Dear Natural History Collections Community,
If you work with or have any interest in biodiversity or natural history collections of any type, at any level, in any capacity… we need your insights on this survey. Responses are needed at the following link by March 21st:
https://ufl.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_56l20O7QP6gRyq9
This community survey is intended to reach the greater collections community and is specifically designed to isolate and enumerate the successes, challenges, and issues related to recruiting and sustaining small collections in digitization efforts. Your responses will help inform the future direction of the Small Collections Network (SCNet). The survey should take only 10 to 20 minutes to complete.
With the help of iDigBio, SCNet has recently launched a new website: http://scnet.acis.ufl.edu/. The website is dedicated to issues, challenges, and successes of smaller natural history collections, especially as related to the processes of collections management and digitization.
SCNet, in collaboration with CollectionsWeb, iDigBio and Central Michigan University (CMU), will conduct a workshop in April at CMU, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan devoted to recruiting, supporting, and retaining small collections within the biodiversity digitization enterprise. Results from this survey will be used to inform the content of this workshop. It will be a product-oriented workshop through which SCNet hopes to create and disseminate a set of publishable best practices, chart a course for the future of the Network, and lay the initial groundwork for an upcoming symposium at SPNHC 2014 and future conferences focused on small collections.
If you are interested in joining SCNet and learning about upcoming initiatives, consider joining our listserve. Directions are provided below:
Resource: IDIGBIOSCNET-L@LISTS.UFL.EDU<mailto:IDIGBIOSCNET-L@LISTS.UFL.EDU>
Purpose: The network of people is designed to provide a discussion forum for small collections issues.
To add yourself to the list, email listserv@lists.ufl.edu with the following command in the email:
subscribe IDIGBIOSCNET-L first_name last_name
e.g., subscribe IDIGBIOSCNET-L Jane Doe
If you have questions about this survey or SCNet, please contact Anna Monfils, Central Michigan University, 989.774.2492, monfi1ak@cmich.edu, Gil Nelson, Florida State University, 850.766.2649, gnelson@bio.fsu.edu, or Shari Ellis, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 352-273-2066, sellis@ufl.edu.
Thank you,
Anna, Gil and Shari