Hi all

A few thoughts about the current topic re collections, data etc. There has
been a lot of interesting stuff about this on the list. I think there are
two main issues that must be addressed in our management of collections
data. First, permanence. Second, the ability to read the data in the future.

The major requirement of any data recording must be that it is available for
a very long time. This can only come about if we use a medium that is
resistant to short-term change. As far as I know, the only medium commonly
available is the written word on acid-free paper. Old-fashioned? maybe, but
what if researchers/collectors of 100 years ago used some system available
to record data that would subseqently make that data un-readable because the
system became obsolete? You just have to think about the 3.5inch floppy
disks, that most computers don't have drives for now, to see what I mean.
What about CDs, some of which have become unreadable after less than 10
years because of degradation of the aluminium layers? Or the hard drive that
has crashed or become damaged? Will we be able to read our DVD storage media
in 50 or 100 years from now? You could continually update the data recording
systems and pass the data on, but this is by no means a task most people
contemplate. Related to this is a problem that has been discussed. As
software is updated, newer versions of the same program may not handle data
configured in older versions (anyone else had this problem with Access and
SPSS, for example?).

These issues are covered in large part in Data Protection Laws where
permanence is an issue. Many companies, even in this digitally-enhanced age,
still keep use Microfilm as a backup medium. Why? Because all you need is a
simple reader, the data is visually available, and you can digitize it into
any system at any time.

I keep all my records (and research notes etc.) in hard-bound, acid-free
paper, books. In 100 years my catalogues will still be readable (quality of
ink is important as well). I also keep my records in Access, but will this
still be around for others to see? I think not. All I'm saying is that you
need to reduce to the simplest solution for long-term storage. You don't
need anything other than your eyes (and maybe glasses!) to read a notebook;
you need a PC to get into Access.

This is not to say I'm a Luddite though! I update all my data in Access and
the ability to use the data, arrange it, form lists, compare, analyze, and
everything else a computer allows you to do, is extremely valuable. But my
raw data is safe from the passage of time. You're not even safe if you print
your database from Access using a normal printer. Most printers, even
lasers, don't produce output that compares to good quality pen-ink (and the
paper may not be that good).

Its not a problem for now (maybe) but will we have lost lots of  data in the
future? Will the researcher of the next century look back and think we have
been short-sighted by having mostly kept our records only in electronic
format? Although institutions will update their data storage ability, what
of the amateur with a small, yet scientifically valuable, collection who
hasn't updated his data hoard from an early 1990s Access format, saved only
on a 3.5 floppy disk?

To round up, I would argue that the most robust way to record, and maintain
readable, any collections' data is by keeping data on acid-free paper, bound
in hardcover. It is also a requirement to keep all relevant, critical, data
on similarly acid-free paper/card labels with the specimens (to prevent loss
of data should the collection and notebooks become separated over the
years). I believe it is a responsibility that any collector keep his
specimens and data (the former rendered scientifically useless in the
absence of the latter) 'useable' for researchers/workers today, as well as
for researchers/workers of the future. In time, none of us will own our
collections (we will have died!) and we must make provision, in our routine
management of our collection, that any change of ownership (be it by a
relative, institution etc.) comes with no change in the value of the
collection.

Alex

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