Delaware State University

Delaware State University will improve the long-term care and management of the Claude E. Phillips Herbarium by initiating a digitization project. With approximately 150,000 mounted specimens of vascular plants, the facility is the largest herbarium among Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The project will catalog, digitize, and geo-reference up to 30,000 specimens using commonly-adopted techniques and software. The herbarium will enlist students from a large pool of underrepresented groups to assist with the project. To increase exposure and public access, the resulting images and specimen records will be available online through the herbarium's website and other platforms, such as iDigBio and GBIF. Mid-course evaluation will identify areas for improvement to ensure the project objectives are met.