Sometimes I feel like a bit of a detective working on these transcriptions. As I mentioned before, each specimen requires a country, state, and county location. Sometimes this data is totally missing and I just have to leave it blank. Other times, the field researcher will just leave a clue.
For instance, one of my recent transcriptions was for a specimen found in “Denver, PA.” A quick google search reveals that this spot is in Lancaster County. I’ve also seen specimens identified solely by state park. Thankfully, the internet makes these locations extraordinarily easy to pinpoint (as long as the researcher’s handwriting is legible!)
I was about to say that this would have been infinitely more difficult without the internet. But of course, that’s the whole point of this project. Without the internet, this effort would not be possible. Without it, scientists interested in this data would have to pour over thousands of hand-written notes. Now, with a couple of quick clicks they can find exactly what they’re looking for.
This weekend, I’m going to spend some time investigating exactly what research this data has supported. I’m hopeful it’s actually being utilized, but you’ll have to stay tuned to find out.
Digital Ecology 