Collection Documentation Francisco Pando GBIF - Spain 2nd SYNTHESYS Course in Management, Conservation and Care of Natural History Collections Madrid, 2 October 2007

Contents Definitions & caveats General aspects Collection documentation Specimen documentation Wrap-up: Check-list for good practices in documentation

Definitions Collection - a group of specimens or artifacts with like characteristics or a common base of association (e.g., geographic, donor, cultural); Specimen – A natural object, part of a collection that is the basic unit of study and handling Documentation - supporting evidence, recorded in a permanent manner using a variety of media (paper, photographic, etc.), of the identification, condition, history, or scientific value of a specimen, artifact, or collection. This encompasses information that is inherent to the individual specimen and its associations in its natural environment as well as that which reflects processes and transactions affecting the specimen (e.g., accessioning, cataloging, loaning, sampling, analysis, treatment, etc.)..

Caveats Documentation is an integral aspect of the use, management, and preservation of a specimen, or collection Inherent value of documentation and archival records: Evidence of the identification, condition, history, or scientific value of a specimen, artifact, or collection when recorded in a permanent manner enhances the value of the specimen. These records may actually have to substitute for the specimen or artifact should the specimens themselves deteriorate or be destroyed. Documentation is the responsibility of all individuals who use, prepare, manage, or care for specimens or artifacts. All techniques and materials used in collection management, care, and conservation must be fully documented. Methods and approaches presented here are strongly based on those used at the Real Jardín Botánico- CSIC, Madrid

The idea of the collection: vision and mission (purpose) Documentation –as anything else in the collection– must be guided by what we want the collection to be (vision) and what we have to do to make the the vision a reality (mission) Of course, collection’s conceptual framework exists within the context of the institution's mission and resources. General aspects

Principles Documentation is documented: metadata (authorship, time) Documentation is never destroyed; amends are made by adding documentation; no by replacing it Document everything (identification, condition, history, transactions, samplings,…) Documentation is in everything (original labels, mounting materials, arrangement of specimens,…) Precautionary principle General aspects

Explicit and implicit knowledge Knowledge –context, if you prefer-- is very elusive but vital for the best use of specimens and collections Documentation provides context IT tecnologies are bringing collection back to the front of science and societal matters, but in this process data gets decontextualized That makes documentation more important now than ever Go against the “everybody knows that” syndrome General aspects

Collection (s.s.) documentation Adquisitions Collection Guide Annual Reports Visitors Communication Treatments & incidents

Acquisitions Exchange Gift Deposit Purchase Permanent loan … Who, when, special conditions Record and acknowledge

Example

The “Collection Guide" Arrangement Map Codes Catalogs, files, databases, publications Facilities Policy for handling specimens Procedures (opening hours, safety, sampling, etc.) … of course this is now a web site

References Arrangement E.g.: Family arrangement follows Engler- Prantl Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien

Annual reports Compilation of major collection events: Holdings Transactions (visitors, loans,..) Treatments (e.g. fumigation) New or changed procedures New or improved facilities Staff Report problems … think of it as a tool for you --or your succesors-- rather that an annoying obligation

Visitors Visitor´s book: Who, when, what … Computer application: Who, when, what

Correspondence Record We have gone from paper communication to in ten years. Archiving procedures have not gone in pace with this. Have they? What do we do with ?

Treatments & incidents Treatments Fumigation Climate control Poisoning Freezing When Supplier Product / equipment incidents Pests Other disasters

Specimen documentation Labels Cross-link specimens Labile data (color, smell, etc.) Destructive sampling and documentation Identifications Georeference Paper documentation Digital documentation

Labels people (...) habitat / ecologic molecular studies historic / phenologic taxonomic locality / distribution

Cross-link specimens

Labile data (color, smell, etc.)

Destructive sampling and documentation

Identifications: explicit and implicit knowledge name who when …

Identifications: what we are talking about Identifications, names, concepts (taxa) from Nozomi Ytow & al.

Example: male fern Fl. iberica Dryopteris filix-mas Dryopteris affinis ssp. affinis ssp. borreri ssp. stilluppensis Dryopteris oreades Dryopteris submontana Dryopteris pallida ssp. pallida spp. balearica Dryopteris carthusana Dryopteris expansa Dryopteris dilatata Fl. Països Catalans Dryopteris austriaca ssp. assimilis ssp. dilatata ssp. spinulosa Dryopteris filix-mas ssp. borreri ssp. filix-mas ssp. oreades Dryopteris villarii ssp. submontana ssp. balearica

ssp. affinis D. affinis D. filix-mas spp. filix-mas D. filix-mas D. oreades ssp. oreades ssp. stilluppensis ssp. borreri Fl. iberica Fl. Paisos Catalans Example: names and concepts

Where are we? To establish the meaning of an identification is – at its best- an exercise of guesswork based upon implicit knowledge and assumptions This is a huge obstacle for the potential use of the collection, and thus an issue not to be dismiss.

We need to make explicit that information… Who made the identification when Reliability Precision (identification qualifiers) Accuracy (  reference to a taxonomic framework)

Identification reliability (1) Level 1:Highly reliable identification Specimen identified by (a) an internationally recognised authority of the group, or (b) a specialist that is presently studying or has reviewed the group in the Australian region. Level 2:Identification made with high degree of confidence at all levels Specimen identified by a trained identifier who had prior knowledge of the group in the Australian region or used available literature to identify the specimen. Level 3:Identification made with high confidence to genus but less so to species Specimen identified by (a) a trained identifier who was confident of its generic placement but did not substantiate their species identification using the literature, or (b) a trained identifier who used the literature but still could not make a positive identification to species, or (c) an untrained identifier who used most of the available literature to make the identification. Level 4:Identification made with limited confidence Specimen identified by (a) a trained identifier who was confident of its family placement but unsure of generic or species identifications (no literature used apart from illustrations), or (b) an untrained identifier who had/used limited literature to make the identification. Level 5:Identification superficial Specimen identified by (a) a trained identifier who is uncertain of the family placement of the species (cataloguing identification only), (b) an untrained identifier using, at best, figures in a guide, or (c) where the status & expertise of the identifier is unknown. From: Australian National Fish Collection (in use since 1993)

Identification reliability (2) Suggestion: identified by World expert in the taxa with high certainty identified by World expert in the taxa with reasonable certainty identified by World expert in the taxa with some doubts identified by regional expert in the taxa with high certainty identified by regional expert in the taxa with reasonable certainty identified by regional expert in the taxa with some doubts identified by non-expert in the taxa with high certainty identified by non-expert in the taxa with reasonable certainty identified by non-expert in the taxa with some doubt identified by the collector with high certainty identified by the collector with reasonable certainty identified by the collector with some doubt. From: Chapman (2005) Principles of Data Quality. GBIF

Identification qualifier close to compare group section sensu lato species multae series sensu stricto pro parte doubt Precision *based on ITF2, a TDWG standard (

Accuracy (ref. to a taxonomy)

Georeference data Example: Locality: 2 nm NNE of North Head Light House off Sydney Heads Lat/Long: , Datum: WGS84 GPS Accuracy: 6 m Extent: 50 m Remarks: Garmin Etrex Summit GPS for coordinates and accuracy

Coordinates formats TypeExample Degreesºminutes'seconds"[NS] Degreesºminutes'seconds"[EW] 30º50'15"N 2º30'10"W [-]Degrees. Decimals UseZoneX100LetterY100LetterEastin gNorthing 30TUV4050 UseZone Easting Northing30T

Datums Traditional Horizontal Datums NAD 27 (Clarke Ellipsoid ) ED 50 (International Ellipsoid) From US Navy (n.dat.)

Datum Shifts

Arthur D. Chapman et al. ( 2006 )

Paper documentation Documentation is in everything: original materials, arrangemenent of materials

one database  multiple indexing  multiple uses one (card) index  n-1 difficult tasks Digital documentation

Digital documentation: more than just storing it

Virtuality, reality and databases Open issue: To what extend shall the specimen bear physically all the information generated on it? e.g. Ref. to Genbank or specimen name vs. Collection name

Virtuality, reality and databases

Documentation & Data outlets in the digital era Conditions and provisos for use Feedback "how to cite" Collection website, GBIF, OBIS, REMIB,…

Conditions and provisos for use

Feedback Proporcionar al usuario la posibilidad de reportar errores o comentarios

"how to cite"

Digital documentation: images

Some common recommendations (1) Store metadata on images What? Technical data Color data Curatorial metadata (including IPR) Content metadata Digital documentation: images

Some common recommendations (2) Store metadata on images How?... standards EXIF (used by digital camera manufacturers DIG35 (xml industrial std.)International Imaging Industry Association Z39.87 (NISO std.) U.S.A. Digital documentation: images

Some common recommendations (3) Store metadata on images Where? a) Via database b) Within image file (EXIF specifications, JPEG2000) Not in the file name; not in the folder name Digital documentation: images

Digital documentation: backups Save all of your work in one place Create a DVD every (week, month) Setup off-site, on-line backup Test your backups

Digital documentation: backups Suggestion: Working with two on-line backup locations and save data to them everyday alternatively

Check-list for good practices in documentation Know your Center /Institute Strategic Plan- Vision - Mission Vision and mission for the collection Collection guide Annual reports Specimen documentation -- Never throw away a label -- What it is What it goes through Image repository with a documentation plan Backup system