Digitizing the Collection of the Orma J. Smith Natural History Museum at the College of Idaho

该项目的目标是改善爱达荷大学Orma J Smith博物馆（OJSM）的自然历史收藏的管理，并为其提供在线访问功能，用于科学、教育和保护目的。OJSM的藏品包括来自爱达荷州和蒙大拿州的淡水鱼标本，爱达荷州和华盛顿州的水生昆虫标本，来自山间西部和下加利福尼亚的蜘蛛和昆虫标本，以及来自俄勒冈州东南部的苏克溪形成的化石植物标本。这些藏品对社会是有价值的，因为它们表明了区域生物多样性及其随时间的变化，特别是相对于气候变化和人类土地利用活动。许多标本是在150多年前收集的，这些材料可以用来研究一个人口数量少得多、土地利用活动也大不相同的时代的人口。将现在的材料与过去的材料进行比较，可以对人类如何影响关键物种产生重要的见解，并可以导致更明智的保护决策。通过提供参与现实世界科学的机会，提高科学意识，在代表性不足的人群中培养科学身份，以及提高思维技能，这些收藏对于K-12学生来说也是有价值的资源。数字化过程将确保有关馆藏的数字数据，并提高OJSM对包括教师、学生和公众在内的访客的可见性和吸引力。在过去的150年里，OJSM收集了超过300万个标本，主要来自美国西部山间和下加利福尼亚州。与全球其他干旱和半干旱系统一样，由于气候变化、快速发展、采矿、伐木、放牧和非本地物种的入侵，这两个地区在过去的一个世纪里经历了实质性的变化。记录这些地区的生物多样性并评估其随时间的变化对研究和保护规划都很重要。目前的项目将数字化OJS博物馆的六个主要藏品：1)来自爱达荷州和蒙大拿州的淡水鱼；2)爱达荷州和华盛顿州的水生大型无脊椎动物；3)美国大盆地的昆虫和蜘蛛；4)下加利福尼亚的甲虫；6)俄勒冈州苏克尔溪地层的古植物标本。所有数字数据将保存在美国国家科学基金会支持的收集管理系统指定7中，并通过在线资源发布，包括iDigBio， SCAN-bugs， NatureServe和北美水生大型无脊椎动物数字参考馆藏。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The goals of this project are to improve curation of and provide online accessibility to the natural history collection at the Orma J Smith Museum (OJSM), The College of Idaho, for the purposes of science, education, and conservation. The OJSM collection contains specimens of freshwater fish from Idaho and Montana, aquatic insects of Idaho and Washington, spiders and insects from the intermountain west and Baja California, and fossil plant specimens from the Succor Creek formation of southeastern Oregon. The collection is valuable to society as an indication of regional biodiversity and how it has changed through time, relative especially to climate change and human land use activities. Many specimens were collected more than 150 years ago, and this material can be used to examine populations from an era with much lower human populations and much different land use activities. Comparing material from the present with the past can lead to important insights on how humans influence key species, and can lead to more informed conservation decisions. The collection is also valuable as a resource for K-12 students, by offering opportunity to engage in real-world science, improving science awareness, fostering science identity in under-represented populations, and improving thinking skills. The digitization process will secure digital data about the collection and enhance the visibility and attractiveness of the OJSM to visitors, including teachers, students, and the public. The OJSM collection has over three million specimens collected over the past 150 years, primarily from localities in the U.S. intermountain west and Baja California. Like other arid and semi-arid systems worldwide, these two regions have experienced substantial change in the past century due to climate change, rapid development, mining, logging, grazing, and invasion of non-native species. Documenting the biodiversity of these regions and assessing changes through time are important for research and for conservation planning. The current project will digitize material from six key collections of the OJS Museum: 1) freshwater fish from Idaho and Montana; 2) aquatic macro-invertebrates from Idaho and Washington state; 3) insects and spiders from the U.S. Great Basin; 4) beetles from Baja California; and 6) paleo-botanical specimens from the Succor Creek formation in Oregon. All digital data will maintained in the NSF-supported collection management system Specify 7, and published through on-line resources including iDigBio, SCAN-bugs, NatureServe, and the North American Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Digital Reference Collection.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.