Working together, we are beginning a new era of biological collections computing. Imagine a time when the local requirements of biological collections data management meet the vision of ubiquitous data availability on the network for immediate analysis and synthesis. Imagine having the capability to effortlessly utilize internet web and grid services which fill gaps, and add context and information to your collections data, with software that also streamlines and speeds routine collection management tasks to the point of being trivial. Imagine rich internet interactions that instantly bring the full intellectual strength of the scientific knowledge inherent in your institution's collection to biologists around the world for research and education, in existing applications and those we have yet to envision. Imagine all of that happening soon. Specify 6 is a vision for collections computing that transcends cataloging and remote, read/only internet access. What if you could not only discover what other collections hold, but immediately apply relevant data from their specimens, determinations, localities, collectors, etc., to improve your collection's data quality? What if you could quantify the quality and diversity of your collection, through historical time, geographical space, and taxonomic scope, with a click of a mouse? What if you could develop an institutional strategy for collection acquisition and data computerization based on your strengths and gaps relative to the holdings of other biological repositories? Over 250 years of botanical and zoological exploration have produced billions of biological specimens in museums worldwide which document the distribution of life on earth. The Internet has changed the way we catalog, computerize and discover those specimens, but we are just at the beginning of utilizing the communication and computational power of the net. Specify 6 will extend collections computing beyond simple specimen description, discovery and data retrieval--to capabilities for integration and synthesis that will enable researchers to utilize collections data for broader, quicker, research impact, in efficient, network-based collaborations. The biological collections community is ready for an open source, cross-platform (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows), extensible, Internet-integrated collections data platform. It is happening now. The Specify 6 WorkBench is our first deliverable of that vision and there is more coming. The full release of Specify 6 will be available in the fall of 2008. Specify 6: we are going to transform the nature of natural history collections.
The Specify Software Project is funded by U.S. National Science Foundation grant BIO/DBI #0446544. Specify Software Project, Biodiversity Research Center, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS USA 66045 Phone: +1 (785) 864-4400, Email: specify@ku.edu, Website: www.specifysoftware.org