[NHCOLL-L:3214] Specify feedback

[Gene Hess]

Hello all,

As promised, below is a summary of the responses to my request for
peoples' experience with Specify. We have decided to move ahead with
using Specify despite the learning curve that will be entailed. But what
database software doesn't have a learning curve? Specify appears to be
able to handle all our needs. Support appears to be good. Andy Bentley
has been quick to respond with informative answers to our questions.
Having DiGIR compatibility was an essential requirement as are
participating in the Ornis project. As mentioned below one concern is:
will volunteers find this to difficult to use. We also have concerns
about importing or creating taxonomic authority files for the mollusk
collection (vertebrates should be ok). The one item we were able to
identify that Specify does not directly support has do with being able
to review data entry (by volunteers etc.) in batches before committing
the data to the main database. There is a work around and perhaps
version 6 will address this need.

Responses with identifying info omitted:

...the main reason I didn't like it before was the difficulty in
importing/creating taxonomic authority files...which 
requires use of the taxonomic workbench....for vertebrates I bet that
won't be much of an issue....since most of 
the names will already be in their files...but for insects and
arthropods it's been my experience that the authority files 
(for foreign specimens) are not up to par and must be entered or edited.

----
We have been running Specify for many years, and have been very pleased.
They have provided excellent support for us, with minimal input from our
own IT staff. Basically, all our folks did was provide properly
configured server space, and daily tape backup of the database. Since
then, all they have done is regular server upgrades, while I do all of
the client upgrades myself.
I would say that the biggest problem that we have had was the import of
old data. I had written a small database in Access before we moved to
Specify, and in some ways, I wish I had just thrown it out and started
over.
I have never seen software that people have paid big bucks for work any
better, and this is free, so you can't beat it on price!
-----
We curate a small collection of about 35,000 vascular plants and perhaps
an equal number of animals from invertebrates to bird egg sets and
mammals.  We tried Specify and Biota several years ago and decided to
continue with our homegrown Access database. Specify was a fine
application and is probably much better now.  If you have a dedicated IT
individual operating the program on a regular basis, it will probably
work fine. The support was very good and we had no major problems
converting our data from our previous Access database. Most modern
databases will allow you to export your data in several widely used
formats. The only issue might be if you have combined two or more items
that you may want separated later.  Also we had a couple of fields for
which I used the "memo" designation that allows essentially unlimited
text entry, for field notes, etc., but the field then has no fixed
length.  Even that problem is surmountable (but I would avoid it if you
intend to pool data with others later).

In our case we depend heavily on volunteers and student help that turns
over frequently, continually eroding our accumulated expertise with the
software.   We tend to process vouchers in lots, with periodic gaps of
several months with the annual ebb and flow of the academic year and as
individuals are drawn in different directions by various commitments. As
a consequence any given activity with the database may not be required
for months at a time and I found myself struggling to remember exactly
how each function works. Querying the data was fine, because we do so
regularly, but for other features used at odd intervals it was somewhat
confusing. 

In general, I think if you have a permanent staff person who will work
with the database on a regular basis, Specify will be fine.  It has
great features and is quite slick.  If you have a smaller operation and
depend on ephemeral staff or use the software only occasionally, it may
not be such a good fit.  In all fairness they have probably created a
more intuitive gui interface to make using Specify easier.  I just offer
the above as one person's experience, and a viewpoint of a small
collection that is not usually represented in the mail list discussions.
If you can take a little time to try Specify you may form a different
opinion, and you can always backup your current database and return to
it if things don't work out.

Gene K. Hess 
Collections Manager - Vertebrates
Delaware Museum of Natural History
P.O. Box 3937
Wilmington, DE 19807

302-658-9111 voice
302-658-2610 fax
hessgk at delmnh.org