FOREWORD - Sabah · Fig.3 Networking Biodiversity Databases in Sabah Because many agencies in Sabah...

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Collection Management Database

Participants, ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for this opportunity to say a few words to introduce all of you to this workshop.Foremost, welcome to the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation. The Institute ishappy that you are able to come to the workshop and hopefully that all of you will gainsomething useful from this workshop.

As you would have known ITBC in particular and UMS in general have, with the severalagencies of the state government of Sabah, started a collaboration to conserve the BorneanBiodiversity and Ecosystems of Sabah. This collaboration is getting technical support fromthe Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In this programme known as BorneonBiodiversity and Ecosystems Conservation or BBEC for short we are getting supports interms of equipment, expertise and trainings to build capacity in making efforts to conservethe precious biodiversity and ecosystems in Sabah for the future generations. The effortsranged from doing research and educating to the formulations of management plan forsites such as Crocker Range Parks, management of wildlife at Tabin and Kulamba, andKinabatangan and Maliau Basin, to raising and enhancing public awareness among localpeople about the need for conservation of the biodiversity and ecosystems in Sabah. It isindeed a massive collaboration that will need intensive effort from the various agenciesinvolved. Coordination of activities has to be done well to avoid waste of resources and tomaximize success. In this context, ITBC is moving forward steadily to carry out someof the plan of operation that has been laid down for the programme.

In BBEC programme ITBC is heading the Research and Education (R&E) Component. Thisworkshop is part of the plan of operation (activity no. 1-3, 1-6, 1-7, 2-3, 3-8) planned for thisyear. The purpose of this workshop is to make aware to the various implementing agencies,not necessarily confined to those under R&E Component, of available technologies that couldbe useful in the effort to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems. On behalf of ITBC I mustthank Fujitsu for their contribution in carrying out this workshop. We should also thank Dr.Yoshiaki Hashimoto, our long-term expert for his initiative in arranging and organizing theworkshop.

In pursuing efforts to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems, one has to know what isavailable around him/her. Biodiversity in the tropical rainforest of Borneo is huge and mostly,especially among insects and microbes, are scientifically unknown. Managing biodiversitydata, thus, becomes an onerous and daunting task. Perhaps twenty years ago, this willleave one feeling helpless and hopeless. But not today. Today the computer has been

FOREWORDProf. Datin Dr. Maryati MohamedDirector, Institute for Tropical Biology & Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sabah

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our friend and from day to day develops software that are helping scientists to organizetheir data to facilitate management. And for the next two days Fujitsu will be introducing usthe recent technology in inventorying and managing the massive data that we will becollecting under BBEC programme within the next five years.Participants, ladies and gentlemen,

Once again I do hope you will benefit from this workshop. This is a part of R&E Componenteffort for BBEC programme. This is your workshop as well as ours, it is our workshop.Please feel free to participate actively. We need your input and your ideas and opinion onthe usefulness of this technology or software for BBEC programme. At the end of the dayour success is your success and anything that will contribute to the conservation of biodiversityand ecosystems in Sabah is worth contributing to, as we are all responsible for the futuregenerations� welfare, as much as our own.

I thank you again for your participation and wish you all the best.

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1. Introduction

Nature conservation requires information that leads us to effective and efficientapproaches for biodiversity and ecosystems conservation. To provide suchinformation is the prime role of research.

To be able to contribute to nature conservation is the will of many biology researchers.This paper discusses how the information they render its applications and systems areable to help conservation.

2. Conservation requires Knowledge

Bornean Biodiversity & Ecosystems Conservation (BBEC) Programme in Sabah� is currentlyoperated by 9 Sabah state organizations, the Universiti Malaysia Sabah and the JapanInternational Cooperation Agency (JICA). BBEC Programme encompasses four components,namely; Research & Education, Park Management, Habitat Management and PublicAwareness. The purpose of this Programme is defined as � Comprehensive and sustainableconservation approaches of biodiversity and ecosystems are established.�

Today, the damages on natural ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity caused by humanadvancement and development endanger the globe and the future of our children.Development and changes in greater economical and demographical communities affect thesmaller and less accessible rural communities. The flow of changes brought by development,at its end, affects the natural environment such as a tropical forest ecosystem.

A tropical forest is usually surrounded by rural communities, which in turn isinter-connected to urban communities. It is a part of greater communities such as the state,national and the international society. These different types of human communities areinter-dependent for economical and social reasons. And, we, human beings are alldependent on nature for its resources.

Conservation requires knowledge of the particular ecosystem. By understanding theecosystem and its biodiversity, effective protection schemes and wise use of the natural

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT FOR NATURE CONSERVATIONMr. Takahisa Kusano,Chief Advisor for BBEC Programme

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resources become possible and sustainable. To know more and to know better, we have tostrengthen research on biodiversity and ecosystems as well as social factors that affectconservation. This knowledge shall bring more effective and efficient education, publicawareness, protection methodology and wise use (Fig.1).

To protect more and to protect better, we shall enforce the management of reserves, parksand wildlife sanctuaries. To promote wise use, we have to involve the neighboring ruralcommunities for conservation activities. Participation of not only the rural communitiesbut also urban communities can be sought by rendering more information about natureand protection activities.

Integration of these three major approaches, i.e. research & education, protection, wiseuse will make conservation more effective and efficient. To secure a sustainabledevelopment for the environment is the concept behind BBEC Programme.

Fig. 1 Nature Conservation Perspective

Information and knowledge are key factors that will greatly contribute to the success of thiscomprehensive approach to nature conservation. Data alone is not sufficient. Acquired informationhas to be recorded, identified, analyzed and made accessible to whoever needs them.

3. Information and Attitudes Change toward Conservation

The magnitude, quantity and direction of awareness are dependent on how the informationis presented and how knowledge is perceived. If the information is sound and strong, theflow of adoption of the knowledge naturally occurs (Fig.2)

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Fig. 2 Flow of Information leads to Action towards Conservation

Knowledge gained from research generates awareness, which may in turn change oneattitudes, in this case, toward nature conservation. Managing the data, generatingmeaningful information and presenting knowledge to the target group is very important.

There are other factors, which can influence and affect the flow of attitude change and theadoption of knowledge to action. For example, messages received from other sources inother forms of media may influence the opinions of the listeners. Good, sound and solidinformation is therefore vital to be able to move the people in the right direction. The primeresponsibility of research organizations therefore is to produce meaningful information,interpret and make this knowledge easily understandable and accessible to the target groups.

To manage a huge collection of information gained through continuous research, thecreation of a collection-management database is inevitable. This is the main subject ofthis workshop and the lecturers will discuss and present the latest technology and thestrategies when using them.

I would like to emphasize here that our database system has been created not as anotherfancy technology to indulge in. Needless to say, an effective, useful and efficient databasecan help us store, find and collate necessary data to generate valuable information andknowledge towards a meaningful end.

4. Conclusion

BBEC programme seeks to achieve more efficiency and effectiveness in nature conservation.Public access to the information derived from research is very much needed in Sabah for themto know more about the nature and generate positive attitudes toward conservation.

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Fig.3 Networking Biodiversity Databases in Sabah

Because many agencies in Sabah are active in this same field, I think, knowledge, expertiseand technology can be shared and operations can be integrated. In the process, I hope wewill be able to draw up an efficient and effective networking and sharing system ofdatabases of collected specimens, which at present are managed separately by severalagencies. Networking databases will enable researchers to access and share informationand promote more findings at a faster pace (Fig.3). For successful database networking,standardization of the data and classifying information are essential.

However, let us bear in mind that there are certain information that are considered asclassified and are made available only to experts. When we discuss biodiversity generally, itcould also mean as resources for businesses. Danger then exists as ready access to databasemay expose certain habitats of plants and animals to exploitation. The security system ofdatabase is therefore an important and serious point we cannot neglect in the discussion.

<Relevant Websites>

Species 2000: Indexing the world�s known specieshttp://www.sp2000.org/

BioNET-INTERNATIONAL: the Global Network for Taxonomyhttp://www.bionet-intl.org

The NBII: Your Home for Biological Information on the Webhttp://www.nbii.gov/index.html

Flora of Japan Databasehttp://www.foj.info

Convention on Biodiversity: Access and benefit-sharing as related to genetic resourceshttp://www.biodiv.org/decisions/default.asp?lg=0&dec=VI/24

IUBio Archive for Biology: an archive of biology data and software, to promote public accessto freely available information, primarily in the field of molecular biology

http://iubio.bio.indiana.edu/

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IntroductionTo conserve biodiversity and ecosystem in a region, we have to know how many and what kindsof species are found here. Such information is only obtained from specimens collected by ourinventory�s efforts (Fig.1). Thus, establishment of specimen collection representative of theregion�s biodiversity is essential for its conservation.

In tropical forest particularly, specimen collecting and storing is important for itsconservation. Out of all ground-living species, more than 80% may be inhabited in tropicalforests, and a large part of them remain undescribed. To understanding biodiversity oftropical forest we should collect millions of specimens from various locations andenvironments in the forests and maintain them for further taxonomic studies.

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT DATABASE -INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATIONAssoc. Prof. Dr. Yoshiaki HASHIMOTOBBEC Research Advisor

Fig. 1 Inventory and Information Flow

Arrangement Sorting

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To manage large collection and to use its information, data of specimens have to be stored inan effective and systematic way. However, specimen data are very diverse. The data consistof collection sites (Latitude and Longitude), collectors and collection dates, collecting methods,mounted state (pinned, fluid-preserved, slide-mounted, etc), storage locations (Herbarium,Genbank, etc.), registration numbers, common and scientific name, specimen type(Holotype, Paratype, Reference collection, etc.), physical condition (sex, developmentalstage, etc.), and multimedia data (images, video, audio, etc). Handling such variousdata is time-consuming and troublesome job (Fig.2). Therefore a tool to help us incollection management is needed for inventory work.

There is a variety of tools available to store specimen data. For example, by using software,such as Microsoft Word and Excel, your specimen data can be storage in a simple text block,lists or tables. However, the data stored in such ways are cumbersome to add new data andre-format into them. And, you are required extensive pre-processing to search out a piece ofinformation from these data, or report catalogues of them. More, for your collaborators, thesedata are not easy to access and use. Thus, this way is good for a small and personalcollection, but not for large and institute collection.

In biodiversity inventory work, database system for collection management has someadvantages, compared to other approaches. At first step in helping you to understandwhat collection management database is, we look at the advantages of this approach,and review how large amounts of specimen data can be organized and made useful bycollection management database.

Fig. 2 Specimen data are very diverse. Handling such various data istime-consuming and troublesome job.

Specimen data

. Collection sites (Latitude and Longitude)

. Collectors

. Collection dates

. Collection methods

. Mounted state (pinned, fluid-preserved, etc),

. Storage locations (Herbarium, Genbank, etc)

. Registration numbers

. Taxonomic information (common and scientific name, etc). Specimen type (Holotype, Paratype, etc.). Physical condition (sex, developmental stage, etc). Multimedia data (images, video, audio, etc

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What is particular good of the database system?

One of the major advantages is that database system for collection management can storethe data of specimens in relational structure. The data stored in the structure are linked toeach other by ID number, so that changes to one item of specimen data can be automaticallyapplied to all relevant records. Furthermore, when new data are added, they just are linkedto original data through ID number, without changing data format. These features make thedatabase system ideal to handle data input and update for large amounts of specimen data.

A second major advantage of the database system is that the system is built on multi models,each of which is designed for a particular function, such as Database-engine, Search, Report,Lone management, Mapping, Multimedia handling, etc. In other words, the system acts astools to all areas of management and analysis. For example, specimens are often moved fromstorage room to outside place for exhibition or education programs, and distributed to otherinstitutions for taxonomic identification. By using of Lone management module, the work, suchas counts of available specimens of each species and records of internal and externalmovements of each specimen, is easy matter. Report writing inventory�s results is also madeeasy by using the Search and Mapping modules. These modules help users to search, sortand map the specimen data, so that species checklists, distribution maps, and speciesdiversity maps (hot spots), all of which are essential information to conserve biodiversity andecosystem, can be generated from collection data quickly. Thus, the collection managementdatabase is also good in using of specimen and data.

A third major advantage of using the database system is that the current system supportsnetwork technologies, i.e., it run on Intra- and Internet. This allows your collaborators toaccess and use your collection database on web sits. Sharing our biodiversity informationwith other scientist, policy makers and public is an essential process to conserve biodiversityand ecosystems. Thus, in the point of making your collection data useful, the databasesystem is also best way (Fig.3).

Fig. 3 Database advantages. Collection management database has 3 advantages;Reational structure, Multi models, Network technologies.

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Case studies - How can they organize large amounts ofspecimen data and make the data useful by using collectionmanagement database?

Case study 1: Local Inventory- Lambir insect inventory (Fig.4)

The insect inventory in Lambir Hills National Park, one of the protected areas of Sarawak,collected about 7 million insect specimens. These specimens were obtained only by monthlylight tapping, yellow-pan trapping, and Mallaise interception trapping for 5 years.

To handle and analyze the great deal of specimen data, the relational database software�File Maker� was used. In the database, a unique ID number is assigned to each group ofspecimens obtained at the same collection date by the same type of trap. This Collection IDis use to save time to input the collection data, because one set data input to a specimen isapplied to all specimens having same Collection ID. The identification information of eachspecimen is stored in a different file in same database software, but this file and thecollection data file are related each other by Collection ID. By using of the data structure,taxonomic composition of specimens collected by the same type of trap was studiedeffectively. However, in the system many specimens have the same collection ID, so that thesystem can support management and analysis of data about each specimen. At present,therefore, there is a plan to introduce more sophisticated database system for the collection.

Case study 1: National Inventory -INBio

The Institute National Biodiversity (INBio) is the center of biodiversity inventory andconservation in Costa Rica. INBio develops and employs the system �Atta�, name of which isderived from leaf-cutting ants, as collection management. This system maintains a relationaldatabase comprising over two million records, each one corresponding to a unique specimenof Costa Rican plants, insects, mollusks, arachnids, fungi, and nematodes species.

Fig.4 The insect inventory in Lambir Hills National Park. The inventory collectedabout 7 million insect specimens by monthly light tapping, yellow-pan trapping, andMallaise interception trapping for 5 years. In the collection, highly dominated groupwas fig wasp (84%) in individual number and scarabaeid beetles (28%) in weight.

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These specimens are collected monthly by Parataxonomists from 23 biodiversity stationsin Costa Rica and brought to INBio. Parataxonomists are men and women from thenational parks nearby communities who receive 6-month intensive course onfundamentals of taxonomy, ecology, collection and preservation techniques andinformation management. Their work in the station is not only restricted to collectspecimens. They store initial collection data into PC in the station, which is connected withdatabase server of Atta in INBio by Internet.

Atta stores basic data of specimen (where, when, how, who collected it), and also its taxonomicinformation, photographs, and illustrations. Users of Atta can access to these data, through aunique bar code physically attached to each specimen. Furthermore, by using of Atta, speciesdistribution maps can be generated from geo-referenced data of specimen stored.

With the aim of disseminating biodiversity information, Atta has a unique module to displayinformation from its databases on the web. This module is called UBIs (basic informationunits), which is a digital publication system for the description of species of Costa Ricanbiodiversity. The resulting publication includes at least a photo or illustration of the speciesand a distribution map. Through this system, all of people in the world can understandbiodiversity of Costa Rica. And more, the multimedia data stored in Atta are used foreducational products to biodiversity awareness. One of these products is CD-ROM �TheTropical Rainforest� which presents information about the forest type, characteristics of thespecies that inhabit the forest and their interrelations, through the use of interactive games.

INBio is a worldwide pioneer in the development of collection management database andthe use of its data to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem. Therefore, in web site of INBio(http://www.inbio.ac.cr/en/default.html), you can see more information about thecollection management database.

Case study 2: Museum collection -Hyogo Museum. (Fig. 6)

Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo (Hyogo Museum) is one of modern andbiggest natural history museum in Japan. Hyogo Museum use usetheque as the collectionmanagement database, which is developed by Fujitsu and is improved and customized inHyogo Museum. About detail features of Musetheque, you can see in next section.

Fig.5 National Inventory INBio

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This system, at present, recorded the data of over two hundred fifty thousand collectionsinto relational structure in the database. The type of collection recorded includes not onlyspecimen, but also environmental information, such as atlas, landscape view, ecologicalobservations, etc. Type of specimen is also diverse, which includes insect, plant, mammal,bird, fish, amphibian, fossil, and mineral. Each type of collection and specimen has differentdata format, but the data of all types are managed together by the system.

The data recorded in the system are not only restricted to text data. The digital photos ofeach collection, and for some specimens of cicadas, crickets and frogs, audio data abouttheir songs are recorded. Museum collection includes the specimens donated by externalcollaborators. For example, Prof. Dr. Katuzi Tusenki, who is very famous taxonomist ofwasps, donated 545 Holotype and Paratype specimens of 377 species to Hyogo Museum. Inthe case, donor names are also recorded in database, with the specimen data.

By using bar code system, the data of all collections can be accessed on PC connectedwith database server by Intra and Internet. To export information of database, thesystem has two types of user interface. One type is to users with full access rights(i.e. museum staff), in which user can access and use all collection data. The other isto museum visitors, in which visitors can view the collection data on monitor in theexhibition hall or on the web site in their home computer, within the security parametersdefined by the museum. Distribution map of species can be provided directly by the system,but by incorporating with software of Geographical Information System (GIS), it generatedistribution map of species from collection data stored.

Hyogo museum, like INBio, produced contents for environmental education to children andgeneral public, using of data stored in the database. These include �Japanese Frog�s sounddatabase�, �Ants and Wasps Museum�, �My storage room�, etc., all of which are published inweb site of Hyogo Museum. Most unique one of these is �My distribution map�, in which userscan view the distribution maps of species and also can plot their observation data on the maps.For more information please visit web site of Hyogo museum (http://hitohaku.jp/index_j.html).

Fig.6 Museum Collection-Hyogo Museum

ConclusionBiodiversity inventory collected large quantities of specimen. These specimens provide greatdeal of information about our biodiversity. To capture, store, analyze, understand and sharethe information is core process to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems (Fig.7). On thispoint, the process is a work in information science field, rather than biological science filed.Thus, for accelerating the conservation process, it is an ideal way that modern information

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Fig.7 Can you read the book? Core Process to conserve biodiversity

technologies, like collection management database, are applied to the work. This isparticular essential for conservation of threatened biodiversity with extinction, like tropicalforest. Whether or not we can stem the lost of the biodiversity depends greatly uponapplying information technologies to our inventory work.

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Presentation 1

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Presentation 2

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Workflow Outline of Collection Management Database

1. Accession RegistrationFrom time to time, a museum accepts artifacts or specimens from various institutes orindividuals. Occasionally, a museum obtains materials from ruins through its own fieldwork.This process is generally called accession. An accession number is usually applied to onecollection or group of objects. However, Not all museums implement accession.

A museum may skip this process, if it does not have an obligation or policy to registeraccession. After Accession, these objects or materials and associated records, including digitaldata are registered into another inventory and individually labeled. This process is called �DataCollection Registration� or more simply, �Cataloging�

2. Multimedia ManagementDigital data that includes still images, e.g. scanned images or photographs shot by digitalcameras, sounds, and moving images are registered into inventories connected to theactual materials. We call this process as multimedia management.

3. Schedule managementSome materials, registered as part of a museum collection, are displayed permanently atcertain areas of the museum. And other materials are stored in repositories to be displayedin exhibitions. The frequency and characteristics of exhibitions differ from one museumto another. But each time a museum holds an exhibition, they must verify the durationof the use of materials and material location precisely. When there is a number ofmuseum staff involved, the organizer should notify them to prepare or place materialsback in order. This kind of occasion occurs frequently in most museums, and itrequires perseverance and considerable time.

4. Lending ManagementMost museums not only have to manage their collections inside their museums, butoutside as well.

In other words, other museums at times request to borrow part of the collection for theirexhibition. Some educational institutes may make the same request for educationalpurposes. In that case, the person in charge of lending must examine the validity of theapplication, obtain approval from his or her superior, and arrange the lending schedule.

WHAT CAN A COLLECTION MANAGEMENT DATABASE SYSTEM DO?CHIDA Nobuhiro, SEKIHATA Hiroyuki and FUEDA Takashi,FUJITSU Japan & FUJITSU Malaysia.

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Once a part of a collection has been lent out, he or she must confirm whether the collectionis returned to the museum as promised. If the borrower fails to return the collection ontime, reminder notices will be sent.5. Web Site ManagementNowadays, many museums have their own web sites. Through that web site amuseum can dispatch information about its collection, exhibition and related events,and about the museum itself.

Some museums will request web design companies to build its web sites, while someothers build it on their own. Although the web site itself has little to do with the managementof data collection, it has a strong relation to the utilization of collection data information.

What is Musetheque?Problems Faced By Most Museums

1) Overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork related to the accession and lending ofcollection data.

2) Difficulties in finding information about the number and location of the collectiondata.

3) Difficulties in utilizing data collection information efficiently.4) Poor management of lending and exhibition details.5) Difficulties in finding the means to implement information dispatch to the public

easily, and so on, and so forth.

Taking these problems into consideration, Musetheque was developed as a softwaresolution for managing and storing collection data in various cultural facilities, such asnatural science, history, and botanical museums, and art galleries.

Each facility has its own classification or categorization rule to manage its collection. The methodof classification is different even between museums with the same kind of collection.

Musetheque was designed to handle not only artifacts or specimens but also a variety ofmultimedia data. The software supports the dispatching of collection and relatedinformation about museum events.

This software can be operated both in Client/server environments and Standaloneenvironments of various sizes, enabling Musetheque to follow the extension of collectiondata management in a museum.

Workflow Outline of Musetheque.Musetheque is designed to be used along with the general flow of managements inmuseums. To begin with, materials, such as specimens, artifacts, and related record dataare accessioned by accession management. Then, these materials will be individuallyregistered in a collection data base.

A variety of multimedia information can also be registered with the actual materials. Thecollection data base can be searched by anyone who is qualified and registered as aMusetheque user. The collection registered in the database can be lent to and returned byanother museum or institute.

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When a part of the collection is used for special exhibitions or museum events, Musethequemanages the schedule of transferring materials from repositories to the venue, and sendsnotification emails to the concerned parties before and after the events.

Key Features of MusethequeAs previously mentioned, the type and classification of the collection differ from museum tomuseum, and one museum may even hold various types of collection.

Musetheque can manage multiple databases for multiple purposes.

. You can register collection data efficiently, with the aid of the dictionary functionand code management functions.. You can set up dictionaries from scratch, and add data to the dictionaries to suitmuseum policy.. You can enter various formats of digitized data onto the database.. Collection data can be secured by setting up public/confidential modes, accordingto a user authority for each piece of information.

Functions of MusethequeThese are functions for collection data management. The function of Statisticsmanagement offers various statistical outputs, such as daily, monthly, and annualreports concerning the status and number of collection data, or the number ofaccession classified according to suppliers.

Batch registration function is for the implementation phase of Musetheque. Informationregistered in spread sheets, such as Microsoft Excel, can be registered to the collection database in bulk using this function.

i. Accession registrationThis is the first of two screens for accession. In this screen, you can enter Informationrelated to accession, such as where and when It was accessioned, and the form andcharacteristic of the materials. In the second screen, you can link to collection dataInformation. The details of information regarding collection data are displayed in the rightpane of this screen.

ii. Collection Data Registration (Cataloging)Accessioned materials are checked precisely, and registered in this screen individually. Theshape, size, and weight of the materials are entered along with Information about locality.In this screen, Information concerning storing, such as :- which repository, which shelf, andwhich drawer, is entered.

In this media screen, you can register multimedia Information related to the material, suchas still pictures, moving Images, and any other digitized data. You can register more thanone piece of multimedia data to each material.

In this Link Info screen, you can see how many times this material was utilized forexhibitions and other museum events.

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iii. Field rule for the ManagementMultiple databases for multiple purposes is one of the key features of Musetheque. In orderto achieve this feature, Musetheque was created with the ability to manage different typesof categories. For our convenience, we refer to this definition of categories as �Field rule�.You can set up various types of rules for various categories. For example : Art, Archaeology,Entomology, and Botay. In the Art field rule, you can store information, such as the title,subject, applied technique, and material of an artwork.

In the Archaeology field rule, you can store information, such as the age, material, size,shape, weight, and locality of an artifact. In the Entomology field rule, you can storetaxonomical Information such as, family, species, and phylum of a specimen.

Although Musetheque is rich in collection data storing functions, without reliable datasecuring measures, these functions are useless.

iv. Data Security : Release FlagThe Data which is stored in the database of Musetheque is secured by the setting of Releaseflag. If you keep it in unlimited status, this Information can be released to outside themuseum via the Internet. If you select a department or division, the Information can beviewed only by those people in the specified department. Further more, you can allowviewing specific data to only selected type of users. You can also use different settingdepending on a collection.

v. Data Security: User Authority ManagementYou can set access permission to each function for each user type. In this screen, you cansee that the general users cannot access to any of functions of Musetheque, while thesystem administrator is given full access authority to every function of Musetheque. Bysetting the user authority properly, you can avoid serious system failures.

vi. Schedule managementAlthough information management is an important task for collection data management,managing the transfer of actual material and concerning parties is no less important formuseums. Not to mention the monetary value of the collection, loss of precious specimen orartwork is also a significant loss for mankind.

For example : In the first screen, you can store the name and purpose of the use of collectiondata, and where the collection data will be used. If you are going to borrow a collection datafrom another museum or institute, you can store the Information about the supplier.

In the second screen, you can store the name of the collection which will be used for anexhibition or museum event. You can see detailed collection information in the right pane. Inthe third screen, you can store the media information as well.

In the fourth screen, you can store information about concerned parties, to whom you wantto send notification email. In this case, Person A will receive e-mail before the starting ofthe event, while Person B will receive e-mail before the end of the event.

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vii. Lending ManagementWhile schedule management deals with events implemented mainly inside the museum,Lending management deals with other museums or institutes

viii. Standard PrintoutsMusetheque provides label printing in a variety of sizes and formats. It also provides thecollection lists and statistical lists. Those printouts can be printed in either HTML format orPDF format, according to your choice.

ix. Web Site ManagementWeb site management offers the functions of building and updating of an original web siteof a museum. A web site is comprised of these typical pages.

The News page offers news from the museum, such as current or up coming exhibitions andevents. The Museum Info page offers the information concerning the location, admission fee,and opening times of the museum.

The What�s New page offers information regarding newly added collections. The Floorplans page offers the floor layout map of a museum. The Collection Search page offers thefunction of searching collection data in various ways.

Musetheque provides three kinds of search method. They are simple, detailed, and classifiedsearch. The Feedback page offers an input form for visitors to contribute their comments andsuggestions. The Site map page offers the landscape of the web site.

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1. General workflow outline of collectiondata management

2. Introduction of Musetheque

- Collection data management- Web site management

Contents

Workflow outline of collection data management

All Rights Reserved, Copyright ©Fujitsu Tohoku Systems Engineering Limited 2002

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The Digital Archive PlanThree keywords to the Digital Archive plan. Store, connect, and utilize.

1. StoreTo record and store culture and natural heritage, as digital data, so that those assets can behanded down to future generations. Storing is, the first step in creating digital museums.Japanese Government encourages digitizing information about Japanese culture and naturalheritage, whenever it is possible to digitize.

2. ConnectTo improve the network infrastructure, in order to activate various local facilities andencourage community interaction. Improvement of the network infrastructure will not onlycontribute to the distribution of digital information, but for communication between local peopleand the usage of local facilities.

3. UtilizeTo re-process and re-edit digitized images to form assets, and improve the utilization ofthose assets. There are various kinds of format of digital data. For example, the JPEGformat is popular for digital images. Almost every day, you see some kind of JPEG images onweb sites, even without realizing it. However, there are many other digital image formats inthe world. Some of them are less popular than JPEG, and others are almost obsolete. If acertain valuable piece of information is digitized in an unpopular format, you must transferit to more popular or conventional one. You can say the same thing about the media ofdigitized data. This is what re-process and re-edit means.

Case StudyStrategy of the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications(refered to as �Somusho�).

1. Promotion of the Digital Archive PlanMake digital data which is stored in such local cultural facilities, as museums and galleries,and is available for everyone to access via network. However great the digital collectiondata is, if it is difficult to access, the collection is meaningless.

UTILIZATION OF BIODIVERSITY INFORMATION WITH ACOLLECTION DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.Chida Nobuhiro, Sekihata Hiroyuki and Fueda Takashi,FUJITSU Japan & FUJITSU Malaysia.

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2. Digital Network Museum PlanEncourage local governments to create a local digital archive. Perform a feasibility study onthe introduction of Japanese culture overseas, through the editing of the digital contentsaccording to individual themes. To promote these plans, Somusho allocates tax subsidies tolocal governments for the creation of digital contents.

Boundaries of Personal DatabasesGenerally, in museum, university and research institute, collection data and/or researchmaterial remains as a personal database of an individual researcher.

In most cases, the hardware specification, such as CPU speed, memory size, and availablehard disk space is not suitable for building his or her own Web Site. The type of databasediffers from researcher to researcher. So, it is difficult to not only release this information tothe public, but also to share it within an organization.

We believe that building an integrated database system and storing collection data, researchmaterial and multimedia data in the database, is a solution to this problem. Building a webserver to release the information to the public is also important and necessary.

In this context, what is essential to build an integrated database.

Essential functions for a database system :

ü The ability to register various kinds of collection data such as archaeology, natural

science, and botany according to the owner policy.

ü The ability to manage not only image data but also various kinds of digitized data,

such as documents created by Microsoft Word or Excel.

ü The ability to store research results, various kinds of related information, as well as

conventional collection data.

ü The ability to classify stored data according to the purpose of the research, to

compose HTML files dynamically based on changes in the classifications of the

database, and releases those to the public automatically.

ü The ability to store data efficiently with the aid of the dictionary function.

ü The ability to secure the collection data.

ü The ability to release research results and collection data to the public.

These are the essential functions for a database system, especially for researchers andresearch institutes.

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FOREWORD - Sabah · Fig.3 Networking Biodiversity Databases in Sabah Because many agencies in Sabah...

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Transcript of FOREWORD - Sabah · Fig.3 Networking Biodiversity Databases in Sabah Because many agencies in Sabah...