Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

Larry Gall

Computer Systems OfficeYale Peabody Museum of Natural History

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

Different situations call for different solutions

AnthropologyAnthropologyBotanyBotany

EntomologyEntomologyInvertebrate PaleontologyInvertebrate Paleontology

Invertebrate ZoologyInvertebrate ZoologyMeteorites & Planetary ScienceMeteorites & Planetary Science

MineralogyMineralogyPaleobotanyPaleobotany

Scientific InstrumentsScientific InstrumentsVertebrate PaleontologyVertebrate Paleontology

Vertebrate ZoologyVertebrate Zoology

~12 million specimens

• Anthropology 325,000 Lot• Botany 400,000 Individual• Entomology 450,000 Lot / Individual• Invertebrate Paleontology 350,000 Lot• Invertebrate Zoology 350,000 Lot• Mineralogy 35,000 Individual• Paleobotany 150,000 Individual• Scientific Instruments 5,000 Individual• Vertebrate Paleontology 125,000 Individual• Vertebrate Zoology 185,000 Lot / Individual

Peabody CollectionsCurrent Snapshot

12 million specimens yields 2.4 million items to catalog electronically

• Anthropology 325,000 Lot• Botany 400,000 Individual• Entomology 450,000 Lot / Individual• Invertebrate Paleontology 350,000 Lot• Invertebrate Zoology 350,000 Lot• Mineralogy 35,000 Individual• Paleobotany 150,000 Individual• Scientific Instruments 5,000 Individual• Vertebrate Paleontology 125,000 Individual• Vertebrate Zoology 185,000 Lot / Individual

> 70%> 70%> 50%> 50%< 50%< 50%

Items with an electronic record available (20 years’ effort): ~55 %

Peabody CollectionsCurrent Snapshot

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

1. Reflect, know thyself, context matters2a. Create solutions that can be reused & recycled2b. … copying/stealing is quicker than creating3. Provide a tasty buffet of discrete/iterative tasks 4. Always remain flexible as matters arise5a. Listen closely, users know what’s failing5b. … prepare to alter workflow, perhaps wildly

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

1. Reflect, know thyself, context matters2a. Create solutions that can be reused & recycled2b. … copying/stealing is quicker than creating3. Provide a tasty buffet of discrete/iterative tasks 4. Always remain flexible as matters arise5a. Listen closely, users know what’s failing5b. … prepare to alter workflow, perhaps wildly

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

1. Reflect, know thyself, context matters2a. Create solutions that can be reused & recycled2b. … copying/stealing is quicker than creating3. Provide a tasty buffet of discrete/iterative tasks 4. Always remain flexible as matters arise5a. Listen closely, users know what’s failing5b. … prepare to alter workflow, perhaps wildly

One Shared History

One Shared System

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

1. Reflect, know thyself, context matters2a. Create solutions that can be reused & recycled2b. … copying/stealing is quicker than creating3. Provide a tasty buffet of discrete/iterative tasks 4. Always remain flexible as matters arise5a. Listen closely, users know what’s failing5b. … prepare to alter workflow, perhaps wildly

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

1. Reflect, know thyself, context matters2a. Create solutions that can be reused & recycled2b. … copying/stealing is quicker than creating3. Provide a tasty buffet of discrete/iterative tasks 4. Always remain flexible as matters arise5a. Listen closely, users know what’s failing5b. … prepare to alter workflow, perhaps wildly

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

1. Reflect, know thyself, context matters2a. Create solutions that can be reused & recycled2b. … copying/stealing is quicker than creating3. Provide a tasty buffet of discrete/iterative tasks 4. Always remain flexible as matters arise5a. Listen closely, users know what’s failing5b. … prepare to alter workflow, perhaps wildly

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

1. Reflect, know thyself, context matters2a. Create solutions that can be reused & recycled2b. … copying/stealing is quicker than creating3. Provide a tasty buffet of discrete/iterative tasks 4. Always remain flexible as matters arise5a. Listen closely, users know what’s failing5b. … prepare to alter workflow, perhaps wildly

Vignette OneVignette OneInvertebrate Paleontology -- imaging 75,000 brachiopods

Jess Utrup

Vignette OneVignette OneInvertebrate Paleontology -- imaging 75,000 brachiopods

digital camera’s image number,minus the prefix (e.g., DSCN)

view of specimen (dorsal, ventral, etc.)

catalog number

~ 2x~ 2x

Can you spot the differences between these two pictures ?

“Hands free” voice-activated data capture

“Hands free” voice-activated data capture

~ 2x~ 2x

Vignette TwoVignette TwoMoving collections to Yale’s West Campus (2007-2009)

Anthropology, Vertebrate Zoology, et al.

Vignette TwoVignette TwoMoving collections to Yale’s West Campus (2007-2009)

Anthropology, Vertebrate Zoology, et al.

Vignette TwoVignette TwoMoving collections to Yale’s West Campus (2007-2009)

Anthropology, Vertebrate Zoology, et al.

Yale Art Gallery Peabody

Laptop, barcode printer, tethered scan gun – barcoding for tracking & inventory

Physical location barcode

Specimen barcode

Container barcode

Vertebrate Zoology -- couple staff, one room, little time pressure, cataloguing was rate limiting

Anthropology -- many staff, many rooms, heavy time pressure, packing/barcoding was rate limiting

We hired expert digitizers

Anthropology -- many staff, many rooms, heavy time pressure, packing/barcoding was rate limiting

Anthropology -- many staff, many rooms, heavy time pressure, packing/barcoding was rate limiting

Ethafoam!Ethafoam!

tethered

wireless

MC3090 scanner, simple CGI script, invokes existing database functionality

No need toget to cart

No need tologin to EMu

MC3090 scanner, simple CGI script, invokes existing database functionality

Set scanners on stun ! Aye, Captain !

Ethafoam Madness

Vignette ThreeVignette Three48 Yale student workers in Entomology (2007-present)

Sort to FamilySort to Familythen Subfamilythen Subfamily (Larry)(Larry)

Sort to GenusSort to Genusthen Speciesthen Species

(Larry, students)(Larry, students)

Sort within SpeciesSort within Speciesby Collecting Eventby Collecting Event

(students)(students)

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

DatabaseDatabase(students)(students)

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Schedule in overlapping timeslots, so students can work in groups

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

First day on job – “invent & sort species of nymphalid butterflies”

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

A True Ace … Nicole Palffy-Muhoray, grad. student in Linguistics

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Sorting within species to State/Province or comparably “digestible” geographic unit

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Geography, and the “Student Enforcers”

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Geography, and the “Student Enforcers”

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Geography, and the “Student Enforcers”

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

“The Hot Hopper”

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

48 students

249,820 specimens 8,611 hours$109,088 total

27 specimens / hour$0.44 / specimen

(2007 – present)

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

48 students

249,820 specimens 8,611 hours$109,088 total

27 specimens / hour$0.44 / specimen

(2007 – present)

$54,544 total$0.22 / specimen

Provost’s Office program

Student-Powered ParacuratingStudent-Powered Paracurating

Gilene Young ‘07

Best Practices for Managing & Motivating the Digitizers

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