Nina Davies, Clare Drinkell and Timothy Utteridge
“The Herbarium Handbook: Sharing Best Practice from Across the Globe”, published in 2023
This 256 page publication contains over 700 colour photographs and has been described as the essential resource for botanists, herbarium managers and curators involved with the making and maintenance of herbarium collections. The book shares experiences from experts at Kew and also draws on examples from partners and collaborators around the world.
The specimens deposited in the world’s herbaria constitute the most important source of information on the diversity and distribution of plant life on Earth. Therefore, appropriately caring for the collections, and making them accessible and useful to the global research community, is an institutional and scientific imperative. In an evidence-based and inclusive approach, Nina Davies and her colleagues have successfully integrated decades of experience from Kew’s staff with learnings from over 70 collaborators in 19 different herbaria around the world. The resulting publication is a prime example of how to popularise and disseminate critical knowledge with immediate application to support global scientific research and conservation.