<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Hi Michael, have you received any response from this email? I manage diverse collections that include almost everything on your list. I have different protocols depending on the type of specimens and the kind of data that is available to me when it is given to us. Each accession is different. We photograph as we catalog whenever possible, and I upload data and photos at the same time. All of our collections are housed in a single Specify database. We do not use barcodes. Classifications and vocabulary of the various types of specimens are a headache, but we manage, knowing that classification systems will most likely change over time. I am always interested in discussing new protocols and techniques with folks, and would love to hear from others who have similar collections. ---Liath</div><div dir="ltr"><span style="color:black;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">---</span></div><div dir="ltr"><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:black">Liath Appleton, Collections Manager</div><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:black">Non-vertebrate Paleontology, Jackson School Museum of Earth History</div><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:black">The University of Texas at Austin, PRC 122</div><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:black">3310 Clyde Davis Trail</div><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:black">Austin, Texas 78758 USA</div><div style="margin:0px"><div style="margin:0px"><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:black"><a href="https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/npl/" target="_blank" id="gmail-OWAe6b208f8-e82e-cc8c-b3de-db57768733bb" class="gmail-x_OWAAutoLink" title="https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/npl/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="margin:0px">https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/npl/</a></div></div></div><div style="margin:0px"><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt"><br></div><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">SPNHC Connection Editor (<span style="color:rgb(17,85,204)"><a href="mailto:newsletter@spnhc.org">newsletter@spnhc.org</a></span><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85)">)</span></div><div style="margin:0px;font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">SPNHC Web Manager (<span style="color:rgb(17,85,204)"><a href="mailto:webmaster@spnhc.org">webmaster@spnhc.org</a></span>)</div><div style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(17,85,204)"><a href="http://www.spnhc.org/" target="_blank" id="gmail-OWA53ac6403-08a8-8ba6-b7b1-c0ce6f9ddfd9" class="gmail-OWAAutoLink" style="margin:0px">www.spnhc.org</a></div><div style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(17,85,204)"><br></div><div style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11pt;color:rgb(17,85,204)"><br></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Aug 13, 2025 at 11:50 AM Michael Howe - BGS <<a href="mailto:mhowe@bgs.ac.uk">mhowe@bgs.ac.uk</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Hi NHCOLLers,<br>
<br>
The UK Geoscience Collections Community has come together to evaluate the various workflows, equipment, standards and vocabularies used for digitising geoscience collections and make best practice recommendations, highlighting gaps needing further work..<br>
<br>
We are aware in general of various workflows referenced on the DiSSCo-UK, DiSSCo-EU and iDigBio websites, but given the wide range of geological samples to be digitised, we would appreciate your help. We would like to hear from digitisers about the actual workflows, equipment and standards they are using - those that work well and those that cause problems.<br>
<br>
We need workflows that cover the wide range of material types in geological collections,<br>
<br>
* Rock & mineral hand specimens<br>
* Meteorites<br>
* Mineral micromounts<br>
* Thin sections, thick sections, wafers, polished blocks, etc.<br>
* Borehole cores, samples and cuttings<br>
* Vertebrate fossils - both mounted and discrete bones<br>
* Micro-vertebrate fossils<br>
* Invertebrate fossils<br>
* Slide sections of fossils - e.g. corals<br>
* Micropalynology, including acritarchs, etc<br>
* "Calc-micro", including conodonts, etc.<br>
* SEM stubs<br>
* Etc.<br>
<br>
<br>
Many collections (e.g. herbarium sheets, pinned insects) can be imaged first and the metadata extracted from the images. In contrast, geological samples often hide their labels and are probably best databased before being imaged - indeed, many collections already have digital catalogues. Are most institutions imaging or databasing first? (Presumably barcoding before imaging? - Data Matrix, QR or other barcode format?)<br>
<br>
Vocabs are also a problem. The British Geological Survey makes a number of controlled vocabularies available (e.g. RCS - Rock Classification System and the BGS Stratigraphic Lexicon) - but these are UK centric and UK Collections are worldwide. What vocab systems are in popular use?<br>
<br>
<br>
If all goes to plan, we intend to produce a report in a year or so detailing our recommendations, which we will be happy to share with the community.<br>
<br>
Many thanks in advance for your help,<br>
<br>
I know this is a big ask!<br>
<br>
Mike<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Dr Mike Howe<br>
Principal Curator<br>
<br>
Working days: Tuesdays - Thursdays<br>
Phone: 0115 9363105 Email: <a href="mailto:mhowe@bgs.ac.uk" target="_blank">mhowe@bgs.ac.uk</a><br>
Web: <a href="http://www.bgs.ac.uk/staff/profiles/3858.html" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.bgs.ac.uk/staff/profiles/3858.html</a><br>
GIH030 - British Geological Survey<br>
Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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