This repository contains the source files for the official website of IHerbSpec — the International Herbarium Spectral Digitization Working Group.
🌐 Live site: https://iherbspec.github.io
IHerbSpec is an international working group developing community standards, tools, and collaborations to advance the use of reflectance spectroscopy in herbarium-based research. Our goal is to enable high-quality, interoperable, and scalable digitization of spectral data from preserved plant specimens for use in ecology, evolution, systematics, and conservation.
The working group includes participants representing biodiversity collections and academic institutions worldwide.
To get involved, see the Contact Us section below.
The website includes:
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IHerbSpec Protocol
Standardized procedures for spectral measurement and metadata documentation
https://iherbspec.github.io/protocol -
Publications
Key scientific outputs related to herbarium spectroscopy
https://iherbspec.github.io/publications
Future sections may include tutorials, projects, datasets, and additional community resources.
The IHerbSpec Protocol is a community-developed standard that defines best practices for the spectral digitization of herbarium specimens, including measurement procedures, metadata requirements, and data management guidance.
The protocol is maintained as a living document on the IHerbSpec website:
🔗 https://iherbspec.github.io/protocol
This web version represents the most current state of the protocol and may include incremental updates, clarifications, or expansions developed through ongoing community collaboration.
At defined milestones, the protocol is versioned and archived as a citable release on Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18451589). Each release:
- is generated directly from the source code in this repository using Quarto,
- includes a compiled PDF of the protocol for offline use and long-term reference (rendered at iherbspec.github.io/protocol/releases/*pdf),
- includes snapshots of the rendered website as html files that can be navigated via the file iherbspec.github.io/docs/index.html, and
- is assigned a version-specific DOI, while sharing a stable concept DOI (10.5281/zenodo.18451589) across all releases.
This model ensures both currency (via the living website) and reproducibility and citability (via archived releases).
Herbaria and research groups may adapt the IHerbSpec Protocol for local workflows by cloning this repository and editing the Quarto source files. Customized versions can be rendered locally as institution-specific HTML websites and/or PDF documents with clear attribution to the original IHerbSpec Protocol (CC BY 4.0).
Members of the IHerbSpec working group are encouraged to contribute to the development of the protocol through Discussions or Issues tools or via the IHerbSpec-Protocol Google Group.
When citing the protocol, please cite the Zenodo archive. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18451589
Recommended citation (use the stable DOI):
IHerbSpec. 2026. Protocol for the Spectral Digitization of Herbarium Specimens, v1.2. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18451589
The IHerbSpec Protocol and website content are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
This license permits reuse, distribution, and adaptation of the material for any purpose, provided that appropriate credit is given to IHerbSpec and the protocol is cited.
🔗 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
We welcome participation from researchers and collections professionals interested in reflectance spectroscopy and herbarium-based research.
To get announcements and participate in our activities, join our IHerbSpec-all Google Group:
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With a Google account: Visit https://groups.google.com/u/4/a/g.harvard.edu/g/iherbspec-all, click “Ask to join group.”, and (optionally) send a brief message to introduce yourself.
-
Without a Google account:
Contact IHerbSpec via the Contact Us page on the website:
https://iherbspec.github.io/contact
and request that your email address be added to receive group messages and announcements. Note: managing email preferences or posting via the web interface requires linking the email address to a Google account.
IHerbSpec maintains multiple public communication channels to support dialogue, transparency, and discovery across the community. You can browse previously discussed topics and ask questions through the following forums:
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IHerbSpec-Protocol Google Group
Public protocol discussion, clarification, and governance
https://groups.google.com/u/4/a/g.harvard.edu/g/iherbspec-protocol -
GitHub Discussions
Public Q&A and ideas related to IHerbSpec and the IHerbSpec Protocol
https://github.com/IHerbSpec/iherbspec.github.io/discussions -
GitHub Issues
Concrete, actionable proposed edits or technical tasks related to the website or protocol source
https://github.com/IHerbSpec/iherbspec.github.io/issues