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SummaryA computerized database is being developed for the flora of Mount Kinabalu (northern Borneo). The methodology for its development and management is described. The data can be manipulated to produce enumerations (checklists), determination lists, itineraries, specimen citations, exsiccatae lists, annotation labels, type specimen registers, distribution maps, and otherwise queried on-line at independent work stations or through a network. With minor modifications the system could be adapted for other floristic projects and for general computerization of herbarium specimens.The new computer technology will have dramatic impact on herbarium practices for reasons additional to the power of microcomputers and DBMS software. Mass data storage on fixed disks is becoming less expensive and more readily available. Such data storage systems are convenient, allow fast access to data, and are nearly essential for creating large databases. Smaller data sets can be manipulated, stored, and exchanged on the ubiquitous floppy diskettes. Word-processing software with microcomputers has virtually replaced typewriters, and word processors interface effectively with DBMS software to give an essentially limitless range of hard-copy output. Laser printers and desk-top publishing software make it possible for the individual taxonomist to produce high-quality, cameraready manuscript copy. Communication technology is also advancing rapidly to the point that data networks and botanical bulletin boards, accessible by microcomputers with modems, will promote rapid interchange of taxonomic data.Unlike earlier batch systems, the interactive DBMS now available provide output directly to the user, and, unlike file managers, have the ability to work with many files simultaneously. A DBMS has built-in capabilities to retrieve data from individual records or groups of records, update and sort lists without retyping, perform calculations and generate reports, and even write custom-designed programs for an application. Advanced DBMS provides integration with other software such as spreadsheets, graphics, and word processors, and the possibility for networking wherein the data can be shared among a group of users.The purpose of this paper is not to review database management in plant systematics, already a large body of literature, nor to consider all aspects of microcomputer applications to herbarium activity, but rather to outline a particular methodology for development and management of a specimen-oriented database. In the near future we expect there will be other similar, or pos...
