NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS DIGITIZATION: RATIONALE AND VALUE

The value of digitizing Natural History Collections is well attested, although their rate of digitization should be increased. The task group of the Global Strategy and Action Plan for the Digitization of Natural History Collections agreed that the only way of achieving a significant increase is by capturing metadata to encourage digitization at the specimen level. Encouraging a metadata solution appears to be the best way of mobilizing the community responsible for caring for and providing access to such data. Moreover, a user-driven approach is likely to offer the best means of prioritizing what should be digitized.