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. 2017 Apr 11;5(4):apps.1600125.
doi: 10.3732/apps.1600125. eCollection 2017 Apr.

Digitizing specimens in a small herbarium: A viable workflow for collections working with limited resources

Kari M Harris  1 , Travis D Marsico  1
Affiliations

Digitizing specimens in a small herbarium: A viable workflow for collections working with limited resources

Kari M Harris et al. Appl Plant Sci. .

Abstract

Premise of the study: Small herbaria represent a significant portion of herbaria in the United States, but many are not digitizing their collections.

Methods: At the Arkansas State University Herbarium (STAR), we have created a viable workflow to help small herbaria begin the digitization process, including suggestions for publishing data on the Internet. We calculated hourly rates of each phase of the digitization process. We also mapped accessions at the county level to determine geographic strengths in the collection.

Results: All 17,678 accessioned flowering plant specimens at STAR are imaged, databased in Specify, and available electronically on the herbarium's website. Students imaged the specimens at a mean rate of 145/h. We found differences in databasing rates between the graduate student leading the project (47/h) and undergraduate assistants (25/h). The majority of specimens at STAR were collected within the counties neighboring the institution.

Discussion: With this workflow, we estimate that one person can digitize a 20,000-specimen collection in less than 2.5 yr by working only 10 h/wk. Because STAR is a small herbarium with limited resources, the application of the workflow described should assist curators of similar-sized collections as they contemplate and undertake the digitization process.

Keywords: biodiversity informatics; digitization workflow; natural history collection; regional collection; small herbarium.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Arkansas State University (STAR) Herbarium digitization workflow developed and applied in this project.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
The imaging station at the Arkansas State University (STAR) Herbarium that was assembled from existing herbarium resources and purchased materials. The figure shows the fluorescent sidelights, the Nikon D3200 camera, the color separation guide and ruler (purchased for the project), and the Bencher Copymate II copy stand (previously existing in the herbarium). The total new cost for the set-up was approximately US$1500.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Example of a specimen being databased using Specify WorkBench. The form (left) allows for easy entry of the data displayed from the specimen label image (right).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Distribution of flowering plant species (A) and vouchers (B) held within the Arkansas State University (STAR) Herbarium. Counties are colored based on five natural breaks determined by the Jenks method in ArcGIS 10.1 (Jenks and Caspall, 1971; de Smith et al., 2015). Colors warm from blue to red with increasing number of species (A) and number of vouchers (B). Numbers of species (A) and vouchers (B) are in parentheses within each county.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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