Workflow

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. The second group, Pinned Specimens in Trays and Drawers, is investing its time developing modules to support effective entomological digitization workflows. Other preservation types will follow, concluding with the development of an overall project management module designed to provide guidance for developing and managing digitization projects across disciplines and preservation types.

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.