NHM Digital Collection Programme Ian Owens, Natural History Museum, London Digital Specimen 2014, Berlin, September 2014

Why digitise natural history collections? Make collections available to global audiences Develop new ways to engage society with the natural world Create novel resources for education Tackle major challenges for science and society Origins and evolution of our solar system, earth and life Modelling the biosphere Environmental change Health and disease Food and agriculture New sources of scarce minerals

Modelling the biosphere I

Modelling the biosphere II Land management Ecosystems Agro-ecosystems Secondary vegetation MatureMid Young

Modelling the biosphere III

NHM collection

NHM Digital Collections Programme “To collate, organise and make available to global scientific and public audiences one of the world’s most important natural history collections, delivering: - an online specimen- / lot-level data base for all holding - core meta-data and / or images for key parts of the collection, and - flexible informatics and visualisation tools” Target = 20 million specimens digitised in 5 years

Workflows not defined or tested for several types of collections Lack of Museum-wise prioritisation Unclear policies on data and access Different data standards for different projects Fragmented expertise and leadership across the NHM team Digital curation skils often poorly developed Collections database records of varied quality and not joined up Scalability of current systems unclear Data not accessible outside of NHM Limited tools to connect to global users No strategic approach to partnerships Commercial patrnerships to digitise not yet explored Collection data not widely used in major research collaborations Digitisation activity not linked to research activity Current state (examples) Lack of full understanding about our users and audiences Limited interaction with peer and user communities PEOPLE & SKILLSDATA CAPTUREPOLICY & PROTOCOLINFRASTRUCTUREPARTNERSHIPSRESEARCHACCESS STAKEHOLDERS & GOVERNANCE

PEOPLE & SKILLS Prioritised digitisation Workflows piloted Portfolio of mass digitisation output projects Some major collections digitised DATA CAPTURE Defined data policy and standards Policies embedded in NHM operating practises Leaders of process in the digital curatorial world POLICY & PROTOCOLINFRASTRUCTURE Task force formed and operating Best-practice processes integrated into training Digital curation as a core part of our practice Refined collections database, tools & hardware Future collections database implemented Broad connections to other large digital collections PARTNERSHIPSRESEARCH Live NHM Data Portal Tools, visualisations & analytics Integrated global network of users Partners involved in pilot projects Fully funded digitisation portfolio Major international coalitions ACCESS Research-orientated projects & initiatives Collaborative research material published Major contributions to grand challenges 2 year5 year10 year STAKEHOLDERS & GOVERNANCE Key user communities engaged Peer to peer development Proactive engagement of emerging audiences

How does the programme work? Central ‘programme board’ and ‘task force’ to manage & drive the programme Prioritisation based on research questions ‘Broad and thin’ approach: high-throughput, core meta-data only Foundation projects –Data standards and policies –Collection database –Fundraising and partnerships Ongoing projects –Pinned insects– Crowd-sourcing data –Herbarium sheets– Data portal –Microscope slides –Palaeontology

Question-oriented prioritisation Coarse biogeography Coarse macroecology Comparative analysis of traits Macroecological modelling of phenotype Community phylogenetics List-based macroecology Temporal diversity curves Evolution of disparity Object Image Stratigraphy Collector Taxonomic name Geographical location Date of collection What meta-data are required for different types of study? Core meta-data categories:

Pinned insects: iCollections

Pilot Projects Pilot 1 – Herbarium sheets Trial partnership with Kew & Picturae (NL) Conveyor-based equipment C.95,000 sheets in1 month Outsourcing of label transcription Pilot 2 – Microscopic slides Pilot 3 – Palaeontology Mesozoic vertebrates Anthropological remains Standardised photography (Laser and CT scanning for some specimens only) Many types of slide in collection High-throughput slide scanner Satscan to capture label information

Crowdsourcing data Atlas of Living Australia Smithsonian Transcription Center Les Herbonautes Notes from Nature Crowdcrafting

NHM Ornithological registers 1 user with 32,629 transcriptions! 92 users with 100+ transcriptions 363 users with 1 transcription

Crowdfunding Navigation Cost to digitise Taxon name Top sponsors Progress bar 1-Click sponsorship

NHM Data portal A platform for deposition and discovery of NHM research & collections data Stable, citable identifiers on datasets & specimen / lot records Transparent data quality (un-reviewed, reviewed, reviewed & updated) Download (DwCA), web-services & Linked Open Data Build using CKAN, with enhanced mapping functionality Search Datasets matching criteria Individual dataset Results Browse & search criteria Mapping, table & statistical views

External data portals Flickr GBIF Europeana NHM Coleoptera

Summary Question-oriented digitisation programme ‘Broad and thin’ approach Focus on core meta-data – what, when, where, who Pilot projects underway –Pinned insects –Herbarium sheets –Microscope slides –Palaeontology Crowdsourcing of label and registry information Open data principles