Compiled from notes in the field from Deb Paul, iDigBio Digitization Expert:
The Southwest Collections of Arthropods Network (SCAN): A Model for Collections Digitization to Promote Taxonomic and Ecological Research kickoff meeting at Arizona State University.
August 15-16th 2012
iDigBio is very pleased to welcome David Jennings as our new Project Manager! David is an industrial/mechanical engineer with over 18 years of experience in project management and leadership and will be responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, developing requirements, coordinating activities within iDigBio, and coordinating activities between iDigBio and other networks/collections.
The Division of Invertebrate Paleontology in the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute seeks a 2-year, full time, post-doctoral associate with experience and interest in invertebrate paleontology and bioinformatics to work on an Advancing the Digitization of Biodiversity Collections grant covering invertebrate fossils. Required qualifications include a PhD in geology, systematics, paleontology or closely related field, working knowledge of the taxonomy and identification of invertebrate fossils, experience databasing natural history collections, experience managing projects, and demonstrated communication skills. For additional information and complete application instructions visit https://jobs.ku.edu, position # 00209886 or contact Bruce S. Lieberman blieber@ku.edu . To apply complete the online application and attach cover letter, curriculum vitae, and contact information for 3 professional references. Review begins 1 Nov. 2012. Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.
The United States National Herbarium is seeking an informatics professional with experience in developing and managing bioinformatics programs in a research setting. Apply at http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/322929400 Last day to apply, August 15th, 2012. Please circulate widely.
On 30 June 2012, iDigBio completed its first year of operation. As the national resource for the NSF-funded Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections(ADBC), our first year required that we identify and overcome major organizational hurdles as we develop a national infrastructure for the ADBC institutions. We are pleased to report that our first year was highly successful. In this article, we enumerate some of our major activities and accomplishments.
All of us at iDigBio are excited to announce the publication of Five Task Clusters that Enable Efficient and Effective Digitization of Biodiversity Collections in a ZooKeys 209:19-45 (2012) Special Issue No specimen left behind: mass digitization of natural history collections. We look forward to your comments...
Dr. Corinna Gries is PI and head of the North American Lichens and Bryophytes Thematic Collections Network. An accomplished researcher and programmer, here she is interviewed by Jill Holliday and discusses some of the history of specimen databasing, the goal of the North American Lichens and Bryophytes TCN, and the importance of public participation and crowd-sourcing to the TCN databasing projects.
Holliday: Corinna, you are the head of the North American Lichens and Bryophytes TCN.
iDigBio's technology preview is the first release of a semi-annual release cycle for a specimen portal that will eventually contain over 1 billion vouchered specimen records. This technology preview contains sample datasets provided by Morphbank and the Florida Museum of Natural History, some of which is research quality specimen data. These datasets allow iDigBio to share its development efforts with the community for feedback and guidance. You can access the technology preview here: portal.iDigBio.org
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the availability of funding to enhance and expand digitization of and access to existing biological and paleontological collections in the United States.
The Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections is seeking full proposals for its third round of funding. Proposals will be accepted for new research themes (Thematic Collections Networks) and for partnerships with existing networks (Partners to Existing Network).
Efficient and effective workflows are at the heart of successful biological and paleontological collections digitization. Much work has been done with developing workflows and protocols at the museum and collections level, but few of these workflows have been documented or made available to the larger collections community. iDigBio, through its Documentation pages, is establishing an online repository for sharing existing customized workflows from as many collection types and institutions as possible, an idea that stems largely from the Developing Robust Object-to-Image-to-Data (DROID) workshop held May 30-31, 2012. We have assembled an initial set of workflows, including selected examples from the DROID workshop, as well as those developed by iDigBio staff. Here we offer the beginnings of the repository and encourage those in the community to both discuss the workflows via the forum links, and to contribute to this resource by adding new workflows and updating existing workflows.
