|
|
|
The Alliance for Public Gardens GIS is thrilled to announce the release of Collection Researcher
version 1.0, an innovative web application developed in partnership with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University that provides unique access
to the Arboretum’s living plant collections through its geographic
information system (GIS). Available on the Arboretum website, Collection
Researcher integrates a searchable inventory of the Arboretum’s nearly
15,000 curated trees, shrubs, and vines with high-definition, digital
maps of its 265-acre landscape.
Combining the tools of cutting-edge GIS technology with the resources
of modern curatorial practice, Collection Researcher was created
through the collaborative efforts of the Arboretum’s curation and
information technology staffs, in partnership with Harvard’s Center for Geographic Analysis. Application development was directed by Brian Morgan, a former Putnam Research Fellow at the Arboretum, GIS expert, and founder of the Alliance for Public Garden GIS.
“Collection Researcher is a giant leap forward in disseminating living
collection data,” says Morgan. “It provides a foundation for the
eventual integration of powerful research tools and even multiple
collections.”
Exploring Collections Researcher begins with a satellite view of the
Arnold Arboretum landscape and its surrounding Boston neighborhoods.
Navigation tools enable visitors to pan across the map or zoom in to
examine finer detail. Separate layers—including aerial photographs,
plant locations, a wayfinding grid, and even color-coded phylogenetic
and evolutionary histories of the collections—can be turned on or off,
or shifted in transparency. Click on any one of the nearly 15,000 dots
on the map representing accessioned plants to display basic collection
details. “We see Collection Researcher as a revolutionary new way for
scientists and casual visitors alike to study our plants,” notes Curator
of Living Collections Michael Dosmann. “In fact, its very name evokes our legacy of exploration and discovery.”
Among the innovative features of Collection Researcher is its search
widget, which allows the visitor to query the collections by scientific
or common name, by accession number, or by selecting locations on the
map. Search results appear not only as pinpoints on the map, but also as
a listing with additional data and direct links to information
repositories from around the world. For instance, search results for a
selected plant may direct users to photographs in Google Images and
scientific papers in Google Scholar. Additional links reveal such
resources as herbarium specimens held in the Harvard University Herbaria
and DNA sequences uploaded to GenBank, the genetic databases of the
National Center for Biotechnology Information. Search results can be
exported for further analysis in a spreadsheet or text editor or saved
for future reference. According to Arboretum Application Programmer and
Web Developer Donna Tremonte,
“Version 1.0 marks a beginning. Next we envision integrating additional
databases—like image repositories of leaves and bark, for example—and
introducing a mobile version to foster onsite exploration in our
landscape.”
Collection Researcher represents a landmark development in the
Arboretum’s efforts to improve the management of its collection through
technology. The Arboretum began digitizing its plant records in an
electronic database (BG-BASE) in 1985; by 2001, a searchable living
collections inventory on the Arboretum website provided virtual access
to visitors. Also in the 1980s, mapping the collections advanced from
paper to software (AutoCAD), and took another leap in 2009 with the
deployment of a suite of Esri Desktop and Mobile GIS software. Collection Researcher
offers the functionality of these technologies to online visitors, and
promises to complement the work of Arboretum staff. “With this tool, my
colleagues and I can quickly and easily audit georeferenced or mapped
features, for our own use or to assist visiting scholars,” comments Kyle Port, Manager of Plant Records.
Central to all these initiatives has been the Arboretum’s
longstanding commitment to provide staff, scientists, and visitors with
access to the depth and richness of its plant collections. “Bringing
Collection Researcher online signifies a giant step in our efforts to
share our remarkable collections with the world,” states Arboretum
Director Ned Friedman.
“We aim to ensure that everyone—from genomicists to environmental
biologists, and citizen scientists to the visiting public—can access our
plants and the biology that lies behind them.”
Collection Researcher builds on the GIS data structure provided by the ArcGIS Public Garden Data Model, and will be eventually distributed as a template for use by botanical gardens worldwide in an effort to improve access to living plant collections data. For more information, please contact the Alliance for Public Gardens GIS.
Try Collection Researcher | Download the ArcGIS Public Garden Data Model | Contact Us
|
