Mollusks are the 2nd most species rich invertebrate phylum on the planet. In the US there are approximately 55 reported mollusks collections housed in a great diversity of small, midsized, and large collections (see Cummings et al. at http://wwx.inhs.illinois.edu/collections/mollusk/links/list#NA]. However, there are numerous smaller, heretofore largely unknown ‘shell’ collections containing North American specimens in various museums that are not known to the research and environmental research communities. This proposed taxon focus digitization workshop will assemble a solid data foundation on the current status of US mollusk collections digitization, develop advancement strategies for rapidly promoting digitization and mobilization of North American molluscan specimen data, and provide georeferencing training covering key issues in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine localities, with special relevance to the phylum. The research use of digitized mollusk data and various applications by other stakeholder forms a prominent component of this workshop. The workshop will last 1.5 days and will be conducted in connection with the Annual Meeting of the American Malacological Society in July 2017 hosted by the Delaware Museum of Natural History in Wilmington, DE.
Workshop wiki: https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Digitizing_the_2nd_largest_Invert...