Last year, the digital records of the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology (UMMZ) and Herbarium set a new benchmark for views – more than 1.7 billion!

"Digitization efforts allow us to preserve and share our collections with a global audience, ensuring that our world-class collections of specimens remain accessible for generations to come,” said Dr. Hernán López-Fernández, Associate Chair for Collections, EEB Museums. “Our digital records enhance research, education, and engagement, breaking down barriers to knowledge and making our institutional reach even more extensive and virtually endless.”

Not only is digitization important for access to world-class collections, it’s also a cost-effective and low-carbon approach to sharing information. As the Museum of Zoology and Herbarium increase efforts to digitize records, this record-breaking viewership confirms the immense power and reach of online collections. And it underscores the ever-growing, specific interest in digital consumption of specimens. Precisely, 1,750,463,018 records were viewed across 16 data aggregators in 2024, which publish usage statistics. Out of this number of views, 1,254,754,457 records were downloaded last year from the U-M Herbarium and UMMZ combined.

 

Evolving technology used to capture records will continue to grow with digital utilization. A recently developed application called VoucherVision is helping to speed up the Herbarium's digital workflow while reducing human error. Research Museum Collection Manager and Assistant Research Scientist Brad Ruhfel, Professor Stephen Smith, Project Manager Kyle Lough, and Ph.D. student Will Weaver, collaborated to create the Python-based application suite.


Some examples of current digitization efforts currently underway include the National Science Foundation funded TCN: Bringing Asia to Digital Life. Dr. Brad Ruhfel, Collection Manager, Division of Vascular Plants and Assistant Research Scientist, leads efforts to mobilize data from approximately 15 million specimens from 25 institutions in the US and around the world.