iDigBio/SERNEC Herbarium Workflows Workshop

Appalachian State University, Boone NC

Investigators

Abstract

A vision of NSF's biological collections programs is preservation of biological collections in the U.S. and increased accessibility of collections data that will lead to new discoveries through research, and a better understanding and appreciation of biodiversity through improved education and outreach, resulting in improved environmental and economic policies. This workshop seeks to engage the community of herbarium curators and learn from the experiences of other collection types to increase the speed and efficiency of digitization. The activities proposed targets curators and managers across a wide spectrum of institutions distributed across eighteen states. This award supports participant costs for a workshop for herbarium managers and curators with the goal to consolidate and standardize best practices across the digitization process. The workshop would bring together experts from across the U.S. in sessions hosted by the digitization HUB (iDigBio) and the Southeast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC) to evaluate and publish community-wide standards for all stages of the digitization process. The proposed activities will standardize best practices across the community, increasing the speed and efficiency of digitization resulting in a reduction in the cost of specimen digitization, a major goal of the NSF's biological collections programs (CSBR and ADBC). These efforts will positively impact the quantity and quality of digitized data made available to the research community, government agencies, students, educators, and the general public.