Challenges and Opportunities for Mass Digitization in Insects: A Case Study from the Smithsonian Bee Collection

Physical handling workflows for natural history collections can present a unique challenge for mass digitization. Given the delicate nature of these collections, the handling workflows required, and the many different potential uses for the digital assets, collections such as these must be approached with careful care and consideration.

In 2014, the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History partnered with Pixel Acuity and the Smithsonian Digitization Program Office in their first attempt at a large-scale mass digitization effort focused on the bumble bee collection because of their importance and intense interest in the scientific community and the general public for native pollinators.

Based on issues identified during that first attempt, we modified workflows and built a more efficient “disassembly line” and subsequent “assembly line” to quickly process bee specimens but keeping everything organized when we revisited and completed digitization of the bumble bees in late 2019 and early 2020.

One of the challenges to mass digitization of insects and their labels is that unlike other disciplines where things are labeled in lots or labels are mounted flat next to the specimens (e.g., slides, botany sheets, etc.), individual insects are pinned and their labels are pinned directly below the specimens. The digitization consequences of that practice are that labels have to be carefully removed from the pins, the insect staged, the labels also staged (in order), images captured, and then the labels must be repinned in the same order they were removed and the bees put back in the exact same position in the exact same unit tray and drawer that they came from.

During this webinar, Dr. Shockley will discuss the lessons learned from the 2014 pilot study, the workflow and personnel required to improve the process, and how more than 30,000 bees were fully digitized in less than 6 weeks in 2019.

Why are projects like these important? Discover how digitization has enabled the public to access never-before-seen collections here.

All images used on this page are courtesy of the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Featured Speakers

Hannah Storch | Project Manager at Pixel Acuity

www.pixelacuity.com

Hannah is a Project Manager with Pixel Acuity, specializing in cultural heritage digitization. After obtaining her B.A. in Classics and History from Grinnell College, Hannah attended Georgetown University, where she received her master’s degree in Art and Museum Studies. Her role at Pixel Acuity has enabled her to partner with institutions, embracing the opportunities that collection digitization brings to institutions and the communities they serve.

Floyd Shockley |Collections Manager at the Smithsonian Institution’s Department of Entomology

www.si.edu

Dr. Floyd Shockley is the Collections Manager for the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History. In that capacity, he is responsible for all aspects of collection management, logistics, shipping, regulatory compliance, purchasing, property management and IPM for the National Insect Collection. He participates heavily in public outreach efforts for the Department and is the primary contact for media inquiries and the general public.

Replay Access and Disclaimers

Can’t make the scheduled time? No worries! If you’d still like to see the information go ahead and register for the webinar and you’ll receive an automated email from our webinar service with a replay link. If you don’t receive this email, check your spam, then contact us for help.

Disclaimer: The increased demand for web services may cause technical issues which can display as errors in audio and visual quality. We’ve tested our hardware and are doing our very best to provide you with the highest quality webinar experience. On your end, you can help improve the audiovisual quality of the live stream by hardwiring your system with an ethernet cable to a router or using high-speed wifi.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR

CLICK HERE to register today!

A Global Gathering for Cultural Heritages Professionals

Our Cultural Heritage Round Tables began as small, one-off gatherings between Digital Transitions and our clients, as a formal way for us to gather the community’s collective feedback on their experience with our equipment and how we could work to improve it.

Since its inception, the event has grown from a single day at our office to two annual conferences in key regions across the United States (now being held virtually). Attendees come from a variety of countries, disciplines, and institutions to demo new digitization technology, learn best practices, discuss workflow tips, and network with other cultural heritage professionals. We invite you to join us for a two-day-long event celebrating the latest advancements in digital imaging technology.

The online event will be held online on May 6th and 7th. There will be morning and afternoon sessions, each followed by break-out sessions based on a topic. Like our in-person events, there will be several full-length presentations and plenty of opportunities to network with your peers.

Click here to learn more about this spring’s Virtual Round Table.

Contact our marketing department with any questions on registration directly: marketing@digitaltransitions.com.

We can’t wait to see you online!

Registrants will be contacted by Carson Boykin (csb@digitaltransitions.com) with a link to access the webinar after purchasing their ticket. Please feel free to contact Carson with any questions or concerns prior to purchase.

The DT Digitization Certification (DTDC) Series focuses on the theory and practice of modern camera-based cultural-heritage digitization. These courses are largely equipment-agnostic, suitable both for those using DT systems or other copy stands. The full DTDC Series is currently comprised of 2 classes:

Digitization 101 – Intro to Digitization

Digitization has undergone a rapid and profound transformation in the past two decades. Legacy systems built on scanning have been replaced with modern instant capture systems. Direct-to-TIFF workflows are being replaced by Raw Workflow. Institutions are adopting FADGI and other guidelines that ensure digitization is done at a preservation-grade of quality, but require a more nuanced understanding of image quality than relying on manufacturer’s stated PPI. To fully reap the rewards of this transformation requires new hardware, software, and workflows, as well as a new approach to digitization’s position in an institutional context. In this class, we’ll take the 10,000-foot view of these transformations to form a foundation of the modern approach to digitization.

Take the online course at your own pace; you are free to go through the videos and tests as quickly or slowly as you’d like and can revisit the videos as many times as you’d like for as long as you’d like. Typically the course takes about 2 hours if taken straight through.

This course is a prerequisite to our 201 class. It must be completed online on the registrant’s own time prior to taking the 201 course.

Price: $79

Click here for instructions on how to complete Digitization 101 – Intro to Digitization.

Digitization 201 – Operator Training

This course covers routine workflows for camera-based digitization systems, from capture to post-processing. It covers topics like setting exposure, establishing focus, creating an LCC (even field), as well as topics like file organization, batch editing, and batch processing. Also included are basic standards-compliance theory and image-quality evaluation, including Golden Thread and OpenDice. Students emerge ready to be operators of modern digitization systems for most non-challenging object types.

The curriculum covers workflows for both Capture One Pro (for clients using commercial-oriented cameras like Canon, Nikon, Sony, or Fuji) and Capture One CH (for clients using cultural-heritage-oriented cameras such as DT and Phase One systems). We strongly suggest you install and activate a trial of Capture One Pro a week or two prior to the class; the trial is good for 30 days so will still be valid after the class for you to practice various techniques you learn during the class. You’re welcome to have Capture One installed on your laptop but it is NOT a requirement. If you need help with installing Capture One or activating the Pro trial prior to the course, please contact support@digitaltransitions.com.

Please plan to stay through the entire scheduled course.

Successful completion of our 101 class is required. 

What is the schedule like for the online training?
The 201 course is broken up into 4 half-day sessions. Each session will run from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM ET.

Price: $499

You can learn more about our Digitization 201 – Operator Training course here or reach out to our marketing assistant, Carson Boykin, with any questions at csb@digitaltransitions.com

EACH COURSE MUST BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY.
Your registration on this page will only include registration for Digitization 201.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How do I know if I’m ready for Digitization 201?
Successful completion of 101 is required to take our 201 class.

2. What technology do I need for the course?
We host the training in Google Meets, you will need a laptop, camera, and microphone–what comes with a standard Macbook or PC laptop will suffice. For the best experience, we recommend having two screens, a monitor to follow along with the demos and a second screen to see the presentation. Please make sure you have a strong internet connection for the online course, for the most optimal connection try tethering to ethernet.

3. Does the training come with a license for Capture One Pro or Capture One CH?
No, the fee does not include Capture One software. You can purchase and download Capture One Pro here and Capture One CH here. A 30-day free trial is available for Capture One Pro here. We recommend waiting to download the trial until the training dates fall within your trial period.

4. What Software should I have for the class?
For the most hands-on experience, we suggest that you come with Capture One Pro and or Capture One CH installed. This will allow you to follow along with the demonstrations. This is not a requirement but will enhance your experience.

Refund Policy

Due to the limited seating, Digital Transitions DOES NOT offer refunds for this program.

The DT Coding Series Part 5 and the Capstone Class have been postponed to late 2021. More information will be provided here, on our website, and via our newsletter which you can sign up for in the footer of this webpage.

This is the final session of the Digital Transitions Coding Series, the Certification Capstone course. This course will offer an extended look at combining all of the knowledge gained in the previous online sessions, and graduates will receive a diploma certifying that they have become coding experts.

The first five parts of the DT Coding Webinar series are introductory in nature. In this two-day capstone class, we will dive much deeper into AppleScript, Python, and the Capture One SDK. We will take on real-world coding use cases from scratch, including the pre-code planning, unit-testing small components of the overall solution, testing and debugging, and documentation. If you do not have previous experience with coding, in addition to the 5 previous webinars in this series, we will send you a list of free intro-level classes we suggest to arrive best prepared to dive deep.

Pricing

$549 Registration Fee | $449 Early Bird Registration (use code ” CodingEarlyBird2020 ” at checkout through September 1)
By attending you will receive:
– Access to the Coding Jam at the end of Day 2 during which the instructors will spend 1:1 time with each attendee to critically look at their current coding projects and offer advice and assistance.
– FREE registration for our Annual Round Table (email kns@digitaltransitions.com to claim)
– Invitation to an exclusive coding series Happy Hour
– 1 Year single-user license of Capture One Enterprise (available after registration, a $399 value)
All aspects of this class will be held online.

The 2-day training will be held via a webinar. Registrants will receive instructions to join and receive their unique join code.

The exact start and end time of the course is to be determined, but you can plan on the course being all-day during business hours.

An important note, while the first two parts of this series speak specifically to Cultural Heritage institutions, the series as a whole is directly applicable to high volume workflows of all types from e-commerce, to fashion, to museum/library digitization.

If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend checking out the 5 preceding parts to the DT Coding Series to this session before the certification (even if you have prior experience). This will ensure that all participants are joining the class at the same starting point. You can register before completing all parts, but it’s best if you have parts 1-5 completed before the 2-day training. (Parts 1-5 are free.)

Parts 1-4 of this web series do not require any prior experience with scripting or coding and are intentionally structured in a way to be friendly to beginner level programers.

Part 1 Coding for Cultural Heritage: A Call for Community Action

Part 2 Coding for Cultural Heritage: Advanced Case Studies and Considerations

Part 3 : Getting Started with AppleScript for Capture One

Part 4: Getting Started with Python Step-by-Step (register for live session)

Part 5: The Capture One SDK (date to be announced)

Reach out to our events manager, Kate Stone, with any questions at kns@digitaltransitions.com

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Do I need to complete Parts 1-5 before attending the Certification Capstone?
While not absolutely necessary, we strongly suggest watching the recorded sessions of Parts 1-5 linked on this page. This is ensure all attendees have the same foundation for which we are building the certification.

2. Can I use the Capture One Enterprise license before the class?
Yes! We will process your license within three business days of your sign up and you can use the license for one year thereafter. Moreover, it is a one-year subscription, so includes any new versions of Capture One Enterprise (e.g. v21)  released during that period. This is a $399 value included at no additional cost.

Refund Policy

Due to the limited seating, Digital Transitions DOES NOT offer refunds for this program.