Premise of the study:Small herbaria represent a significant portion of herbaria in the United States, but many are not digitizing their collections.Methods:At the Arkansas State University Herbarium (STAR), we have created a viable workflow to help small herbaria begin the digitization process, including suggestions for publishing data on the Internet. We calculated hourly rates of each phase of the digitization process. We also mapped accessions at the county level to determine geographic strengths in the collection.Results:All 17,678 accessioned flowering plant specimens at STAR are imaged, databased in Specify, and available electronically on the herbarium’s website. Students imaged the specimens at a mean rate of 145/h. We found differences in databasing rates between the graduate student leading the project (47/h) and undergraduate assistants (25/h). The majority of specimens at STAR were collected within the counties neighboring the institution.Discussion:With this workflow, we estimate that one person can digitize a 20,000-specimen collection in less than 2.5 yr by working only 10 h/wk. Because STAR is a small herbarium with limited resources, the application of the workflow described should assist curators of similar-sized collections as they contemplate and undertake the digitization process.

Many colleges and universities maintain herbaria or natural history collections. Natural History Collections Clubs (NHCCs) are registered student organizations (RSOs) capable of improving conditions in these collections, many of which are threatened by a lack of funding, minimal curatorial staff, and inadequate institutional support. Student involvement through NHCCs can improve conditions in collections at academic institutions by providing volunteers, promoting outreach, increasing funding, and generating enthusiasm in administration, students, and the community. In this paper, we explain the need for such organizations, outline the process of establishing an NHCC, and provide case studies from successful organizations. We also describe a developing network for NHCCs and summarize what has been accomplished by these organizations to date.

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Natural history collections around the world are currently being digitized with the resulting

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