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<p>In our insect collection management database, we try to adhere to
DwC compliant fields. We assign every indivisible curatorial unit
in our collection (be it pin, vial, or slide) with a GUID
(globally unique) that is the primary reference point for served
data. Historical accession numbers, lot numbers, and other
NON-unique codes are retained, but in a separate, secondary field
used specifically for that purpose, and we only serve the contents
of this field internally or upon request. I think most collections
try to follow this basic procedure, which is logical enough. <br>
</p>
<p>Where I see less consistency is how collections treat material
bearing legacy GUIDs, or GUIDs assigned by other collections. Our
database accommodates externally-generated GUIDs, to avoid
pseudoreplication, but I am aware of collections where their
"house database" will (by design or by policy) NOT accommodate
externally-generated GUIDs, so they may have tens of thousands of
specimens bearing multiple GUIDs. This pretty much defeats the
principle of a GUID being unique, and I <b>really</b> don't like
this practice. I have even seen cases where not only does a
collection add a second GUID to each specimen, but they generate a
complete set of data <i>de novo</i>, including georeferences;
this results in data aggregators such as GBIF containing two data
points for each specimen, often mapping to slightly different
coordinates, and appearing to represent two specimens.</p>
<p>Peace,<br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html">https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a>
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82</pre>
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