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Abstract
Herbarium collections held by regional universities in Kazakhstan largely remain outside the international scientific circulation due to the lack of digital data formats. This study addresses this gap with respect to the herbarium fund of the Department of Biology at M. Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University.The research material comprised 925 herbarium specimens from nine families – Boraginaceae, Labiatae, Solanaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Orchidaceae, Liliaceae, Ericaceae, Convallariaceae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae – collected between 1957 and 2025. The collection includes both historical specimens from the mid-twentieth century and recent field material.Digitization was carried out in accordance with the international Darwin Core (DwC) standard. Data integrity was verified using the GBIF validator, after which the dataset was published via the IPT platform and made available on the global GBIF portal, ensuring its openness and integration into international biodiversity data infrastructure.Taxonomic analysis revealed a predominance of species characteristic of forest, meadow, and meadow-steppe communities, consistent with the vegetation patterns typical of the region. The temporal coverage of the collection spans more than 70 years, allowing the dynamics of floristic collecting to be traced over an extended period. Geographic analysis showed an uneven distribution of records across administrative districts, with the largest number of specimens originating from the Kyzylzhar district of the North Kazakhstan region.The resulting digital dataset is of value for floristic, ecological-geographic, and taxonomic research, contributes to the preservation of the herbarium fund, and expands its potential use in education and nature conservation.