Ten lessons learned from the mass digitisation of a herbarium collection

By

De Smedt, Sofie
Bogaerts, Ann
De Meeter, Niko
Dillen, Mathias
Engledow, Henry
Van Wambeke, Paul
Leliaert, Frederik
Groom, Quentin

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

PhytoKeys

Volume

244

Pages

23--37

Subjects

biodiversity informatics , digitisation , Herbarium specimens , Natural history collections , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers [2010]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.244.120112

 

Abstract

Worldwide, herbaria maintain collections of reference specimens representing global plant diversity. These collections are a valuable resource for fundamental botanical research and applied scientific research across various disciplines, and play a significant role in addressing major societal challenges such as biodiversity conservation. The digitisation of herbarium specimens and their online dissemination is one of the most important recent developments in the curation of these collections. Digitisation significantly enhances access to the collections for the research community and facilitates large-scale analysis of biodiversity data. Digitisation also provides a means for preserving the physical specimens, as it reduces the need for handling and transportation. Rapid technological developments have greatly accelerated the rate of databasing and digital imaging of collections. Meise Botanic Garden recently completed a six-year project to mass digitise its herbarium collections of about 3 million specimens mounted on sheets and through this process we have learned valuable lessons. We have captured our experience in 10 recommendations for other collection-holding institutions to take inspiration from as they start planning their own digitisation efforts. We also present case studies where we delve deeper into certain topics as examples.