Support to Verify the Computer Database of the Herpetological Collections of The Field Museum

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With over 265,000 specimens representing 6,239 species, the collection of the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Field Museum is one of the five largest herpetological collections in the United States. By every measure the collection is world class and heavily used. Even greater usage is expected as the Division's massive online herpetological database is improved. Within the database, however, are some long- standing problems which are now critical to resolve in order to maximize its accuracy and usefulness to both current users as well as the expanded community expected to utilize online access. Failure to correct these problems will have deleterious effects as the errors in the database are unnecessarily propagated in research, and in professional and lay publications. Since 1993 an attempt has been made to edit portions of the database in response to incoming requests for information or specimens. However this labor-intensive process is incompatible with the high levels of normal collection activities which occupy virtually all available staff time. This piecemeal approach has resulted in unacceptable delays in responding to some requests, and it has taken time from other essential collection curation tasks, thereby creating other problems. Furthermore, such an approach is impossible to implement with open access to online users. Only a comprehensive approach to resolving the current problems in the collections and the database can assure that online users will have complete,correct, current information about the collection. In order to verify, edit, and inventory the collection database this two-phase project will implement: 1) A careful, complete verification of the agreement between the locality data in the database records, the original collector/donor-supplied records, and the original catalogs, followed by the correction of any discrepancies. 2) A comprehensive collection inventory to assure the matching of the contents of containers, their labels or inventory lists, and the information in the database; and, to assure agreement information in the database records and on data tags attached to the specimens.