Digitizing the Daniel Smiley Research Center Herbarium

Our second stop of the summer was at the Daniel Smiley Research Center (DSRC), of the Mohonk Preserve in New Paltz, New York. We were fortunate enough to work alongside Jordan Williams, a Digitization Technician working towards the digitization of the entirety of their collection, and we really appreciated her company! Through the comparison of our digitization procedures, we were able to update our methods, resulting in a process that is over three times more efficient. Implementing many of these changes immediately, and with Jordan’s help, we were able to image over 2,000 specimens spanning across 116 families in under five days. 

While each herbarium we have encountered has had its own charm, this collection was particularly interesting because the majority of the collection was not collected by professionally trained botanists. This led to some specimens that were unlike any we had ever seen, and we loved it! One story that emerged revolves around a collection of ferns that had been preserved in picture frames and presumably used as decor by Ruth H. Smiley. These ferns were visually captivating, boasted detailed annotations, and were a joy to work with.

We were fortunate to enjoy the beautiful DSRC archive room while imaging, which was lined with Daniel Smiley’s books, detailed local ecological records, and a well preserved natural collection of both plants and animals. During our breaks, we found time to explore the nearby trails as a team, and even made our way to Sky Top Tower during lunch one day.

Thank you to Jordan Williams, Natalie Feldsine, and everyone at the Research Center for making this such an enjoyable and memorable experience at Mohonk! We look forward to visiting again and can’t wait to see how the herbarium specimens compare to Daniel Smiley’s index card records.

Alison Carranza ‘23 and Garrett Goodrich ‘23