A grant has been awarded to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) at the University of California, Berkeley under the direction of Dr. Carla Cicero to upgrade the storage equipment for its ornithology collections and improve accessibility of the data. The MVZ has one of the largest bird collections in the United States and is a leading institution in biodiversity informatics and the dissemination of data. Sound recordings of birds will be digitized and integrated into the MVZ database as well as the ORNIS portal, an internet resource that will make the recordings accessible to the public. Ornithologists and amateur birders alike will be able to compile their own playlists in any format. The MVZ egg and nest collections will be moved to new storage cabinets, and digital images of the specimens will be posted online for examination and geospatial map production. Undergraduates will be involved in these activities and will receive training in museum science. Making the data available online will enable the MVZ to strengthen collaborations and reach an audience of millions in the birding community.
