Teaching Old Collections New Tricks: Initial Findings of the ISTF Herbarium Digitization Project*

OpenAlex İngilizce

The digitization of herbaria and other scientific collections has been championed by many researchers, especially taxonomists, who are acutely aware of their importance for the future. Both technological developments and the progression of globalization have accelerated digitization efforts worldwide in recent years. The digitization of the Istanbul University Faculty of Science Herbarium (ISTF) is one example of such a project, which has spanned many years, through various challenges, constantly changing conditions, and technological advancements. This article aims to briefly document the history of efforts made to this end, from the very first spark of an idea to the eventual procurement of institutional support and the start of digitization in October 2022. As of February 2023, data entries for 25,584 specimens (53% of the collection), 3,442 (8% of the collection) of which include high-quality photos, can be accessed through the ISTF virtual herbarium website. We also aim to outline the methods used at ISTF, which we hope will serve as a reference for virtual herbaria yet to be established. We discuss the place of undergraduate and graduate students in digitization alongside best practices to manage these volunteer students so that they may effectively contribute to herbarium work for the long-term benefit of themselves and the collections.