Paleontology is often a core research emphasis of many U.S. natural history museum collections, but to date, the paleocollections community has been less engaged in digitization of specimens and collection information than its neontological counterpart. iDigBio - Integrated Digitized Biocollections, the National Resource for Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections - will conduct a workshop to address the digitization needs, opportunities, and Grand Challenges of the paleontological collections community throughout the U.S.
The specific goals of this workshop are to: 1. Allow a forum for dialog and communication among the paleontological collections subdisciplines (vertebrate, invertebrate, paleobotanical, and microfossils). 2. Present examples of on-going digitization initiatives among the neontological collections communities and examples of currently funded digitization projects. 3. Facilitate dialog between the paleo- and neontological collections communities to promote integration of collection data. 4. Facilitate a discussion of the collections digitization needs, priorities, and Grand Challengesfor the paleo community.
Collection information for biological specimens housed in U.S. institutions holds tremendous value for research, education, and understanding patterns of biodiversity. Integrated biocollection data - from both paleo- and neontological specimens ? can therefore be used for developing conservation, management, and public policy for biodiversity. Four graduate students in paleocollections will be included. These students will have the opportunity to meet professionals in the paleo community and will be able to participate in developing a vision for digitization of paleocollections.
Museums in the U.S. house approximately 1 billion biological specimens, which serve as a chronicle of life on Earth. However, locked away in museum cabinets, these specimens – and the valuable data associated with each one – are not generally accessible to scientists or the public. Recent efforts have been aimed at capturing collection information and images from specimens and serving this information via the WWW. Such digitization efforts promise to make available centuries of scientific information that is currently trapped in museum cabinets. Paleontology is often a core research emphasis of many U.S. natural history museum collections, but to date, the paleocollections community has been less engaged in digitization of specimens and collection information than its neontological counterpart. iDigBio – Integrated Digitized Biocollections, the National Resource for Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections – organized a workshop to address the digitization needs, opportunities, and Grand Challenges of the paleontological collections community throughout the U.S. The two-day workshop combined presentations and break-out sessions to facilitate exchange of information and promote dialogue. Participants were selected to represent a diversity of scientific disciplines, institutions, geographic locations, and career stages, with a further emphasis on gender balance and inclusion of under-represented groups. Through this workshop, we aimed for the following outcomes: Increased awareness of digitization needs, opportunities, and Grand Challenges within the paleo community. Increased awareness and understanding by the paleo community of digitization activities within the neontological community, and vice versa. Report from this workshop to be posted on the iDigBio website and sent to NSF. New collaborations/network(s) formed. Formation of Paleocollections Working Group at iDigBio Follow-up activities at other professional meetings The workshop provided information about ongoing digitization activities in the paleontological and neontological communities and explored the needs of the paleo community for digitizing diverse paleo collections. Following this workshop, more members of the paleo community became engaged with iDigBio, resulting in the development of new research and digitization networks. A Paleocollections Working Group was formed at iDigBio to investigate research uses of digitized paleo data and document needs of the paleo community for digitization. A subsequent Working Group was also formed to clarify needed fields for paleocollections (e.g., stratigraphy) in the iDigBio data resource and how those fields should be queried; these activities are ongoing. Presentations by iDigBio personnel and other members of the paleo community addressed digitization issues in at least two professional conferences. Four graduate students and one post-doc in paleontology were included as projectionists, scribes for the break-out sessions, and session leaders. These students and the post-doc had the opportunity to meet professionals in the paleo community and to participate in developing a vision for digitization of paleocollections. In addition, the integration of paleocollections into broader impact activities, including student training and professional development, was addressed during the workshop. Through these activities, the project contributed to the broader goal of enhanced training of paleotologists in digitization and data management.
