iCollections methodology: workflow, results and lessons learned
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Updated: Sep 25, 2026

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates
Published on: January 13, 2023
Vladimir Blagoderov1,2, Malcolm Penn2, Mike Sadka2
1National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
The Natural History Museum, London (NHMUK) has embarked on an ambitious programme to digitise its collections. The first phase of this programme was to undertake a series of pilot projects to develop the workflows and infrastructure needed to support mass digitisation of very large scientific collections. This paper presents the results of one of the pilot projects - iCollections. This project digitised all the lepidopteran specimens usually considered as butterflies, 181,545 specimens representing 89 species from the British Isles and Ireland. The data digitised includes, species name, georeferenced location, collector and collection date - the what, where, who and when of specimen data. In addition, a digital image of each specimen was taken. A previous paper explained the way the data were obtained and the background to the collections that made up the project. The present paper describes the technical, logistical, and economic aspects of managing the project.
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