The Treatise of Invertebrate Paleontology comprises 35 volumes published over a 40 year interval. These volumes are compendia of the genera of fossil invertebrates, and they have had an immeasurable impact on research and graduate training in paleontology. In addition to catalyzing further systematic, paleoecological, and evolutionary research, the Treatise has made summary data available for statistical analysis, thereby creating an entirely new approach to paleobiology. Dr. Roger Kaesler, Editor in Chief of the Treatise, proposes two years of planning activities that will lead to implementation of a computer database to accompany future printed Treatise volumes. The proposed initiation of computerization for the Treatise will have an enormous impact on research in paleontology. The proposed database will establish the means to connect Treatise data directly to other taxonomic databases, to computerized catalogs of museum specimens, to literature databases, and to Geographic Information Systems. The proposed planning activities are forward-looking and will establish long-range directions that will benefit large segments of the biological and geological research communities.
