Unesco World Heritage Site. The collection uses the Global Forestry Decimal Classification, which is also used by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and the International Union of Forest Research Organisations.
Special holdings cover rattan, bamboo, Asean research and FRIM’s own research output. The bamboo collection dates to 1993 and contains more than 1,200 reference materials. The Asean holdings include traditional forest management proceedings and regional climate-change studies, while the FRIRO collection preserves researchers’ publications, consultancy reports and conference papers dating from 1990.
