<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Helvetica;
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
span.apple-converted-space
{mso-style-name:apple-converted-space;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_GoBack"></a><span style="color:black">Dear all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="color:black"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="color:black">Over the past year several exciting conversations about the possibilities of digital representations of the billions of specimens currently held in the world’s natural history collections. Two concepts—the
</span><a href="https://dissco.tech/2020/03/31/what-is-a-digital-specimen/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#F15A29;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Digital Specimen</span></a><span style="color:black"> proposed by the
</span><a href="https://www.dissco.eu/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#F15A29;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Distributed System of Scientific Collections</span></a><span style="color:black"> (DiSSCo) in Europe and the
</span><a href="https://www.idigbio.org/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/BCoN/Extending-Biodiversity-Collections-Full-Report%282%29.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color:#F15A29;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Extended Specimen</span></a><span style="color:black">
emerging from the </span><a href="https://bcon.aibs.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#F15A29;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Biological Collections Network</span></a><span style="color:black"> (BCoN) in the United States—are now aligning
towards a shared vision that connects all information related to a specimen, creating in effect “digital twins” for the materials held in scientific collections.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Plans for the <i><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allianceforbio.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C251ac4fbf1e94c6d60d908d8be228dcc%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637468402904646152%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=3dLwhI%2BXQ93%2FyrhWjARxMOBv%2FZt7nroQCX5pNYfrKBE%3D&reserved=0"><span style="color:#954F72">alliance</span><span style="color:#954F72;font-style:normal"> </span></a></i>consultation
on <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allianceforbio.org%2Fpost%2Fconverging-digital-and-extended-specimens-towards-a-global-specification-for-data-integration&data=04%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C251ac4fbf1e94c6d60d908d8be228dcc%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637468402904646152%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=Tljmz5WU3RkDkrfLRxrBjNxVSp8B6O%2BPE4iT%2BLFAVuc%3D&reserved=0"><span style="color:#954F72">Converging
Digital and Extended Specimens: Towards a global specification for data integration</span></a> are progressing well.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Beginning in February, the </span>
<a href="http://bit.ly/esdsconsult" target="_blank"><span style="color:#F15A29;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">consultation</span></a><span style="color:black"> will seek to engage the wider community on a handful of topics that have technical, financial,
social, governance and professional implications that require broader discussion and consensus. The consultation aims to expand participation in the process, build support for further collaboration, identify key use cases, and develop an initial roadmap for
community adoption and implementation.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">GBIF, DiSCCo, iDigBio, ALA, and the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN), among others, invite you to register for one of the two virtual opening sessions that will be held on February 16 by following the links
below and then to become involved in the Discourse consultation discussion process.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white;caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:#231F20"><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fus02web.zoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FtZcodemvrD0vHdXJqojDgS3KACD8bbXorB-D&data=04%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C251ac4fbf1e94c6d60d908d8be228dcc%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637468402904656146%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=JFBYrqaFFBDxxvkhGrP1pUGRQHA2qb7ghVALf%2BRPPeI%3D&reserved=0"><b><span style="text-decoration:none">Session
1 6:00 UTC</span></b></a></span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white;caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:#231F20"><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fus02web.zoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FtZwkf-2rrTkjE9zZIWu18G3DgDUHAGSyELz1&data=04%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C251ac4fbf1e94c6d60d908d8be228dcc%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637468402904656146%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=KBZDlQJOO9Ab6cr%2FjfhG81gYreFSUKO5jLgc%2FfiI%2Fdc%3D&reserved=0"><b><span style="text-decoration:none">Session
2 15:00 UTC</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="color:black">The GBIF community forum <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscourse.gbif.org%2Ft%2Fabout-the-digital-extended-specimen-category%2F2394&data=04%7C01%7Cabentley%40ku.edu%7C251ac4fbf1e94c6d60d908d8be228dcc%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637468402904666139%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=P22mYOJcGolKwFUBP1XgkrCXeLnQtUvT5Cv6wPEYdfE%3D&reserved=0" title="Original URL:
https://discourse.gbif.org/t/about-the-digital-extended-specimen-category/2394
Click to follow link."><span style="color:#954F72">landing
page for the consultation</span></a> is also now live. This page will hold guidance on the consultation process with links to the discussion threads. Please see links on the landing page to more background documents. If you are a new user of the GBIF community
forum you will need to register. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="color:black"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="color:black">The organizers are excited by the large attendance at recent related events and expect a thoughtful and robust consultation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Thanks<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Andy (on behalf of BCoN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"> A : A : A :<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"> }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"> V V V<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Andy Bentley<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Ichthyology Collection Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">University of Kansas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Biodiversity Institute<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Dyche Hall<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">1345 Jayhawk Boulevard<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">USA<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Tel: (785) 864-3863<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Fax: (785) 864-5335 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Email: <a href="mailto:abentley@ku.edu"><span style="color:blue">abentley@ku.edu</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"><a href="http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu/"><span style="color:blue">http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"> A : A : A :<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"> }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black"> V V V<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>