Are you interested in working with the public to digitize your university's or museum's biodiversity research collections (i.e., biocollections)? Would you like to do this simultaneously and interactively with other institutions around the world? We are currently recruiting biocollections that would like to collaborate on the 4-day, global WeDigBio Event on October 22-25, 2015. This year's event will focus on engaging the public in the transcription of specimen labels and ledgers through partnerships with online public engagement platforms, including the Smithsonian Transcription Center, Zooniverse's Notes from Nature, Atlas of Living Australia's DigiVol, Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's herbaria@home, Paris Herbarium's Les Herbonautes, and others.
Participants can contribute from anywhere in the world, but collaborating institutions will also host onsite transcription parties similar to those described at https://www.idigbio.org/content/simultaneous-transcription-blitzes-success. The WeDigBio planning team is compiling checklists, press kits, educational games, post-event surveys and other resources to ensure successful onsite events. If you're interested in hosting an event at your institution, or supporting WeDigBio in another way, follow http://tinyurl.com/kgzmelv to a short questionnaire. Upon completion of the questionnaire, you will be added to the WeDigBio mailing list, and you will receive links to resources and updates about the event. Additional information is also available at wedigbio.org or by contacting Paul Kimberly (kimberlyp@si.edu), Libby Ellwood (eellwood@bio.fsu.edu), or Austin Mast (amast@bio.fsu.edu).
Never has it been more important to invite the public into our biocollections—simultaneously accelerating specimen digitization and enhancing science literacy.
