Guidelines for Acceptable Use of Data


Recommended Citation Formats

Use one of the following formats to cite data retrieved from the Consortium of Lichen Herbaria network:
General Citation:
Consortium of Lichen Herbaria (2023) http//:lichenportal.org/portal/index.php. Accessed on November 30.
Usage of occurrence data from specific institutions:
Biodiversity occurrence data published by: <List of Collections> (Accessed through Consortium of Lichen Herbaria Data Portal, http//:lichenportal.org/portal/index.php, YYYY-MM-DD)

For example:
Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Arizona State University, Field Museum of Natural History, and New York Botanical Garden (Accessed through Consortium of Lichen Herbaria Data Portal, http//:lichenportal.org/portal/index.php, 2023-11-30)

Occurrence Record Use Policy

  • While the Consortium of Lichen Herbaria will make every effort possible to control and document the quality of the data it publishes, the data are made available "as is". Any report of errors in the data should be directed to the appropriate curators and/or collections managers.
  • The Consortium of Lichen Herbaria cannot assume responsibility for damages resulting from misuse or misinterpretation of datasets or from errors or omissions that may exist in the data.
  • It is considered a matter of professional ethics to cite and acknowledge the work of other scientists that has resulted in data used in subsequent research. We encourage users to contact the original investigator responsible for the data that they are accessing.
  • The Consortium of Lichen Herbaria asks that data are not redistributed from this site without written permission by the owners of these data sets. However, links or references to this site may be freely posted.
  • Every collection participating in the Consortium of Lichen Herbaria maintains full ownership of the data shared here.

Images

Images within this website have been generously contributed by their owners to promote education and research. Contributors retain full copyright for all of their images. However, unless specifically stated otherwise, authors have agreed to share their images under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) license: Users are allowed to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially). Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. ShareAlike: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. No additional restrictions (you may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits).

Notes on Specimen Records and Images

Specimens are used for scientific research and because of skilled preparation and careful use they may last for hundreds of years. Some collections have specimens that were collected over 100 years ago that may no longer be found within the original collection area. By making these specimens available on the web as images, their availability and value improves without an increase in inadvertent damage caused by use.
Please note that collecting specimens in most cases will require permission of the landowner. In the case of rare and endangered species, additional permits may also be required. In different countries, different laws may apply and it should be obvious that these regulations need to be adhered to. It is best to coordinate such efforts with a regional or national institution that manages publicly accessible collections. The Consortium is not legally responsible for any data being shared by any contributor. All data sets made available through this biodiversity data portal are shared here assuming that legal collection requirements have been adhered to by the different participating institutions that provide this information.

Disclaimer Regarding Offensive Language

Consortium of Lichen Herbaria may contain specimens and historical records that are culturally sensitive. The collections include specimens dating back over 200 years collected from all around the world. Some records may also include offensive language. These records do not reflect Consortium of Lichen Herbaria’s current viewpoint but rather the social attitudes and circumstances of the time period when specimens were collected or cataloged.