Databasing, Curating, and Protecting: A proposal to update and modernize the University of Washington Herbarium

在R. Olmstead博士的指导下，华盛顿大学获得了一笔赠款，用于改善华盛顿大学植物标本馆（WTU）维管植物、非维管植物和真菌收藏的长期保存和获取。华盛顿大学植物标本馆是太平洋西北地区最大的植物标本馆，拥有超过570,000个标本，分为维管植物，苔藓植物和地衣，真菌和藻类。这些藏品是宝贵的植物资源，因为它们支持了国内和国际的系统学、植物区系学和保护生物学研究。该项目的目标包括用钢代替木制标本箱，将过时的压实机系统从电子系统转换为机械辅助系统，建立所有北美西部维管植物标本的数据库，并整理苔藓和地衣的收藏。购买钢质植物标本室将保护成千上万的标本免受虫害、火灾或水的损害。目前，这些标本由于储存在木柜中而面临这些风险。将与档案储存专家签订合同，将现有的移动储存装置改为机械辅助装置，以便不再依赖已有22年历史的电子系统，该系统既没有备件，也没有训练有素的维修人员。将标本安置在现代化的箱子中，并拥有可操作的存储设备，将确保所有背景的当前和未来用户都可以使用这些标本。将聘请一名数据库管理员来监督WTU太平洋西北维管植物收集的数据库。将聘请一位受过系统学研究生水平培训的馆长来管理苔藓和地衣收藏。这些重要的收藏品，包括最近生物调查得出的标本，在20多年里没有得到受过训练的专家的注意。这个项目的活动支持华盛顿大学的研究、教育和公众宣传的使命。改进的WTU标本存储和可访问性确保了未来几代国内外研究人员对馆藏的学术使用的新机会。参与本项目的本科生提供了博物馆策展和研究方面的培训机会。重要的是，这个项目的影响远远超出了科学和大学社区。WTU馆藏的用户包括公众、各级教育的学生、政府机构人员和以保护为导向的非营利组织。对妥善储存和管理的标本的可靠访问可确保其长期提供给广大受众。

A grant has been awarded to the University of Washington under the direction of Dr. R. Olmstead to improve the long-term preservation of and access to the University of Washington Herbarium's (WTU) vascular plant, nonvascular plant, and fungal collections. The University of Washington Herbarium is the largest herbarium in the Pacific Northwest, with over 570,000 specimens divided among vascular plants, cryptogams (bryophytes and lichens), fungi, and algae. The collections are an invaluable botanical resource because they support systematics, floristics, and conservation biology research both nationally and internationally. The goals of this project include replacing wooden specimen cases with steel ones, converting the outdated compactor system from electronics based to mechanical assist, databasing all western North America vascular plant specimens, and curating the moss and lichen collections. The purchase of steel herbarium cases will protect tens of thousands of specimens against pest, fire, or water damage. Currently these specimens are exposed to these risks due to their storage in wooden cabinets. Archival storage specialists will be contracted to convert the existing mobile storage unit to mechanical assist in order to eliminate further reliance on a 22 year-old electronic system for which neither spare parts nor trained maintenance personnel are available. Housing specimens in modern cases, and having operable storage equipment will ensure that the collections are available to current and future users of all backgrounds. A database manager will be hired to supervise the databasing of WTU's Pacific Northwest vascular plant collection. A curator with graduate-level training in systematics will be hired to curate the moss and lichen collections. These important collections, including specimens resulting from recent biotic surveys, have not received the attention of a trained expert in over 20 years. The activities of this project support the University of Washington's mission of research, education, and public outreach. Improved storage of and accessibility to WTU's specimens ensures novel opportunities for the scholarly use of the collections by on and off-site researchers for generations to come. Participation in this project by undergraduate students provides training opportunities in museum curation and research. Importantly, the impact of this project extends well beyond the scientific and university community. Users of WTU's collections include the public, students from all education levels, government agency personnel, and conservation-oriented non-profit organizations. Reliable access to properly stored and curated specimens ensures their long-term availability to a broad audience.