HABRI Central

• What is HABRI Central?
• Who is responsible for HABRI Central?
• How is HABRI Central funded?
• How is HABRI Central governed?
• How can I contact the HABRI Central staff?
• How can users help?

What is HABRI Central?

HABRI Central is an online platform for open research and collaboration into the relationships between humans and animals, specifically companion animals. HABRI Central uses a combination of library resources to facilitate the discovery, access, production, and preservation of human-animal interaction research. A bibliography of references to human-animal interaction literature helps you to discover existing research while a full-text repository allows you to freely access a wide-array of materials and tools. Along with these library resources, community-driven discussion areas, blogs, and user groups all allow you to connect and share knowledge with experts, professionals, and others involved in the study of human-animal interaction. By hosting all of these features in an easily accessible and centralized way, HABRI Central helps unite those involved in the study of human-animal interaction across disciplines while simultaneously lowering access barriers that might prevent the free flow of information among them.

Who is responsible for HABRI Central?

HABRI Central is the result of a joint effort between Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Purdue University Libraries.

How is HABRI Central funded?

There are many costs involved in maintaining a library like HABRI Central. However, HABRI Central is committed to providing information and resources for the study of human-animal interaction at no cost to users. We are only able to do this thanks to the generous support provided by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI). HABRI is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the understanding of the human-animal bond to improve outcomes for both humans and animals. More information about HABRI and its work can be found at HABRI.org.

How is HABRI Central governed?

HABRI Central receives input and guidance from two different advisory boards to develop and maintain its editorial policies and to guide its operation.

Management Advisory Board

While HABRI Central is operated by staff at Purdue University, it receives additional guidance through a board of individuals involved in academia, medicine, industry, and other areas related to human-animal interaction. The Management Advisory Board convenes once per year to discuss issues that affect the operation and sustainability of HABRI Central. Within the Management Advisory Board, seats are reserved for the chair of HABRI's Research Workgroup, the project manager of HABRI Central, and the chair of the Editorial Board.

Editorial Board

HABRI Central's editorial policy is governed by an editorial board of experts and professionals from various fields related to human-animal interaction. The HABRI Central Editorial Board meets regularly to discuss the editorial scope of the site's content. The Pets & People book series, while associated with HABRI Central, has a separate editorial board composed of members of the Steering Committee on Human-Animal Interactions of the AVMA.

How can I contact the HABRI Central staff?

HABRI Central is based at Purdue University in Stewart Center, Room 370, 504 W State St, West Lafayette, IN 47907. For specific inquiries, please use the following email addresses:

• General information, administrator@habricentral.org
• Help & support, support@habricentral.org
• Repository content & policies, repository@habricentral.org
• Bibliography content & policies, bibliography@habricentral.org
• Tags & the controlled vocabulary, taxonomy@habricentral.org

How can users help?

HABRI Central depends on its users to maintain coverage of all areas of human-animal interaction. Without your help, we cannot provide a comprehensive survey of human-animal interaction—there are simply too many people working among too many different disciplines for one group to cover it all. By submitting your work to the repository, sharing of your opinions in the forum, or by collaborating with others through our groups, your participation is essential to building and sharing a broad understanding of human-animal interaction with others. Whether you are a veterinarian, a nurse, a shelter worker, a government official, a teacher, a pet owner, a student, or a scholar, your unique perspective is invaluable to the community. By sharing it with others through HABRI Central, you will be helping to improve everyone’s understanding of the countless ways in which animals and people affect each others’ lives.