The Plant Information Center is a partnership of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, Unviersity of North Carolina (UNC) Herbarium, UNC School of Information and Library Science, McDougle Middle School, and Orange County Public Library. The intent of the Project is to connect the research community and the general public (including school children) to make greater use of primary research material and to nurture the public interest and enthusiasm in the study of trees, plants, and natural history. Four specific objectives include: 1) successful cooperation between the various institutions; 2) the development of an interactive Plant Information Center with a Web-based portal; 3) the development of lesson plans using primary research materials from the herbarium for 6th grade students; and, 4) a test of the usefulness of digital images of herbarium specimens for plant identification and for inspiring the public with the aims and methods of botanical science.