[Nhcoll-l] Register Now: Nov & Dec Sustaining Digitization Webinars

[Nelson,Gil]

We have several new and exciting sustaining digitization webinars coming up in November and December. Registration for all sessions is now open!

Register here:
https://www.idigbio.org/content/webinar-series-importance-sustaining-biodiversity-specimen-collections-digitization-absence

November 18, 2025 | 2:00–3:00 PM ET
Ensuring Long-Term Access to Biodiversity Data: iDigBio, GBIF, and Beyond
Speaker: Cat Chapman (Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, iDigBio)

A common question that arises, now that iDigBio is in its final year of NSF funding, is: What do I do with my future data and what happens to my current iDigBio-hosted data? The good news is that iDigBio is working closely with GBIF to ensure that all data contributed to iDigBio will be migrated to GBIF for continuous, secure, accessible, long-term availability. You heard Joe Miller’s (director of GBIF) commitment in September. In the current webinar, Cat Chapman, iDigBio’s Biodiversity Informatics Coordinator will demonstrate how to register your collection at GBIF. Cat has already worked with many of you to make this happen. For those using Symbiota or Specify, watch out for the webinars for Symbiota (December 16, 2025) and Specify (January 27, 2026). Your data comprise the most important asset created through our collective digitization efforts and must be preserved for future biodiversity research and education. We look forward to seeing you on November 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET.


December 2, 2025 | 2:00–3:00 PM ET
AI and Natural History Collections: Promise, Pitfalls, and Perspectives
Speakers:
Laura Briscoe (New York Botanical Garden)
Leanna Feder (New York Botanical Garden)
James Mickley (Oregon State University)
Emily Sessa (New York Botanical Garden)
Jordan Teisher (Missouri Botanical Garden)
Kim Watson (New York Botanical Garden)
Will Weaver (University of Michigan)

For more than two decades, the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden has been a consistent leader in botanical specimen digitization and an innovator in emerging digitization technologies, tools, and protocols. Their early work contributed to the establishment of NSF’s Advancing the Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC) program and was among the first institutions to be funded through this highly successful program. NYBG was among the first institutions iDigBio staff visited to see large-scale digitization in action and learn about effective tools, techniques, and workflows. As the title of this webinar suggests, NYBG remains on the cutting edge of digitization practice, and we welcome their staff and colleagues to this webinar series.


December 11, 2025 | 2:00–3:00 PM ET
Digital Data in Systematics and Biogeographic Research (using fishes as examples)
Speaker Dr. Larry Page (Curator Emeritus of Fishes, Florida Museum of Natural History)

The massive and still increasing quantity of digital biodiversity specimen data that has been generated and aggregated by natural history museums and academic collections across the globe has been a boon to biodiversity researchers and their research. We are delighted to host Dr. Larry Page, founding director of iDigBio and leader in ichthyology research to recount why digital data are important to research and what makes the availability of these data essential to future research. We are also pleased to participate in achieving Larry’s long-term vision of an accessible storehouse of digital data.


December 16, 2025 | 2:00–4:00 PM ET
Preparing for the Future of Biodiversity Digitization & Data Access Using Symbiota
Speakers:
Katie Pearson (University of Kansas, Symbiota, iDigBio)
Lindsay Walker (University of Kansas, Symbiota, iDigBio)
Dr. Jenn Yost (California Polytechnic State University, Symbiota)

Symbiota software and portals have been integral to iDigBio since the beginning of NSF’s Advancing the Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC) program in 2011. Celebrated by collections of all sizes for its intuitive interfaces, ease of use, open source platform, and online availability, Symbiota has been critical to many collaborative digitization projects and is now used by over 1,100 collections as a collection management system. Symbiota has directed huge amounts of biodiversity data to iDigBio and GBIF and has been especially supportive of and helpful to under-resourced and smaller collections. We are grateful to Dr. Jenn Yost, Katie Pearson, and Lindsay Walker and everyone at the Symbiota Support Hub, which joined iDigBio in 2021, for the outstanding support and training they have provided to the Symbiota portal community and for their agreeing to present this webinar.

For past recordings and upcoming events, visit the series Wiki page:
https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Sustaining_Collections_Digitization_Beyond_NSF_Funding:_A_Webinar_Series



Gil Nelson, PhD
Director, Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio)
President, Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA)
Florida Museum of Natural History
University of Florida
gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu

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