MUSEUM SPECIMEN RECORD DATA STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL

Abstract

SummaryExamples of problems that arise from the present lack of an efficient information service for specimen‐label data are reviewed. Deficiencies exist in the guidance given to collectors, the provision of local distribution data for environmental and other studies, and in the support given the monographers in locating Types. Basic queries such as on the fauna and flora of a particular area mostly cannot be answered directly, although the data lie close at hand. With respect to label information the museum or herbarium is a data crypt rather than a data bank. Computer‐based data‐banking offers a solution to these fundamental problems. Selected items of label data can be retrieved and sorted for output in catalogues or lists by the computer, along with tallies and distribution maps. The steps by which one may achieve this are described, together with a review of the chief kinds of computer program‐system and sources of advice. The need for careful systems analysis and international standards for recording the data is emphasised.