Sustaining Nebraska’s Natural Heritage by
Enhancing Access to the Bessey Herbarium Specimens
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The rich botanical heritage of the Great Plains is documented in the collections of the Charles E. Bessey Herbarium, which contains many of the oldest specimens of the region, dating from the mid-1800s. With funding from the “Museums for America” program, of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Herbarium's database of information about some of its vascular plant collections will be prepared for a long-range cataloging effort with updated software, and the current content will be enriched by adding geospatial coordinates. Textual information associated with thousands of specimens collected in Nebraska will be computerized, using database software specifically designed for managing natural history museum collections. An interactive mapping system will provide online access to the information. Creation of the original database was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to Margaret Bolick and Linda Rader. The database software now being used is Specify (University of Kansas). The database currently holds information about over 82,000 vascular plant specimens from across North America, including over 50,000 from Nebraska.
The IMLS-funded project, which began in September 2006, is a partnership between the School of Natural Resources and the University of Nebraska State Museum. The project team includes personnel from both units. The interactive mapping system will be hosted by the School’s Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT).
Project objectives:
- Prepare Bessey Herbarium database for long-range electronic cataloguing effort with updated software
- Georeference the Nebraska specimens already databased, including the composites (Asteraceae).
- Capture data associated with all Nebraska specimens from the grasses (Poaceae), legumes (Fabaceae), orchids (Orchidaceae), evening primroses (Onagraceae: genus Oenothera), and recent accessions.
- Deploy web-enabled geographic information system (GIS) for Nebraska specimens of the composite and grass families, two of the state’s largest and most ecologically significant families.
Contact Information
, Principal Investigator
Curator, Bessey Herbarium
W530 Nebraska Hall
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln NE 68588-0514
(402) 472-1607
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.
