Designing a Rapid Data Entry Cataloging System for Use with Large Acquisitions and In-House Collections

 

INTRODUCTION

The Natural Science Research Laboratory (NSRL) is a division of the Museum of Texas Tech University responsible for the preservation, accessioning, and cataloging of the museum’s vertebrate collection. In recent years, the primary tool for cataloging has been an electronic data entry module designed for use in field collecting. While sufficient for entering specimen data in the field, this particular application, when applied to in-house collections or collections not generated from the same field site, is inefficient and difficult to use.

Each year, a greater number of mammal specimens are added to the NSRL’s collection than in the previous year. Because of this trend and due to a large transfer of specimens (nearly 10,000) from the University of Texas at Austin, it became apparent that a rapid data entry (RDE) module was needed for collections generated from sources other than NSRL fieldwork.

 

MATERIALS

For this project, the rapid data entry module is being designed in Visual FoxPro running in a Windows 98 environment, combined with bar code technology to facilitate the inventory process and cataloging. The field data entry module (see Fig. 1) currently in place at the NSRL will serve as the model for adapting a new data entry module for other cataloging purposes. Additionally, the collection of specimens transferred to the NSRL from the University of Texas at Austin will serve as trial groups for testing the effectiveness of the new data entry module’s design.

Screen captures of WildCat III, the Data Entry Module for field cataloging.

 

METHODS

There are four essential phases in the creation of the RDE module: a preliminary phase, a design phase, a recursive testing and modification phase, and the implementation phase.

 

Preliminary Phase

In the initial phase of the project, information is gathered concerning the sources and arrangement of data needed for cataloging non-field collections. Because specimen tags and TK sheets (see Fig. 2) are the two primary sources of data for specimens cataloged from sources other than field collecting, the new data entry module will have to compensate between the differences in the way data fields are arranged on each source. It is during the preliminary phase that expectations for the new data module are created.

Examples of TK pages and specimen tags data arrangements used in cataloging.

 

Design Phase

Once the arrangement of data from various input sources is considered, the framework for a new data entry module is created. Using the field data entry module as a baseline comparison, the new module is designed in relationship to the order that data is easiest entered from other cataloging sources. It is also during the design phase that buttons and other tools, such as bar code capabilities, are integrated into the module to increase the rate of cataloging and its effectiveness.

 

Testing and Modification Phase

The third phase of the project is where the RDE module designed in the second phase will be tested. Using the collection of specimens obtained from Austin, a group of specimens (500) will first be cataloged using the field data entry module currently in place at the NSRL. The length of time it takes to catalog these specimens will then be compared to how long it takes to catalog an equal number of specimens with the new data entry module. Based on this analysis and on other issues such as ease of use, modifications will then be made to the new module, as necessary, and tested again. This phase of the project is recursive until the new data entry module has been proven to be a faster, easier tool for cataloging in-house and other mammal collections generated outside of fieldwork.

 

Implementation Phase

The rapid data entry module will be implemented once its performance meets or exceeds the expectations established for it in the first phase of the project. During the implementation phase, the new cataloging module will be linked to the NSRL’s relational mammal database and added to the existing database management system.

 

CONCLUSION

The design of a versatile RDE module for use in rapidly cataloging non-field generated collections at the NSRL is currently underway and should be completed by Summer, 2002. Using the results obtained from the testing phase of the project, a RDE module complementary to the field data entry module will be implemented. With the new data entry module in place, it will then be possible to catalog a greater number of specimens at the NSRL in less time and in a more efficient manner.

 

ACKNOWLEGMENTS

We wish to thank the Museum of Texas Tech University, specifically Dr. Robert J. Baker, Mariko Kageyama, and Jacqueline Chavez for their assistance with this project.