Chris Freeland – Preserving digitized taxonomic data: problems and solutions for print, manuscript and specimen data

Event Date: 28 October 2011
Flett Lecture Theatre
Natural History Museum

Anchoring Biodiversity Information:

From Sherborn to the 21st century and beyond

Chris Freeland
Preserving digitized taxonomic data: problems and solutions for print, manuscript and specimen data

Director, Center for Biodiversity Informatics,
Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, MO, USA
Email: chris.freeland@mobot.org

The availability of digitized taxonomic data has increased dramatically over the past twenty years as national funding agencies have strengthened their support of digitization activities and as scanning devices have become less expensive and easier to operate. As such, natural history museums and libraries have taken on new responsibilities for managing electronic information as ways of providing enhanced opportunities for educational outreach and scholarly dissemination. Museums and libraries have to consider how best to create and care for electronic resources given a volatile technology landscape with rapidly changing file formats and display devices. This session will address methodologies for responsible curation of digitized prints, manuscripts, and specimens, and will outline best practices for safeguarding digitized taxonomic data to ensure longevity of resources.