Museums Push to Get 'Dark Data' Into Light Through Digitization

" ... many museums worldwide still do not have their collections of fossils easily searchable on-line. Specimens, called 'dark data' are left in drawers, virtually hidden. There is an effort in the U.S. to bring this “dark data,” as it's called, into the light through digitizing museum collections. Paleontologist Torrey Nyborg is helping with the digitization process by going through drawers filled with fossil crabs and making sure they are identified properly before the specimens are entered into a database at the National History Museum of Los Angeles County. In the process, he may have discovered a new species of crab ... A grant from the National Science Foundation has allowed the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to enter information and even photos of some of its specimens into a database so they can be easily searched on-line ... Integrated Digitized Biocollections or iDigBio is the central portal that digitally collects biodiversity data from museums. iDigBio’s Gil Nelson said there is a change in philosophy among scientists ..."