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There are estimated to be 1.8 million species of organisms on earth today, and 99% of the species which have existed are extinct. This rich record of organisms is documented through the collections of organisms housed in the natural history collections in museums, universities, field facilities, botanical gardens, and other institutions which maintain collection facilities that keep voucher specimens of the species. These voucher collections provide a wealth of ancillary data such as DNA samples, field notes, environment/habitat information, time of collection and the condition in which the specimen existed when collected. These data provide the baseline from which to begin further biodiversity studies and provide critical information about the existing gaps in our knowledge of biodiversity.

The effort to collect and to provide information from collections has had a long history and the collections have been gathered over centuries of activity. Support for these collections has come from various sources, and cooperation among different entities has led to the maintenance of collections. As we move into a new century of collection, collaborative research has become more important, and the information to be gained from collections is needed.  An effort is starting to digitize, image, and provide online accessibility to these data that are currently ‘dark data’. As in previous centuries, framing the message is critical and a series of recent events provides an opportunity for the future.