Awareness and use of, for example, Index Kewensis, Index Londinensis, Gray Index, Internet resources. Curatorial considerations and organization of these collections. Database usage in the Herbarium. The Herbarium relies on volunteers for help with specimen curation and processing. Without their assistance, many specimens would remain unavailable for study and research, and other projects would not get started, or completed.
Volunteers work on many different tasks depending on their interests, skills, and availability.
A major emphasis for volunteers in 1999 was mounting the backlog of unprocessed plant material. Several UW undergraduates volunteered at the Herbarium, where they mounted, strapped, and sorted specimens, and worked on other projects. They enjoyed learning curatorial skills, learning about plants, and becoming more connected with the Department of Botany while providing valuable service. Students finding time in their busy schedules were Carol Brittnacher, Ada Chen, Gretchen Ionta, George Oswald, and Rachael Watland. UW graduate students volunteered in a variety of capacities.