April 2011

Registry Prototype demonstration

Relationships between records

Chosen Schema

• For Persons, Organizations, and Expeditions– Encoded Archival Context – Corporate bodies, Persons and Families

• For Collections– Natural Collections Description (NCD)

• For Items– Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS)

Focus of cataloging

• Collection level– General description of all items thereby giving context to the items as

a group through information like: dates, physical location and access, associated people, taxonomic and common names of research, related expeditions, collecting locations

• Item level– Unique attributes of item: research focus, dates, collecting locations,

demonstrated professional collaborations, related materials

How information is represented

• Abstract/Description• Subject Fields

– geospatial coverage, taxonomic coverage, common name coverage, living time period…

• Related Records– Creator, contributor, associated person…

Cataloging Tools in Filemaker

• Layout formats• Auto-fill (for administrative information)• Pick-lists (for authority terms)• Buttons (for authority term websites)• Tooltip display (to clarify field contents)• Lookup fields (for relationships between types of records)• Multicell fields (for subject terms)

Initial WorkflowPerson Record

• Create basic shell record that can be completed at later time

• Name as listed in authority source

• Basic information if immediately available

Collection Record

• Create basic shell record

• Name of collection as listed in pre-existing source, or named by cataloger

• Information added from Item level cataloging

EAC cataloging

• Person, Organization and Expedition information is taken from pre-existing trusted sources when possible

i.e. SIRIS, scientific journals, recommended biographical sources

Digitization of items, made searchable by item level cataloging

Preservation to stabilize resources

Long Term Goals

Digitization ExampleEdward Chapin Field Books

•Recently donated to the Smithsonian Archive•Former Smithsonian Entomologist•Example of the anticipated digitization results

Planning in the database for Preservation efforts

• 3 additional fields to the database for catalogers– Overall condition– Current enclosure– Cataloger notes

Preservation Module

• Records are exported to separate database • Additional fields to be completed by

conservation staff

The Preservation Module has been a joint effort of cataloging and conservation staff.

Still in development, the current arrangement imports records from the Field Book Registry into the top portion of the module.

The bottom portion is completed by Conservation staff.

Preservation with Digitization

• Conservation staff are working with sample field books

• Issues affecting field books:– Levels of deterioration– Types of binding– Post-digitization storage