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<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:
11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;">Hi
Everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:
11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"
id="docs-internal-guid-d30c1bdc-8070-b789-023b-1d09cb7de150">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;
color: black;">Wondering what you can do to help get more
collections data digitized?<br>
Please see, share widely, and get in touch with questions about
this global Citizen Science challenge: </span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color:
black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"
id="docs-internal-guid-d30c1bdc-8070-b789-023b-1d09cb7de150">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;
color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"
id="docs-internal-guid-d30c1bdc-8070-b789-023b-1d09cb7de150">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;
color: black;">The </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;">Worldwide
Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections (<b>WeDigBio</b>) event</span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color:
black;"> kicks off this week from October 22-25. Volunteers are
teaming up with scientists and other participants around the
world to capture biodiversity specimen data, digitizing the
information for scientific research. Participants can pick a
project in which to participate online or find an in-person
event at museums and universities around the country (and
globe). <br>
</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:
11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;"><br>
Learn more here:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.wedigbio.org&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=sbj-UnJXnI2zcIPCq3xBq0h4Oq6jCxnCYF1QSYpJDNo&s=yJ8z7_3fZDqsmxwWnLAM9KK22CG6WmfP3s_t9zQLaCU&e=">http://www.wedigbio.org</a><br>
</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;
color: black;"></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family:
Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Anyone can join us at <u>any
point</u> from
<u>any place</u> from Thursday to Sunday - there are opportunities
to participate with fellow transcription platforms
NotesfromNature, Herbaria@Home, Les Herbonautes, and the
Australian Museum’s DigiVol, and Smithsonian Transcription Center.
We’re bringing together collections and programs from the US, UK,
France, Australia, and more and look forward on reporting on
outcomes of this one-of-a-kind event soon.</span><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">See
the WeDigBio press release below:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">GLOBAL 4 DAY EFFORT TO
DIGITIZE CENTURIES OF DATA ABOUT LIFE ON EARTH<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"> —<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">For
centuries, scientists have explored and documented the natural
world, collecting the billions of specimens lodged in museums,
universities, and field stations worldwide. And now,
institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, Florida
State University, and others across the globe want to help make
that information available to the general public. But they need
your help.
<br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">The
WeDigBio event will transform the often handwritten or
typewritten data sequestered on the labels of plant, insect,
fish, and fossil specimens into an open, globally accessible,
digital resource with the help of the public. Working together
with partners in the US, UK, France, and Australia, the goal of
the event is to work together in collaborative, online
workflows, supported by in-person events. For example, The
Smithsonian Transcription Center offers the opportunity to
transform data from the labels of Bombus specimens as well as
herbaria sheets from the U.S. National Herbarium. Additionally,
there are field notes from scientists who collected these and
other specimens from places around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">The
WeDigBio event emerged within the museum community to accelerate
the rate of digital data creation about the historical what,
when, and where of the perhaps 9 million species on Earth. It
has a core leadership team that includes researchers form the
Smithsonian Institution, the Australian Museum, Florida State
University, University of Florida and the major online
transcription platforms, including the U.S. based Smithsonian
Transcription Center, Notes from Nature, and Symbiota, the
Australia based DigiVol, the UK based Herbaria@Home, and the
France based Les Herbonautes. This one of kind event will be
held from October 22 -25 at 30 locations across the globe, as
well as online.</span><u><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#103CC0"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__go.si.edu_site_Calendar-3Fid-3D101001-26view-3DDetail&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=sbj-UnJXnI2zcIPCq3xBq0h4Oq6jCxnCYF1QSYpJDNo&s=h75vxI_NUNWK1P7UzI9ZVaCrzDuONhLGdRiQF7YpVsk&e="></a></span></u><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Members
of the public can contribute at anytime from anywhere during the
event with participating online platforms. Get started at the
and find more information at the event website
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.wedigbio.org&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=sbj-UnJXnI2zcIPCq3xBq0h4Oq6jCxnCYF1QSYpJDNo&s=yJ8z7_3fZDqsmxwWnLAM9KK22CG6WmfP3s_t9zQLaCU&e=">http://www.wedigbio.org</a>.<br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">On
Twitter: #WeDigBio</span><br>
<meta charset="utf-8">
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Best
and thanks for sharing!,<br>
Deb, et al from WeDigBio<br>
</span></p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
-- Upcoming iDigBio Events <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.idigbio.org_calendar&d=AwMDaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=sbj-UnJXnI2zcIPCq3xBq0h4Oq6jCxnCYF1QSYpJDNo&s=ls6OIoyke0DPBdmL7498r0YLBrll2_Ag0QAhUo_VhNg&e=">https://www.idigbio.org/calendar</a>
-- Deborah Paul, iDigBio Technology Specialist
Institute for Digital Information, 234 LSB
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida 32306
850-644-6366</pre>
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