Taskforce Management and Dissimination of Information
The Taskforce Management and Dissimination of Information (TMDI) is aimed at streamlining activities related to incoming and outgoing information with an emphasis on digitisation.
- Aim
- The aim of the TMDI is: 1. to keep various units and branches of the National Herbarium Netherland informed about ongoing activities related to information and data 2. to develop ideas for projects in the TMDI range of activities and look for funding possibilities 3. where possible and feasable to join ongoing (inter-) national initiatives 4. to develop protocols aimed at improving and optimizing overall consistency of the data system and data flow
- Members
- The TMDI consists of crossection through the NHN/HB with emphasis on the libray and collection, the databasemanager holding the chair. Although meetings are free for everyone, the following staff have been active members:
Leiden:
Ludmilla Frankova: librarian
Peter Hovenkamp: tenured research staff
Gerard Thijsse: chief collections management
Gerda van Uffelen: collections management Hortus botanicus
Peter van Welzen: tenured research staff
Luc Willemse (chair): database manager
Wageningen:
Folkert Aleva: collection manager
Jan Wieringa: scientific curator
- Meetings
- From the onset the idea was to keep 4 meetings every year. This number has dropped over time to only one a year. The agenda of the meetings generally holds a fixed number of subjects i.e. IT - general, BRAHMS , website, protocols, projects.
- Activities
Most obvious activities undertaken by the TMDI are the development of protocols and initiation of projects.
Protocols
During the past years a number of protocols (Guidelines) have been developed, only one of which actually being implemented and used daily namely the protocol on data entry. Subjects for which protocols have been developed or are being developed are:
1. collection data registration
2. sensitive data
3. data validation
4. georeferencing
5. new vs. old names
6. digital images
7. ownership and copyrightProjects
Over the past 10-odd years a number of projects have been carried out, partly or wholy initiated by the TMDI:
Typeproject .............................................. 1996 -1998 (NWO)
Digitisation project (cont. of Typeproject) .... 1999 - 2001 (NWO)
South East Asian Botanical Collection Information Network 2001 - 2004 (EU)
NWO-groot ...............................................2005 - 2007 (NWO)
African Plants Initiative (API) ...................... 2004 - 2006 (Mellon foundation)
Latin American Plants Initiative (LAPI) ......... 2007 - 2008 (Mellon foundation)
Herbarium Cadé ........................................ 2003 (P.L. Lambertuszoon Fonds)
Flore du Benin .......................................... 1997 - 2002 (NEDA/DGIS)
Invasive species ........................................ 2006 - 2008 (FES)
BIOTIK/OSWALD ...................................... 2004 - 2006 (EU)
Biodiversité Botanique du Gabon .................1999 - 2003 (DGIS)
