Members of the Committee
First year report
Report on the Third Meeting, held on 30th July 1996 in the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford.
Digital imaging of botanical objects: report of a meeting held at Liverpool Museum on 2 April 1997.

Dr Rob Huxley, Chair,
The Natural History Museum,
London
Tel: 0171 938 8823
Fax: 0171 938 9260;

Dr John Edmondson, Secretary,
National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside,
Liverpool;

Dr David Briggs,
Cambridge University;

Dr John David,
International Mycological Institute,
CAB International;

Dr Sean Edwards,
Manchester University Museum;

Dr Paul Hackney,
Ulster Museum,
Belfast;

Dr Stephen Harris,
Oxford University;

Dr Stephen Jury,
Reading University;

Dr Henrie Noltie,
Royal Botanic Garden,
Edinburgh;

Dr John Parnell,
Trinity College Dublin;

Dr Roy Perry,
National Museum of Wales,
Cardiff;

Dr David Simpson,
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew;

Dr Donal Synnott,
National Botanic Gardens,
Dublin;

Dr Diana Miller,
Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden,
Wisley.

The group was formed in 1995 and held its first meeting at The Natural History Museum, London in June 1995 and its second at the NMGM's Conservation Centre in Liverpool in February 1996. Its two main roles are to act as a forum on the effective management of systematic botany collections in the UK and to assist the UKSF in fulfilling its objectives.

The composition of the group was drawn initially from those members of the UKSF which hold botanical collections; however, the need to broaden the group to include representatives of other institutions with significant botanical material was recognised. The group currently consists of representatives of the following institutions: Manchester Museum; National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin; National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Cardiff; National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside; The Natural History Museum, London; Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Trinity College, Dublin; Ulster Museum, Belfast; University of Cambridge; University of Oxford; University of Reading.

Issues of major concern to botany collection managers were raised at the first meeting, including the co-ordination of policy on acquisitions; guidelines on destructive sampling of herbarium specimens for DNA analysis; data formats for documentation of specimens sent on loan; chemical hazards encountered in herbaria; policies on exchange of duplicate herbarium specimens and on the treatment of sets of bound specimens (exsiccatae); the problems of retrospective documentation of herbaria on computer; and the role of UK herbaria in promoting biodiversity studies through the archiving of survey vouchers and taxonomic validation.

As well as dealing with issues arising from the members' own collections, the group also discussed the problem of 'orphaned collections' lacking curatorial cover, and initiated a survey of herbarium materials with a view to exchanging information on quality standards and suppliers. It has also discussed possible recommendations to the Museums & Galleries Commission for improving their guidelines on standards for the care of biological collections. The Group will liaise with appropriate organisations on many of these issues.

The meeting was held on 30 July 1996 in the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford at the invitation of Dr Stephen Harris, curator of the Oxford University Herbaria. Nine members were present. After reviewing progress on topics discussed at previous meetings, the main item on the agenda was the next years' work programme of the UKSF and the input required from the herbarium collection managers' group. Major progress has been achieved in discussing guidelines on working practices, and the Museums and Galleries Commission will consider proposals from the group to incorporate into future editions of their Standards for the Care of Biological Collections. A survey of major insitutions' collections and policies for research and acquisition is now under way. It will cover work by associeated bodies as well as by in-house staff, and will distinguish between work focusing on the British Isles and projects covering other parts of the world.

The group noted the NERC response to OST's request for clarification of the rules on depositing research vouchers arising from work funded by grants from NERC, and saw a need for the costs arising from such donations to be budgeted for by research fund applicants. It also had a wide-ranging discussion of the international and collaborative aspects of developing acquisition policies. In discussing the government's response to the UK Biodiversity Action Plan proposals, the group was concerned that validation procedures for data entry and taxonomic integrity of checklists should be strictly controlled, in order to maintain the quality of the proposed national biodiversity database.

Other matters discussed at the meeting included the composition of the group, with no plans for any additional members; representation at future meetings and conferences by means of a poster display; specimen imaging, for which a specialist subgroup was established; and continuing concern on the future of orphaned and unstaffed systematic collections. The next meeting will be held at Reading University in January 1997.

The meeting was held under the auspices of the U.K. Systematics Forum, whose Botany Collection Managers' Group had set up a subgroup to discuss current programmes and future co-operation. The following institutions were represented: Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden, The Natural History Museum, London, Manchester Museum, National Museums & Galleries of Wales, National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside, and Oxford University Herbaria.

Digital storage of images of herbarium specimens, drawings, carpological and anatomical material, scanning and optical microscope images, photographic collections, archives and handwriting samples (especially foreign language scripts) is seen as becoming increasingly important to botany collections managers as the cost of image capturing equipment, processing software, and storage media continues to fall. Priorities for digital imaging at the various institutions were discussed, and it was clear that there was a wide variation in the types of projects in progress or envisaged.

These included the creation of high-definition digital images of historic specimens for conservation purposes, as well as low-definition images for possible publication on the web, as adjuncts to specimen databases, to be used to answer public enquiries and to facilitate selection of specimens for loans. Storing images of microscope slides of cryptogams was also proposed as a way of reducing damage arising from examination, and image analysis for expert systems in plant identification was also at the experimental stage.

Speed of response using digital imaging methods was seen as a key advantage over conventional photographic procedures, and furthermore it lent itself to being transmitted by email or on the Web especially where institutions found it difficult to obtain budgets in support of postal loans. Safeguarding fragile material by reduced handling, and making on-line documentation a possibility where difficult handwriting and foreign scripts are involved, were also seen as advantages of the new methods. Possible use of digital cameras to record shapes of plants and colours of flowers in the field was also discussed.

The commercial potential offered by the rich assemblages of photographic images held in the various institutions was also recognised, despite problems arising from the enforcement of copyright. The group intended to continue to exchange information about their activities in this field through their regular series of meetings held under the auspices of the U.K. Systematics Forum.

John Edmondson (Secretary of UKSF Botany Collection Managers' Group)