OSU Launches Fundraiser to Digitize Seed Collection
The effort aims to create an accessible online database for the university's 20,000-specimen herbarium.
Updated on Oct. 15, 2026 in Botany
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Oregon State University has launched a $2,000 crowdfunding campaign to catalog and digitize its Emil Zivney Herbarium collection. The project aims to move over 20,000 species and 4,000 seed pods from a display case into a searchable online database.
Why it matters
The effort seeks to overcome current endowment limitations, enabling researchers and the public to access this historical seed record for DNA study and identification. Digitizing the archive ensures the physical collection serves as a verifiable botanical reference rather than a static display.
The herbarium holds 20,000 species and 4,000 seed pods. The project will deploy Tagarno digital microscopy with image-stacking capabilities to provide high-resolution measurements.
The players
Emil Zivney Herbarium
An institutional seed collection at Oregon State University containing over 20,000 species.
Oregon State University
A land-grant research university in Corvallis focused on agriculture and biological sciences.
The details
The team plans to use the funds to procure protective vials and UV-blocking materials to stabilize the fragile specimens. Digital documentation will utilize Tagarno microscopy, which allows for image-stacking—a process that combines multiple photos taken at different focus depths into one clear, deep-focus image—to create standardized, measurable records of each seed.
Timeline
1992: Emil Zivney donated his seed collection to Oregon State University.
Oct. 1, 2026: The fundraising campaign began.
Oct. 31, 2026: The fundraising campaign concludes.
The Tech Race
Botanical archives are increasingly racing to digitize physical holdings to meet global open-access standards. This project transitions the Zivney collection from a legacy physical record into a contemporary digital research database.
Residents and researchers will gain remote, open access to 20,000 species once the digital database is completed. The cataloged seeds will support future DNA research and provide a baseline record for plant identification.
The takeaway
This initiative shifts the collection from an isolated physical display to a global scientific asset. Readers should watch for the completion of the database by the end of the year, which will provide a digital repository for seed identification.
Further reading
Learn more about local research in Botany.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Daily Barometer.
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