One outgrowth of the DROID (Developing Robust Object-to-Image-to-Data) workflow workshop held in May 2012 was the establishment of a series of working groups, each focused on workflow modules and tasks for various preparation types. The first of these groups, informally called the Flat Sheets and Packets Working Group, was charged with fleshing out task lists for digitizing vascular and non-vascular plant collections. A reconstitution of this working group, convened in January 2015, added 8 modules to this set of workflows and updated the existing ones.The second working group, Pinned Specimens in Trays and Drawers, invested its time developing modules to support effective entomological digitization workflows. Things in Spirits in Jars devoted time to workflows for fluid-preserved collections. The 3D Objects in Trays and boxes completed its work in spring 2015 and focused mostly on paleontological specimens.
We have chosen a modular approach for presenting our results in order to accommodate the broad range of workflow implementations within the collections community. We recognize that there is no consensus workflow that fits all situations, even within a single preservation type. In light of this, we have attempted to assemble orderly, comprehensive task lists to serve as foundations from which institutionally specific workflows can be created. Not all institutions will use every task, but we hope that the lists we have developed encompass all relevant digitization tasks. We also hope that those in the collections digitization community will provide feedback on these lists, either through forum posts or e-mails to Gil Nelson, alerting us to deficiencies and oversights.
Links to published modules as they are completed are provided below:
Flat Sheets and Packets Working Group - Vascular and Non-vascular Plants
This workflow was developed at an iDigBio workshop in January 2015. The most recent version is available at https://github.com/iDigBioWorkflows/FlatSheetsDigitizationWorkflows.
Further information about these workflows was published in Applications in Plant Sciences 3(9): 1500065. doi:10.3732/apps.1500065 and is available at http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.3732/apps.1500065.
- Module 1 Pre-digitization Curation Tasks
- Module 2 Selecting Components for an Imaging Station
- Module 3 Imaging Station Setup Camera/Copy Stand
- Module 4 Imaging Station Setup Light box
- Module 5 Image Station Setup Scanner
- Module 6 Imaging
- Module 7 Image Processing
- Module 8 Organizing and Implementing a Public Participation Imaging Blitz
- Module 9 Image Archiving
- Module 10 Selecting a Database
- Module 11 Data Capture
- Module 12 Organizing and Implementing a Public Participation Transcription Blitz
- Module 13 Georeferencing
- Module 14 Proactive Digitization
Pinned Things in Trays and Drawers Working Group - Dried Insects
- Module 0 Generic Tasks Applicable to Two or More Modules
- Module 1 Pre-digitization Curation Tasks
- Module 2A Specimen Imaging Tasks
- Module 2B Whole-drawer Imaging Tasks
- Module 2C Label Imaging Tasks
- Module 3 Image Processing Tasks
- Module 4A Data Capture From Image Tasks
- Module 4B Data Capture From Specimen Tasks
- Module 4C Event Data Capture Tasks
- Module 5 Quality Assurance Tasks
- Module 0 Pre-digitization Curation Tasks
- Module 1A Imaging Ledgers, Cards, Field Notes
- Module 1B Imaging Specimen Labels
- Module 1C Specimen Imaging
- Module 1D Image Processing
- Module 1E Phototank Immersion Imaging Setup
- Module 1F Phototank Immersion Specimen Prep
- Module 1G Phototank Immersion Image Capture
- Module 1F Phototank Immersion Image Processing
- Module 2 Data Entry
- Module 3 Proactive Digitization
Three-dimensional Objects in Trays and Boxes
- Module 0 Predigitization Curation and Setup
- Module 1 Data Entry from Ledger-Card-Label-Catalog-Images
- Module 2A Ledger-card catalog-field notebook imaging (materials not stored with specimens)
- Module 2B Imaging Labels Associated with Collection Objects
- Module 2C Imaging Three Dimensionally Preserved Specimens
- Module 2D Imaging Two Dimensional Compressed Fossils
- Module 2E Image Processing
- Module 3 Proactive Digitization
