Costs of taxonomic programs

[Mary Barkworth]

I do not think that anyone is seriously questioning the reasonableness of
the charge for DELTA, certainly not anyone who has used the program.  And
Eric is right, the level of support is unbeatable.  The problem is the
amount of money that is available for teaching taxonomy and maintaining
collections.  Some instructors who are allowed $100 or less to teach a class
- and the collection is regarded, in essence, as an extra-curricular
activity, one that is grudgingly provided with money for a herbarium cabinet
every five years or so.  There are department heads that do not understand
why one would need a computer in connection with a plant taxonomy course (an
ex-head told me I should be teaching taxonomy, not computer expertise.  Note
"ex").  Despite such lack of support, many poorly supported taxonomists turn
out excellent, well-educated students.  But as they strive to introduce
their students to current approaches to taxonomy, they are forced to look
for the least expensive alternatives.  This does not mean that they regard
the charge for DELTA (or other resources) as unreasonable in terms of what
is offered, just indigestible on their budget.

And in answer to your question.  I have trouble envisioning a nomenclatural
software package that would be worth 5 herbarium cabinets to me.  Cabinets
are essential to the safety of specimens.  Loose the sepcimens and we have
lost a part of the basis of our knowledge.  Have a specimen with an out of
date or invalid name on a specimen?  It can be corrected.

For an effective database system - that does not require a computer expert
to amend it?  Interesting question.  How elaborate does it have to be?  The
answer will vary depending on the size and function of the institution.  A
few hundred dollars, assuming that it does what I need to do, can be used by
students and others to generate labels, and does not require much of my time
to maintain.

Mary Barkworth