1. COLLECTIONS MODULE FOR RECORDER 6
1.1 Business Summary
 The Collections Module aims to provide collectors of natural history and biodiversity objects with a system allowing them to catalogue, describe and track specimens within their collections. The development is primarily aimed at meeting the requirements of Musee national d'histoire naturelle (www.mnhn.lu) and their collaborators but is also intended to provide the basis for a generic product in future revisions.
The system allows users to add, edit and delete data for collections and specimens that have been accessioned into the museum or by the collaborator (i.e. have been documented as in their ownership). It also allows information regarding specimens and collections at other sites or owned by other individuals and organisations to be maintained. As well as collections and specimens, information regarding stores is maintained for the purposes of organisation and location of specimens.
The system is designed for use by museum staff. Data gathered by the system is likely to form the underlying dataset for future web-portals and front end museum software used by visitors to the museum.
The system provides facilities for rapid data entry and reporting of this data. The collection module for Recorder 6 is developed for the National Museum of Natural History in Luxembourg by Dorset software in collaboration with Charles Copp .
For further information please send a mail to: recorder2000@mnhn.lu
1.2 Recorder System Introduction
In order to properly record information regarding specimens and collections, it is also necessary to maintain information regarding the field data associated with the specimen, for example where it was gathered, who gathered it and when. There are several advantages to enhancing an existing system rather than write a complete collections management system as a standalone product:
- Reduced total cost of the project as much of the data required is already in the system
- Joining an existing community of users and support
The Recorder application, developed by Dorset Software in conjunction with JNCC, provides a means by which this information can be maintained. It is selected as the underlying product for the Collections Module for the following reasons:
- It is oriented towards complete and scientifically accurate recording of biological observations
- It supports addins, which are code objects that can be added to the existing system without rebuilding the original code
- It is already in use at Musee national d'histoire naturelle
The Recorder application supports biological records in a hierarchical data fashion. Observations are organised into the following entities:
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Surveys (containing information about the reason why the data was gathered, the scope and the organisers)
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Survey Events (visits to sites by a group of people at a particular time)
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Samples (samples taken during the Survey Event, e.g. field observations or traps)
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Occurrences (currently supports taxon occurrences which represent observations of an organism and biotope occurrences which represent observations of a habitat)
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Determinations (identifications made for an occurrence. An occurrence may have more than one determination)
This hierarchical data structure is illustrated by the following logical UML class diagram. The diamond symbols indicate aggregation, for example a survey aggregates a number of survey events.
In addition, Recorder supports other data entities which are useful for the Collections Module project:
- Documents and References
- Individuals and Organisations
- Locations
1.3 Collections Module Introduction
The Collections Module is formed of a number of COM addins to the existing Recorder Project. In addition, several changes are made to the core product.
The Collections Module adds a number of data entities to the existing Recorder data model. The key entities are those for specimens, collections and stores, collectively known as collection units. The following class diagram illustrates how these entities relate to the existing Recorder Observations hierarchy:
The additional entities in this diagram are summarised by the following statements:
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Specimens can be associated with any number of field occurrences. Only one of these is flagged as the gathering event
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Specimens have one or more associated determinations. This may or may not confirm determinations made in the field
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Specimens can aggregate other specimens (e.g. a rock can contain an ammonite)
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Stores can aggregate specimens (e.g. a tray can contain a butterfly specimen)
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Stores can aggregate other stores (e.g. a room contains cabinets, a cabinet contains shelves)
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Collections aggregate specimens
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Collections can aggregate other collections (e.g. a shell collection is a sub-collection of the zoology collection at a museum)
There are a number of associated entities not described in this diagram such as those concerning movements, accessions, enquiries and relationships.
The scope of the Collections Module can be summarised by the following components:
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Collections Browser (an addin screen designed to allow the user to navigate through collections, specimens and the related data. The screen is also used for data entry of individual records)
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Thesaurus Browser (an addin screen allowing the user to navigate the Thesaurus. The Thesaurus is a repository of terms and their relationships used throughout the Collections Module. This supersedes the dictionaries and term lists models used in Recorder although to minimise the impact on the Recorder system the existing dictionaries and term lists are not converted into the Thesaurus. The Thesaurus provides terms in domains such as Fossil Taxi, Soil Types, Rock Types, as well as lists linked to specific controls in the application)
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Quick Entry (addin screens that facilitate rapid data entry of specimens and observations data)
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Recorder Observations Changes (adds new types of occurrence to the existing Recorder Observations hierarchy. For example, fossil taxa, stratigraphy, rocks and soil types. These occurrences are linked to terms within the Thesaurus)
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Multiple Maps (allows the user to maintain more than one base map simultaneously in Recorder)
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Installation Kit (includes upgrading an existing Recorder installation to add the Collections Module)
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Reports (includes a number of standard reports available for entities within the Collections Module)
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Organisation Departments Addin (allows the user to create departments in organisations and link individuals to them. This is an addin that enhances the existing Recorder screens
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Specimen Finder Addin (screen that allows users to build queries to locate specimens in the system by drag and drop)
1.4 System Use Cases
1.4.1 Overview
The following use case diagrams provide a very high level view of the components of the system and how they interact with the actors (users) of the system.
1.4.2 Overview Use Case
The following diagram illustrates the scope of the system.
Browse/Edit Observations - this entails the use of the existing Recorder screens to edit field observation data.
Generate Distribution Maps - this involves the display of distribution maps for field data using the existing Recorder Map screens, enhanced to allow simultaneous access to more than one base map.
Record Enquiry - museum staff receiving enquiries from visitors or other members of the public enter details of the enquiry into the Collections Browser. The enquiry is associated with the collection, specimen, store or Thesaurus term is regards.
Browse/Edit Collections and Specimens - museum staff navigate, add, edit and delete collections data using the Collections Browser. The Specimen Finder provides a further facility for locating specimen records.
Rapid Data Entry - the Quick Entry screens allow users to create templates for data entry screens. When they use a template within a data entry session, data is not stored in the main database until they request that the update occurs.
Browse Thesaurus - the Thesaurus Browser addin allows the user to navigate through terms in the Thesaurus. Terms are organised into hierarchies or lists (called concept groups) and terms are related to any other term. These relationships are navigable.
Edit Thesaurus - the List Manager (normally a member of the museum staff) is responsible for entering and maintaining the terms in the Thesaurus. For example, they are responsible for maintaining the hierarchies of stratigraphy and fossil taxa known to the Thesaurus.
1.4.3 Collections Browser Use Case
The following Use Case Diagram illustrates the uses of the Collections Browser component of the Collections Module.
Accession Specimens and Collections - Museum Staff document the ownership of a collection or specimen as an Accession.
Manage Collections - the user is able to document details regarding a collection, including its history and other metadata.
Manage Specimens - the user is able to document the details regarding specimens, including determinations and field data (links to the Recorder Observations hierarchy).
Manage Documents and Images - the user can associate documents and images with items in the database. In addition, specimens themselves can be documents or images.
Manage Enquiries - museum staff receiving enquiries from visitors or other members of the public enter details of the enquiry into the Collections Browser. The enquiry is associated with the collection, specimen, store or Thesaurus term it regards. Enquiry responses are recorded and enquiries are used to prompt for the creation of observations in the system.
Manage Valuations - valuations of collections and specimens are recorded (formal and informal). In addition, valuations can relate to a specific movement of materials for example when receiving a loan the valuation is for insurance purposes).
Manage Conservation Information - museum staff record condition checks performed. These give rise to tasks being identifies. Jobs are undertaken which implement one or more of the identified tasks.
Manage Loans - materials received or issued as part of a loan are tracked.
Track Object Movements - other types of event that affect the department holding an object are tracked (acquisition, disposal, sale etc). This allows the system to calculate the department and organisation holding an item at any point in time.
1.4.4 Screenshots
COLLECTION BROWSER
THESAURUS EDITOR
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