<div dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="docs-internal-guid-c4908778-e1d0-3410-7247-f42786d7b454"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">We recognize that we catalog objects that are sometimes whole organisms, sometimes parts of organisms, sometimes many parts of one organism, or sometimes groups (lots) of organisms. We appreciate less that our cataloged items have a loose relationship to physical reality, and hence no useful relationship to object-tracking, or to other important attributes of specimens. We view our collections as aggregations of cataloged items, and for many systems, “records” are equated with cataloged items. That we are managing objects, not cataloged items, is the underlying problem Karen describes.</span></p>
<br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">That Karen is tempted to “designate a conceptual parent” (“usually the skin is designated”), or that Steven must “add an umbrella record,” or that AMNH collections are finding their own independent solutions, all of this is </span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">ad hoc</span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> and suggests a fundamental problem. As early as 1996, Stan Blum addressed the awkward one-are-really-many problem in a data structure referred to as the “MVZ Model.” </span></p>
<br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">
<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Cataloged items within the MVZ Model are essentially another object, analogous to the parent/umbrella records mentioned in this discussion, but so intrinsic is this fact to the overall data structure, that it is not evident to users of the online implementations of the model (</span><a href="http://arctos.database.museum/" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Arctos</span></a><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> and </span><a href="http://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">MCZbase</span></a><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">). A cataloged item is the </span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">de facto</span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"> parent of one or more objects. Objects have preparation methods, conditions, and storage locations. Objects get sent out on loans, and used in research. Nevertheless, cataloged items remain the entities cited in the scientific output from our collections, and cataloged items are the usual view that users take in querying collection data. The data structure serves two million zoological, botanical, and paleontological records, originating from 70 collections, from one instance of Oracle at the </span><a href="https://www.tacc.utexas.edu/about" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Texas Advanced Computing Center</span></a><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">, and another two million records at Harvard.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline"></span></p>
<p style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Gordon Jarrell</span></p>
<p style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Museum of Southwestern Biology</span></p>
<p style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline">Univeristy of New Mexico, Albuquerque<br>
</span></p><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 1:18 AM, Thomas J Trombone <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:trombone@amnh.org" target="_blank">trombone@amnh.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="EN-US">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Hi Karen,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">In the AMNH Vertebrate Zoology KE EMu database we also use a conceptual parent "Organism" record in our Catalog module which has child "Preparation" records.
The parent record is the only record that links to the Taxonomy and the Collecting Events modules (among others.) The child Preparation records are each of a type specific to a particular department. For example, in my own department (Ornithology) we have
five pre-defined types of Preparation record: skin; skeleton; fluid (i.e., stored in alcohol); tissue sample; egg/nest set. The particular types of Preparation records used by another department would be different. Ichthyology in particular implemented a slightly
different version of this model, where the parent record does not refer to a single organism but instead to a "Lot" of fish, and each Preparation record corresponds to some subset of that lot that has been treated in a particular way (e.g., 50 individuals
stored in ethanol vs. 10 individuals cleared and stained and stored in glycerin.)<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">In some departments the catalog number appears in the parent record. In Ornithology we have a historical practice of numbering each of our collections independently,
so we have a different catalog number in each Preparation record. The parent/child model allows us to easily retrieve and sort records by catalog number, which would not be quite as simple if all the numbers were embedded in a single record.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">The model allows each Preparation record to be loaned independently of the other related preparations from a given specimen, and also allows storage location
and inventory status to be recorded independently for each preparation.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Our preparation type classification scheme is not terribly standardized, but in Ornithology we aim for an arrangement such as you describe: a top-level category
designating the type of specimen in broadest terms (skin; feathers; toe pad sample; etc.) and a lower-level description (flat skin and wing; spread wing; tail only; etc.) In other departments the more descriptive term is used at the top level and the subsequent
level describes the condition of the specimen (Damaged; Disarticulated; Dissected; etc.)<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I find the conceptual parent model works well for us as it allows flexibility in data retrieval and reporting, and accurately reflects the very separate nature
of our various collections while easily maintaining the relationship of all preparations derived from a given individual organism. However the model does complicate things to a degree. Data entry using the EMu client is a bit more cumbersome, as one must create
the parent record first and then create the child records as needed. Similarly, importing data requires a few extra steps. And query time can be affected when one runs a query on Preparation records based on a value in the related Parent records, because the
sub-query must run first, and EMu could use some query optimization enhancements in this situation. Nonetheless the benefits outweigh the costs for Vertebrate Zoology in my estimation. Having said that, our Division of Invertebrate Zoology is about to adopt
EMu and has opted not to implement the parent/child model, though our Division of Paleontology plans to use it in order to reflect the relationship between their fossils, molds and casts.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Happy to follow up on or off list.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Best,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Tom<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">__________________<br>
Thomas J. Trombone<br>
Data Manager<br>
Division of Vertebrate Zoology - Ornithology<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">American Museum of Natural History<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Central Park West @ 79th Street<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">New York, NY 10024-5192<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Phone: <a href="tel:%28212%29%20313-7783" value="+12123137783" target="_blank">(212) 313-7783</a><br>
Email: <a href="mailto:trombone@amnh.org" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1f497d">trombone@amnh.org</span></a><br>
URL: <a href="http://research.amnh.org/ornithology/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1f497d">http://research.amnh.org/ornithology/</span></a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<div style="border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt">
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #b5c4df 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> <a href="mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Steven van der Mije<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, 18 March 2014 3:37 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Nhcoll-l] mammal database queries (Roberts, Karen)<u></u><u></u></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Karen,<u></u><u></u></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">at Naturalis we also describe our mammal specimens in multiple records, but we also add an umbrella record (called
<i>virtual specimen</i>) probably similar to your conceptual parent, to group together the different records for the specimen. Furthermore the records get the same registrationnumber, only differentiated by a suffix (.a,.b, etc.), so can be filtered or searched
with the same registration number.<u></u><u></u></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have a preparation type classification, for some collections this is very detailed (palaeontolgy for instance). In mammals I try to keep it as broad as possible, so the term would be
<i>skull</i> or <i>cranium </i>(searchable with the thesaurus) and we have a description field for additional remarks (for instance
<i>only right mandible)</i>.<u></u><u></u></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Best wishes,<u></u><u></u></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br clear="all">
<u></u><u></u></p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Steven van der Mije<u></u><u></u></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">hoofd collectie vertebraten / senior collectiebeheerder vogels en zoogdieren</span><span style><u></u><u></u></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">head of vertebrate collections / collection manager birds and mammals</span><span style><u></u><u></u></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img src="http://logo.naturalis.nl/logo.png" border="0"><u></u><u></u></p>
</div>
</div>
<p><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">T 071-5687536, M 06-45336594<br>
Darwinweg 2, Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden<br>
E <a href="mailto:steven.vandermije@naturalis.nl" target="_blank">steven.vandermije@naturalis.nl</a>, <a href="http://www.naturalis.nl/" target="_blank">I www.naturalis.nl</a></span><u></u><u></u></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">------------------------------<br>
<br>
Message: 3<br>
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 17:40:40 +1100<br>
From: "Roberts, Karen" <<a href="mailto:karoberts@museum.vic.gov.au" target="_blank">karoberts@museum.vic.gov.au</a>><br>
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] mammal database queries<br>
To: "<a href="mailto:nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a>" <<a href="mailto:nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a>><br>
Message-ID:<br>
<<a href="mailto:AB0EB33C73AD494EBB8D722C00B3F6BB1A9182A129@RAKALI.mv.vic.gov.au" target="_blank">AB0EB33C73AD494EBB8D722C00B3F6BB1A9182A129@RAKALI.mv.vic.gov.au</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"<br>
<br>
Hello colleagues,<br>
<br>
I've recently been having some issues with the way mammal specimen collection data is recorded in our database and I was wondering how others organise their collection data.<br>
<br>
My issues revolve around being able to record different preparation types in a simple manner that enables easy retrieval of data relating to 1) how many individuals of that species we have 2) how many of a certain preparation type we have, and 3) what the location
of the different prep types is. At the moment I can achieve all these, but not always in an easy way.<br>
<br>
We use KE EMu and use a multiple record method of recording different prep types as only one location can be linked to each record (our institution uses a barcode based location system). Therefore, a skin, skull and fluid prep from one individual will need
to be recorded three times - so that separate location data can be added - and linked to the main record, usually the skin is designated. Associated tissue samples are also linked to the main record, but they have completely different catalogue numbering so
there isn't a straight forward way to search that brings up all records for one individual (same goes for older specimens where different parts of a single individual specimen were originally registered with different catalogue numbers). Many of these things
I probably can't change but I'm hoping I can improve things a little and it's nice to know how others manage similar problems.<br>
<br>
<br>
So my specific questions for the list are:<br>
<br>
1. In the case of specimens with more than one preparation type, how do you record these - in one record or multiple?<br>
<br>
2. How do you record locations for different parts of a single individual specimen (if you do at all)?<br>
<br>
3. Do you have a generic preparation type classification that is supplemented by additional information? Eg. 'skull' as a prep type description but then another field that indicates whether it is a complete skull with mandibles or just a partial cranium.<br>
<br>
4. For those that use KE Emu or similar systems, do you use the conceptual parent method of grouping multiple associated records? I wasn't keen on it, but I am starting to think it may be more practical.<br>
<br>
<br>
Thank you all for your input and thoughts (happy to hear from non-mammal people too!).<br>
<br>
Karen<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Karen Roberts, PhD<br>
Collection Manager, Vertebrates<br>
Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia<br>
<br>
e: <a href="mailto:karoberts@museum.vic.gov.au" target="_blank">karoberts@museum.vic.gov.au</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:karoberts@museum.vic.gov.au" target="_blank">karoberts@museum.vic.gov.au</a>><br>
web: <a href="http://museumvictoria.com.au/" target="_blank">http://museumvictoria.com.au/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Museums Board of Victoria ABN 63 640 679 155 is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient.<br>
All gifts of $2 or more are tax deductible.<br>
<br>
[<a href="http://museumvictoria.com.au/images/email-ta.jpg" target="_blank">http://museumvictoria.com.au/images/email-ta.jpg</a>]<br>
<br>
<br>
Melbourne Museum, winner of the Victorian Tourism Awards for Best Major Tourist Attraction in 2010,2011,2012 and Australian winner in 2011.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://museumvictoria.com.au" target="_blank">museumvictoria.com.au</a><<a href="http://museumvictoria.com.au/" target="_blank">http://museumvictoria.com.au/</a>><br>
<br>
This e-mail is solely for the named addressee and may be confidential. You should only read, disclose, transmit, copy, distribute, act in reliance on or commercialise the contents if you are authorised to do so. If you are not the intended recipient of this
e-mail, please notify <a href="mailto:postmaster@museum.vic.gov.au" target="_blank">postmaster@museum.vic.gov.au</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:npostmaster@museum.vic.gov.au" target="_blank">npostmaster@museum.vic.gov.au</a>> by email immediately, or notify the sender and then destroy any copy
of this message. Views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender, except where specifically stated to be those of an officer of Museum Victoria. Museum Victoria does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this communication
has been maintained nor that it is free from errors, virus or interference.<br>
Please consider the environment before printing this email.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<u></u><u></u></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Nhcoll-l mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu">Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br>
<a href="http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l" target="_blank">http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l</a><br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of<br>
Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose<br>
mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of<br>
natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to<br>
society. See <a href="http://www.spnhc.org" target="_blank">http://www.spnhc.org</a> for membership information.<br>
<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Gordon Jarrell<br>Museum of Southwestern Biology<br>University of New Mexico<br>Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001<br>mobile: 505-506-2145
</div></div>