Expedition Tracker
Three creative projects proved that the general concept is doable. In future Hackathons, work closely with teams to define the scope of the problem and the needs of the client more clearly. Since the event, we determined that this project is worth pursuing in greater depth, possibly as a pre-accessioning tool to capture metadata for future (EAC) harvesting--will apply for grant funding (NEH). Must conduct a user needs and interface analysis.
- Lucinda and its presentation
- Octopus Garden Expedition Tracker and its presentation
- Fun Expeditions and its demo
Field expeditions are a major part of the Museum’s scientific mission, with researchers, students, and curators participating in dozens of expeditions annually. From studying primates in Vietnam to surveying crocodiles in Cuba, fieldwork adds to the Museum's preeminent collections and informs its exhibitions and educational efforts.
All the AMNH expeditions that took place in 2015
The qualitative, observational data recorded by scientists during field expeditions are compiled into fieldnotes, or field books. Fieldnotes observe primary source specimens, or collections of specimens, that straddle research disciplines. They span the history of the museum in every science department and are still being created today. Fieldnotes are compiled in a wide variety of formats, sometimes as books or papers, but increasingly as "born-digital" objects. They may exist individually or as collections. It is also possible to encounter a set of fieldnotes that has been disassociated materially and rehoused within several different archival collections.
These records have intrinsic archival value, but they are often deposited by the creator after an expedition without capturing any information about them or registering their existence. Since fieldnote data is always needed and never obsolete, the scientists who create it often keep it close at hand, initially. Over time, and as departments evolve, fieldnotes may find their way into department field book repositories, or they may be transferred to the library as individual objects or as part of an archival collection. Fieldnotes that remain in the science departments are outside the Library's purview. We may not know of their existence unless they have been transferred physically to the Library. Additionally, since the Library has not traditionally tracked fieldnotes, these resources may be integrated into current archival collections, but not defined as such.
We need a way to track fieldnotes in the museum as they are created/identified, including if they have been cataloged, scanned, or made available online. This tool would track/manage the life-cycle of fieldnote data, which would allow staff the means to provide access and control over museum resources.
The goal is to create a tool that would allow museum and scientific staff to easily track fieldnote items (expedition media), no matter the format/volume or where they're held or how they're shared over time, including their extent, their location, their ownership, or if they have been physically transferred to or accessioned by the Library. We want to answer questions, such as:
- What is this?
- What expedition did this come from?
- When and where was this created?
- Who created this? Is this person an AMNH staff person?
- Where is this located? Is it in a department? The library? Is this off-site?
- Who last took this and is responsible for this now?
- Is this in the Library catalog? Any catalog?
- Is this born-digital? Has this been digitized?
This tool would allow for tracking actions on objects our traditional databases/tools were not meant to do. Ideally, it will be user-friendly and comfortable for non-archivists/librarians to use, yet integrate into more complex systems for data management by collection managers and library staff.
One such system, which is open source and becoming a standard for archival collections, is the product called ArchivesSpace. We would like to explore the option of using ArchivesSpace for tracking expedition media, but it is still under development and would require customization to get us exactly what's required. In the meantime, we'd like to create a prototype that will give us the first iteration of this fieldnote tracker and try to connect it with our systems.
I would like to have a place to record basic information about the field documentation I have generated on expedition and note where it exists today.
I would like a place to record expedition and related documentation metadata that will feed into the two systems that we use: ArchivesSpace for physical material descriptions and xEAC for the intellectual description of Creator and Expedition.
I would like a place to be able to track what work has been done on the materials, if the materials have been digitized, and where they can be found.
I would like to report on items with Expedition Tracker tag in any ArchivesSpace repository and to be able to download the results.
- Please use DACS data standard (in Resources below)
- Autocomplete from xEAC if already existing
- Offer "did you mean this ___" suggestions based on xEAC data, if possible
- Data field: Agent > Corporate Entity
- [1923 or 1923-1933]
- Data field: Resource > Dates (can expand to 'Begin' and 'End')
- Autocomplete from xEAC if already existing
- Offer "did you mean this ___" suggestions based on xEAC data, if possible
- Data field: Agent > Person
- Use Getty, Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- Data field: Subjects
- Free text would like to suggest recording funder, expedition goals, additional participants
- Data field: Resource > Notes > General
- Title of object or collection
- Data field: Resource > Title
- May need to provide a pick list
- Data field: Resource > Notes > Physical Description
- Born-digital/Digitized? If so, where?
- Data field: Resource > Notes > Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
- Provenance
- Data field: Resource > Notes > General
- State if part of a larger collection
- Data field: Resource > Notes > Related Material
Save should write to ArchivesSpace "Expedition Tracker" repository and generate a XML file for xEAC if there are new records being created for expeditions or creators of field notes.
Consider creating solutions in the languages / platforms that ArchivesSpace is built in to be able to cleanly contribute back to their open source project.
-
Integrate the AMNH xEAC into ArchivesSpace. Look at the Agents and Locations REST objects in ArchivesSpace and determine how the AMNH xEAC can be incorporated into it.
-
Create the check-in interface for current and new field books. Using the stories described above, and the fields available in DACS and ArchivesSpace, help us create an easy to use "check-in" app where the creators of fieldnotes can register their materials with us.
- ArchivesSpace
- AMNH xEAC
- Library catalog (Sierra)
- Getty, Thesaurus of Geographic Names: geographic locations
- AMNH local lists: persons, corporations, location of material, and anything else that does not have an authority
- [DACS Data Standard] (http://www2.archivists.org/groups/technical-subcommittee-on-describing-archives-a-content-standard-dacs/dacs)
- 2015 Annual Report on CartoDB
