Judith Skog Biological Sciences Directorate National Science
Foundation July 11, 2012 The Case for Collection Support: Getting
to the First Step
Slide 2
Collections contain information that is valuable for a variety
of purposes Target audience must be considered Framing is extremely
important for survival of collections
Slide 3
Ginkgo biloba known as a fossil only in west Saved from
extinction in east Chinese trees venerated by Buddhist monks and
preserved in gardens Medicinal and religious uses of seeds and
leaves People respected old age and long life
Slide 4
Earliest botanical garden and herbarium at Padua in 1545 Center
for scientific research Medicinal uses of plants not standard in
practice Government of Venice wanted people healthy Scientists case
for study Continues to present day
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Hans Sloan as successful physician Supported his botanical
collections Founding collections for British Museum
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Linnaeus with patrons Importance of collecting Medical uses
with understanding of nature Supported students to collect around
the world adding to the growing knowledge of organisms
Slide 7
Public middle classes interested in their world and what was in
it Amateurs collected variety of items Beginning of societies for
natural history Often pastimes were arranging collections
Slide 8
Increasing numbers of public museums for the general interest
in the natural world 1881 Nat. Hist Mus opened to public in London
Growth of cities encouraged people to romanticize the natural world
Science discussed and debated
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Ecology proposing large major facility Biodiversity researchers
also proposing large effort Center activities increasing NCEAS
first Taxon-based data resources being established FishNet and
Species Analyst in 1999 HerpNet and MaNIS in 2001 Environmental
data integration projects (Ocean Biogeographic Information System,
1997)
Slide 10
NSF priorities: People, Ideas, Tools Cyberinfrastructure NEON
planning began Global organization for biodiversity information
Collections collaboration increasing Workshops on collection
interactions at University of Florida, New York Botanical
Garden
Slide 11
Discovery Foster research that will advance the frontiers of
knowledge, emphasizing areas of greatest opportunity and potential
benefit and establishing the nation as a global leader in
fundamental and transformational science and engineering. Research
Infrastructure Build the nations research capability through
critical investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities,
cyberinfrastructure and experimental tools.
Slide 12
Research Collections proposals for collaborations allowed, but
underfunded needed increase of funds in program and new
solicitation Research Coordination Network awarded for Collections
Web to bring the community together Within the Federal Government,
there was recognition that the U.S. collections were a heritage
needing attention and that they were important for a number of
reasons. This concern was expressed in the Office of Management and
Budget memos to the federal agencies for consideration of
priorities in their budgets.
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OMB memo to Federal Agencies highlighted the importance of
scientific collections Two areas requiring special agency attention
and focus through the NSTC are Federal scientific collections and
R&D assessment. Agencies should assess the priorities for and
stewardship of Federal scientific collections and should develop a
coordinated strategic plan to identify, maintain and use Federal
collections and to further collections research.
Slide 14
Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections began in
Fall 2005 All agencies with collections at meeting NSF houses no
collections but was deemed to be the interface with the non-federal
collections that had received funding over many years for
improvements to collections First step was to assess existing
collections NSF had to develop separate assessment for collections
not federally owned
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Set up a focus group to develop an appropriate assessment
questionnaire for the non federal collections Held at AMNH in NY
with variety of collections represented Questionnaire was approved
by OMB and those collections that had received support from NSF
were surveyed At the end of the survey, about 72% of those surveyed
responded with information. Clear that collections needed
additional funds
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Slide 17
Enhanced coordination and networking among collections and
curators. Finding and retaining expertise. Reducing the risk of
loss of specimens. Improving accessibility of collections
Developing new tools to enable exchange of data
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Primary: Improvements to Biological Research Collections
Systematic Biology and Biodiversity Inventories Other: Advances in
Biological Informatics Major Research Instrumentation Long Term
Ecological Research Ecology CISE/Information and Intelligent
Systems, Computer and Network Systems Funding Decisions were
Independent, Disaggregated
Slide 19
Scientific collections provide proper validation of species
including a wealth of ancillary data such as DNA samples and
environment/habitat information. These data provide the baseline
from which to begin further biodiversity studies and provide
critical information about the existing gaps in our knowledge of
life on earth. To maximize the use of this information, digitizing
scientific collections into a resource that can be accessed by the
broadest possible community is vital
Slide 20
September 2009: BIO Advisory Committee discussed collections
and digitizationwhat is needed? Development of a focused strategic
research agenda Development of technologies to enhance digitization
capabilities Determination of where to start digitizing
Slide 21
Develop a plan to engage and mobilize the collections community
to answer the question: What would a focused, ten- year campaign to
digitize existing collections look like? Held two focus group
meetings to develop a community strategic plan
Slide 22
Strategic plan for digitizing, imaging, mobilizing collections
data for the non-federal collections in the USA completed by June
2010 Need a central organization for integration Need for thematic
networks based on research area Need for regional groups or clade
based groups Assess need for new tools and technologies At the core
are the collections
Slide 23
Transform the frontiers emphasizes the seamless integration of
research and education as well as the close coupling of research
infrastructure and discovery.
Slide 24
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), in consultation
with relevant federal agencies, develop policies for management and
use of federal scientific collections to improve the quality,
organization, access, including online access, and long-term
preservation of such collections for the benefit of the scientific
enterprise.
Slide 25
10 year effort to digitize as many of the U.S. owned
collections as possible Invest at least 10 million dollars per year
Establish the central resource Start Thematic Collections Networks
based on major research challenges
Slide 26
Information is an important component of collections and
emphasizes the need to communicate that information in the form
best suited for the century Know the audience and what they wish to
know and understand the political priorities In that context,
framing the issue is critical