[NHCOLL-L:4378] Re: Barcodes vs. RFID's

[Dirk Neumann]

The DNA-Bank Storage Project in our museum is using 3D-Barcodes, printed 
on the bottom of the vials, for identification of samples and for 
storage (samples of various specimens, vetrebrates / insects / sponges 
are kind of randomly assigned to singles tubes). There is an additional 
10 / 12-digit serial number on each vial, the data of the barcode (and 
the sample) are easily available by reading the barcode.

Neat, modern, easy.

As long as there is no computer crash; in cases of database corruption 
and resulting data loss, they (and the collection) will be lost in a 
complete mess, unable to identify the organism and the included DNA.

It may be oldfashioned to print all data from a database on a specimen 
lable which is included to the specimen, and to have a print copy of 
this database (additionally to serveral backup copies of the database). 
But overvoltage during a thunderstorm is all your computer network needs 
for breakdown. Printed labels will still be there ...

Perhaps the very conservative style, but a long lasting one; we lost 
nearly the complete collection AND all inventories during WWII; 300 lots 
survived, many of them without labels or incomplete data on them. It was 
really hard work to restore at least the data of major collections parts 
and lost type specimens from published data.

Another point is, when only using barcodes for identification on your 
lots, you need to know exactly the position of each specimen in the 
collection. E.g. due to the specifications of a new building, colleagues 
in a museum over here whereforced to store major parts of the collection 
depending on lot size. If there is no superior order in the collection, 
e.g a systematical order, but only one based on numbers / barcode-IDs 
and / or the size of the lots, it's quite easy to loose specimens within 
the collection: specimens / lots cannot be relocated int he collection 
once they were removed from there original place.

Dirk


Del Re, Christine schrieb:
>
> We at MPM would like to know which other museums are now using 
> barcodes, or RFID’s on/in individual collection items? Does anyone 
> favor one system over the other? Also, for those using barcodes, is 
> the preference to link a generic barcode number to an artifact via a 
> data base, or to make the barcode the actual artifact number?
>
> Any thoughts or references would be appreciated
>
> Chris
>
>
> 	
>
> *Christine** **del Re **|* *Senior Conservator & Conservation Section 
> Head *
> *Milwaukee Public Museum*
> *800 W Wells Street*
> *Milwaukee, WI 53233*
> *(414) 278-2780*
> *delre at mpm.edu <mailto:gruber at mpm.edu>*
> *www.mpm.edu <http://www.mpm.edu/>*
>
>
> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
>


-- 
Dirk Neumann

Tel: 089 / 8107-111
Fax: 089 / 8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de

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Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
Zoologische Staatssammlung München
Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Labor
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81247 München

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---------

Dirk Neumann

Tel: +49-89-8107-111
Fax: +49-89-8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de

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Bavarian Natural History Collections
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Lab
Muenchhausenstr. 21
81247 Munich (Germany)

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