[Nhcoll-l] Multiple numbers

[Doug Yanega]

On 3/10/16 10:28 AM, Callomon,Paul wrote:
>
> Colleagues:
>
> In some collections, individual components of a lot that are stored in 
> a particular medium (for example: the empty dry shell, frozen tissue 
> snip and alcohol-preserved body from the same snail or the dry skin 
> and fluid-preserved guts of a single bird) each get different catalog 
> numbers.
>
> The question: All other things being equal, is it better collections 
> management practice for all parts of a single lot to have the same 
> catalog number (perhaps with different states of preservation 
> indicated separately or as prefixes/suffixes)?
>
> A “lot” is defined as all specimens collected at the same time in the 
> same place. This can be a single bird or a hundred pond snails.
>
> How do you handle this in your collection?
>
> //
We assign unique numbers to things in the entomology collection by 
curatorial unit, not by lot. A single insect pin/vial/slide gets one 
number, even if there are multiple specimens (of multiple taxa, even, 
like predator/prey, host/parasite) - so UCRC ENT 95667 could represent 
multiple specimens, of one (or more) taxon, though always with identical 
collection data. If it becomes necessary to separate the records in the 
database by taxon, they would appear as UCRC ENT 95667a, UCRC ENT 95667b 
in the database. Other specimens from the same collecting event get 
their own GUIDs, though the database is relational and each locality has 
its own code, so one could reconstruct a traditional "lot" by querying 
for all specimens with the same date/locality code.

If it's a bulk sample, then we will assign a GUID but don't attempt to 
discriminate among taxa, or count specimens - far too impractical. The 
database allows easy carryover of data if specimens are removed from 
bulk samples, and then given their own GUID. Again, the date/locality 
code will link specimens even if they've been physically dispersed.

Peace,

-- 
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)
              https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cache.ucr.edu_-7Eheraty_yanega.html&d=AwID-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Jaf2xRPjvyOOEhizEXAxGFT6-yRPDLJPjJT2DtOXN4k&s=vMJSMu4hpROAA81Qx0wRipnYcJ8ejCV6NqNxYZUCHuc&e= 
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82

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