University of North Texas

The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) and Texas Center for Digital Knowledge (TxCDK) will study how computers and humans can work together to create meaningful, high-quality specimen label data for use in digitized biological collections. Digitizing these collections in a well-planned and standardized way increases their use by a wider audience, reduces the physical handling of the original object, and produces a permanent digital archive. A key challenge faced when digitizing biological collections is determining a process that yields standards-based, high-quality metadata results in a cost- and time-efficient manner. This research will establish a model for effective and efficient conversion of specimen label data into information that enhances the use of digital biodiveristy repositories. All project documents will be shared on the project Web site and through other open-access digital libraries to ensure long-term access.