Organizing My Collection

[Trilobiting]

How should I organize my fossil collection? Right now it's all randomized. I'm trying to make them easier to access. The problem is, I don't use shelves (like the glass ones that I've seen some users on this forum use.) But containers like this. (Yes, my organizing is terrible.) Can somebody also identify these Mazon Creek leaves?

Edited July 31, 2016 by Trilobiting

[Trilobiting]

Here's the Mazon Creek fossils. http://share.pho.to/AExCu

[siteseer]

You're where I was around 1990-1991. I was using those plastic sets of drawers (and still do for some things). You've probably also seen those cool map drawers that other members use but those are expensive. I've seen some nice cabinets with similar (rather flat) drawers - also expensive. If you collect a variety of fossils and plan to continue, or even if you're specializing in some long-lived and/or very diverse group, and can't spend money, you can start storing some specimens by age in those flats that mineral/fossil dealers use (made by Denver Box and other companies). They come in different heights. You can go old-school and use beer/soda flats and you can get those for free. You just have to get two that fit well together. Over time you might have a flat just for your shark teeth from the Cretaceous of New Jersey and another just for your Oligocene mammals.

How should I organize my fossil collection? Right now it's all randomized. I'm trying to make them easier to access. The problem is, I don't use shelves (like the glass ones that I've seen some users on this forum use.) But containers like this. Can somebody also identify these Mazon Creek leaves?image.jpeg (Yes, my organizing is terrible.)

Edited July 31, 2016 by siteseer

[Trilobiting]

Thanks. But I meant how I should organize my specimens. I might be using riker boxes soon.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Trilobiting

[Raggedy Man]

Thanks. But I meant how I should organize my specimens. I might be using riker boxes soon.

You should organize them in what ever organizational paradigm best fits you.

[CraigHyatt]

Not a fossil collector, but I have a lifetime of experience organizing tiny mechanical and electronic components.

How about some sort of lazy Susan arrangement. Do a search on lazy Susan organizer. That might help make them accessible without taking up too much space.

For labeling them, I'd use some sort of number code on the fossil and keep the detailed info separate. Even consider printing Q-code stickers or even low cost RFID. Then, you can keep the specimen location, photo, catalog info, etc. in a database. That way, if you decide to change things, you don't have to go back and write stuff on every single specimen. With a database, you can do queries like: all the Cretaceous invertebrate fossils I found in the last 2 months... and it brings up records giving the drawer locations.

Hint: there are PC and iPhone apps that can read Q-codes with the camera and take you to a URL (or just print text).

For smaller specimens, I'd use small clear zip lock bags that you can buy in bulk from U-Line. Easier to write on a bag than a tiny rock. Plus offers some protection from chipping.

For sorting them, there could be several schemes. As raggedy man says, use whatever scheme feels natural to you and meets your needs. Here are the first ideas that popped into my head:

1. Taxonomy like kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, etc

2. Site where you found them

3. Geologic era, e.g. Cretaceous, etc.

4. Category, e.g. concretion, amber, ichnofossil, shell, plant, vertebrate, insect, etc.

My best advice would be to keep it loose and generic. If you make it too detailed it won't be scalable and flexible, and you'll spend your whole life fiddling with it. Don't sort things all the way down to the species, for example, if you have relatively few specimens. You can add that detail once you need it. If you keep things in drawers or containers, don't jam everything up tight. Leave plenty of empties, so if you need to insert a category, you don't have to shuffle a bunch of drawers around.

Edited August 1, 2016 by CraigHyatt

[Troodon]

Here's the Mazon Creek fossils. http://share.pho.to/AExCu

I think you would have more success with ID if they are posted in the ID forum with closeups of each specimen.

[MarcoSr]

If you want to retain maximum scientific value for your specimens, you must somehow identify the location where they were found. All of my fossils are separated by the exact location/site where they were found. Each drawer below is a separate location/site. You can use a drawer, a box, a riker mount, a baggie etc.to separate your specimens by site. Other people mark each specimen or specimen container (like a gem jar for micro specimens) with a unique id number that correlates to specimen data including location where found. I don't mark specimens themselves for lots of reasons. I do mark\tag all containers and drawers with location/site information. I removed my site information tags from each drawer before I took the pictures below with the exception of the Bakersfield drawer.

Maryland Site 1

Maryland Site 3

Virginia Site 2

Virginia Site 5

Virginia Site 7

Bakersfield California Site 6

Marco Sr.

[CraigHyatt]

If you want to retain maximum scientific value for your specimens, you must somehow identify the location where they were found. All of my fossils are separated by the exact location/site where they were found. Each drawer below is a separate location/site. You can use a drawer, a box, a riker mount, a baggie etc.to separate your specimens by site. Other people mark each specimen or specimen container (like a gem jar for micro specimens) with a unique id number that correlates to specimen data including location where found. I don't mark specimens themselves for lots of reasons. I do mark\tag all containers and drawers with location/site information. I removed my site information tags from each drawer before I took the pictures below with the exception of the Bakersfield drawer.

Maryland Site 1

Site 1 display drawer.jpg

Maryland Site 3

Site 3 display drawer.jpg

Virginia Site 2

Site 2 display drawer.jpg

Virginia Site 5

site 5a.jpg

Virginia Site 7

site 7.jpg

Bakersfield California Site 6

site 6.jpg

Marco Sr.

Beautiful collection and beautifully organized. Well done!

[Ptychodus04]

I store my smaller specimens in an antique dental cabinet that I inherited from my father. Larger specimens are on a couple of shelves.

I maintain a very small collection, preferring to keep a few showpiece specimens on display rather than curating a large collection. Therefore, I solve my storage problem by donating regularly to my local museum.

[erose]

Here are some of the ways I have things organized. Other than the purchased specimens (a very small fraction of my collection) and the ones in the clear divider boxes (a more reasonable fraction of my collection) the vast majority are in ziplock bags of various sizes and those are stored in either plastic tubs of two sizes or in the cardboard photo boxes.

I also organize by location not taxonomy. The exception would be that for parts of the collection in the hard clear divider boxes I will sort by taxonomy when practical.

I have re-arranged the collection several times over the years and currently the one thing I don't have going is a nice display cabinet. I build a lot of cabinets and despite that still haven't come up with the right spot for one in my current home. JohnJ can attest to the challenge in my oddly shaped home where it's all based on an octagon and there are virtually no square corners.

Here are some pics of the current state of affairs.

[Wrangellian]

I agree with the flat drawers for storage, nothing beats this for economy of space when you have a lot of smallish fossils. It's just not the cheapest option, as noted above.

My collection includes some bought stuff and a lot of self-collected local stuff. It is divided more or less into bought vs. local, then further by age and then site. I've been thinking that, with my local stuff in particular, I should start organizing it by taxonomy but I've let it go so long it's going to be a big job rearranging everything now... Will be donating a bunch to the museum so I will have to do it soon, and if any space is freed up in my drawers it'll give me the chance for something of a fresh start.