It is our pleasure to announce that iDigBio, the National Science Foundation’s National Resource for Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections (
www.idigbio.org), is offering a workshop focused on engaging the public in the digitization of the US's ca. 1 billion biodiversity specimens in ways that are interesting and educational for the participants and efficient and reliable for the projects managing the digitization. The workshop is co-organized by iDigBio’s Public Participation in Digitization Working Group and iDigBio’s Education and Outreach Working Group. The target audience for the workshop includes digitization project leaders, biodiversity informatics software developers, and informal education community members. The workshop will (1) identify steps in the digitization process that could involve the public, (2) establish one or more workflows for each of those steps, keeping the motivations driving public participants and digitizing institutions in mind, (3) identify existing tools, expertise, and communities that can be engaged in the workflows and gaps where new tools, expertise, or communities are needed, and (4) start individuals or small groups on the path of making those workflows a reality. The workshop will be held at University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, September 28–29, 2012.
Funding is available to support travel and per diem for five additional participants through a competitive application process. Those desiring to attend this workshop should submit their CV and a succinct paragraph (<200 words) explaining how their attendance will contribute to the successful completion of the four workshop goals given above to Cathy Bester (
cbester@flmnh.ufl.edu) by July 16, 2012 The committee anticipates notifying applicants of decisions by July 20.
Austin Mast (on behalf of the iDigBio Public Participation in Digitization Working Group) and
Betty Dunckel (on behalf of the iDigBio Education and Outreach Working Group)