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Remove a Specimen From Personal Database?


FossilNerd

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Without boring you with too much detail... I try to be thorough with cataloging my collection. I label each individual fossil, and record them in a database that contains all known information about that specimen. 

 

My question is... If I remove a fossil from my collection, how should I label it in my database? Should I leave it alone, mark it somehow as being given away/sold/traded/etc., delete the entry entirely? I realize this is probably more of a personal preference, but I'm curious as to what others do when removing a fossil from their collection records.   

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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In my database, there are two fields at the bottom for “Deaccession Date” and reason. I made the latter a drop-down so I don’t have to type out the typical reasons. Because I also like to track how many specimens I have, I also set the “Number of Specimens” to zero so that record doesn’t show up in the count. Happy cataloguing!

 

W

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26 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

If I remove a fossil from my collection, how should I label it in my database? Should I . . . mark it somehow as being given away . . .

I'd simply write in the entry "Donated to Grandpa".  :rolleyes:

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2 hours ago, Wendell Ricketts said:

In my database, there are two fields at the bottom for “Deaccession Date” and reason. I made the latter a drop-down so I don’t have to type out the typical reasons. Because I also like to track how many specimens I have, I also set the “Number of Specimens” to zero so that record doesn’t show up in the count. Happy cataloguing!

 

W

Thanks for the suggestion Wendell! A slightly modified version of what you do may work for me. :) 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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2 hours ago, grandpa said:

I'd simply write in the entry "Donated to Grandpa".  :rolleyes:

There may just need to be a few entries with that label. ;) 

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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I usually just delete it and use the old number for the next fossil of the same order (since I generally catalogue them according to order) which I add to my collection. The only reasons I would retain it in my database would be if I donated it to a museum or if the data could be used for special research. Then I would label it accordingly.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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4 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

I usually just delete it and use the old number for the next fossil of the same order (since I generally catalogue them according to order) which I add to my collection. The only reasons I would retain it in my database would be if I donated it to a museum or if the data could be used for special research. Then I would label it accordingly.

Deleting them and reusing the number was one option I have been considering. I label mine by location, but the concept would still work.

I’m hesitant to delete as I’m worried that I may need the information again later, but I really don’t want a lot of dead entries cluttering up the database.  

I do like the idea of at least keeping records of ones that were donated to museums. I haven’t found anything worth donating yet, but hope to one day. :) 

 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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8 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

 I’m hesitant to delete as I’m worried that I may need the information again later. 

Why don't you just open up a new folder for just that purpose?

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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I just put a designation next to the fossil identification. For example;   PD16   *****SOLD******. That way I retain the information about the fossil, collecting site, and photos.

 

Tom

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9 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

I usually just delete it and use the old number for the next fossil of the same order (since I generally catalogue them according to order) which I add to my collection. The only reasons I would retain it in my database would be if I donated it to a museum or if the data could be used for special research. Then I would label it accordingly.

 

Why would you reuse an old number?  Numbers are infinite!

 

Yes, with private collections, it may be unlikely that anyone ever needs the information for a specimen you have given away or otherwise discarded.  But at some point, you thought it was important to give that specimen a number and to record some other data associated with that number.  Keeping that data, and keeping it distinct from the data for other specimens, is a trivial matter.

 

I've been spending a lot of my social distancing time sorting through my private collection, preparing to donate it to the Paleontological Reseach Institution, where (in normal times) I volunteer in their collections department.  While doing that volunteering, I often run into headaches regarding catalog numbers from our institution, other institutions, and private collectors.  Never, ever make that job more difficult that in has to be!

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I agree with MarleysGh0st...

Why re-use the number?  That will only lead to confusion.   

***** donated to XXX***** is a great solution.  

 

I say this as a professional in the field of collections management.  

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Thanks @MarleysGh0st and @jpc!

 

I see your point about deleting entries and reusing numbers.

 

My only concern would be having my database bloated with unnecessary and dead data. It really wouldn’t hurt anything to be there, but it might drive me a little more crazy than I already am. :oO:
 

I guess the prudent thing to do would be to just mark them as you suggest. Then, I can take a more aggressive approach if necessary. 
 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! This has been a tremendous help! :thumbsu:

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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5 hours ago, MarleysGh0st said:

 

Why would you reuse an old number?  Numbers are infinite!

 

I like to keep things in a neat row. You know...1,2,3,4,.......:)

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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4 hours ago, jpc said:

 

Why re-use the number?  That will only lead to confusion.   

 

Because the original fossil which is long-gone and nothing special has nothing more to do with my data since it's not in the collection any more. Like I said above, I like to keep the numbers straight, that's all. And besides, I keep the data and the number on anything important even if it's gone. What's so confusing about that?

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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