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Science News

6 Posts tagged with the collections_management_seminars tag
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The highlights of creating and using a wildlife sound collection: reflections on a seminar by Margaret Cawsey, Curator of Data, Australian Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences on 3 July 2014. 

 

By Joanna Benedict, Learning Programme Developer at the Natural History Museum.

 

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/resources/natureplus/images/science-news/image-1.jpg

Margaret Cawsey speaking at the Sounds of Australia seminar Alex Drew is shown working on the sound archive.

 

On 3 July 2014 Margaret Cawsey shared her experience in managing the sound collection from the Sound Archive at the Australian Nationals Wildlife Collection (ANWC).

 

Margaret is passionate about organising data and making it accessible for researchers, museum professionals and others interested in finding out about the sounds of Australian birds. She presents a case for why it is important to make the sounds collection accessible and the challenges involved. 

What is a sound archive?

 

 

Some of the digital formatted sounds can be accessed online via the Atlas of Living Australia website.The taxonomical data and geographical data of these bird species are available from the database on the Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museum (OZCAM).

 

Apparently, the ANWC is the only organisation in the Australian museum community to make bird sound files available through the Atlas of Living Australia.

Why collect bird noises?

During the seminar, Margaret played the sounds from the Grey butcherbird and the Pied butcherbird to demonstrate that the sounds from the two similar species are different. This gives researchers the opportunity to use sounds to differentiate the two birds from the same family.

 

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/resources/natureplus/images/science-news/image-2.jpg

Grey butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus) © Ejdzej. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.

 

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/resources/natureplus/images/science-news/image-4.jpg

Pied butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis) © Michael Schmid. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

 

Researchers can use the data to analyse the function of bird sounds in:

•          mating

•          giving out warning signs

•          protecting their young

•          communicating with each other

 

One study of the sounds from the Moonwalking birds found that the sounds were from the flapping of their wings. This information alone is valuable to further the understanding of the science of wing motion and the unique physicality of the species.

Challenges and questions

There is a high volume of analogue sound recordings, some of which are slowly degrading. This poses a real challenge for Margaret and her team. Converting analogue data to digital data requires many hours of laborious work.

 

Margaret explains that one physical container of sounds such as a tape or a reel can generate multiples of bird sound files and metadata. Sometimes the metadata for those bird species may also be stored elsewhere on letters and notes. It demands a lot of attention to detail to ensure that the sound files and metadata are named, matched and stored correctly on the Excel spread sheet which feed into the ANWC and the OZCAM database.

 

The seminar discussed some interesting questions:

 

•          How accessible is the collection of sounds in Museums compared to other cultural organisations?

•          How useful are the sound files versus the cost of digitalising the files?

•          What are the intrinsic values of the bird sounds to further the understanding of bird research?

•          Does the quality of the sounds matter or it is just a matter of getting the sounds available to the public?

 

These issues remain to be conclusively dealt with, but the ANWC will continue to work towards the answers as it develops a sustainable approach to the prioritisation of curation of sounds for research.

 

Margaret is determined to make the collection as accessible as possible to benefit the researchers who can reveal the value of the data. Margaret feels that the intrinsic value of bird sounds lie in being occurrence records as well as providing sounds for the analysis of species distributions and studies of speciation. As occurrence records, the quality of the sound is unimportant as long as it is identifiable and adequate to future analysis.

What’s next?

Margaret welcomes more collaborative work to share knowledge, including the strategic use of volunteers to convert the analogue files and assist with identification of species and collection of metadata, and more funding to recruit staff to locate, identify and curate valuable multimedia collection objects.

 

In reality, it will take more than 100 years to digitise the analogue data and curate the metadata due to lack of human resources. It is undeniable that there is real value in making the sound collection accessible; however curating and digitalising sound collection remain low in Museums’ work priority as most museums already struggle to find resources to convert their specimen collection to image files.

Despite this, museums professionals can at least start a conversation to discuss the potential in their sound collection and to develop a plan with a vision where the public get to hear those less heard sounds from nature.

 

Do you have a sound collection?

What is your vision for the collection?

What does your sound collection sounds like?

 

Share your thoughts and let us hear your sounds get in touch with Margaret Cawsey here

 

Read more about the Natural History Museum’s Collection Seminars Series.

 

With thanks to Margaret Cawsey.

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Europe’s stored biodiversity: access and preservation

 

Thursday 25 September  14.30–16.00 Flett Events Theatre


Join Dr Rob Huxley from the Natural History Museum and other key speakers for an overview of Europe-wide projects aimed to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of natural history collections.


For more than 10 years, the Natural History Museum has been an active participant and leader in a number of Europe-wide, collections-related projects. These projects have delivered tools, procedures and training to raise standards in collections management and preservation.


This seminar will focus on SYNTHESYS, a series of EU-funded consortium projects providing support for research access to collections. Its partners are members of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF), an umbrella organisation linking more than 30 institutions with a strong commitment to collections standards and access. A CETAF working group, the Collections Policy Board (CPB) has, for example, delivered common principles for collections loans and visitor access, and hosted workshops on digitisation.


CPB and SYNTHESYS have also identified a need for standardised approaches to collections training and staff development. This has been picked up through EuColComp, a two-year Leonardo da Vinci Programme-funded project to develop a set of universal multi-language competencies and a training curriculum for collections staff.

 

Who should attend

The seminar is open to all museum professionals. We welcome colleagues from other institutions.

There is no booking fee. If you would like to attend please email:
julie.reynolds@nhm.ac.uk.

Tea and coffee will be available after the talk.

 

Natural History Museum staff do not need to book.

 

What it will include

 

  • overview of SYNTHESYS, EuColComp
  • presentation of practical case studies
  • discussion of future developments and opportunities
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Daubenton was an EU Leonardo da Vinci programme-funded project which provided participants with a two-week training placement at an institution in Europe. Participants could visit Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet Stockholm, University of Copenhagen, Museum of Natural History of University of Florence, Naturalis, Leiden, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, or Národni Museum, Prague.

 

The project enabled collections management, technical and public engagement staff to visit collaborating institutions across Europe, allowing them to broaden their skills and expertise and significantly raise their awareness of alternative approaches to the management, display and educational use of museum collections as applied in other European institutions. Much of the learning experience revolved around observing how and why particular procedures are adopted and implemented with hands-on effort.

 

Participants from the Museum, National Museums Wales and World Museum Liverpool will be sharing their experiences of working in a European institute, how different institutions use and manage their collections, and what applications the findings from their visits had in their home institution. There will also be a short presentation on the possibility of a future similar project to be applied for under Erasmus+ Key Action 1, and how to get involved.

Collections Seminar Series - FINAL Daubenton 7 Aug.jpg

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Flett Lecture Theatre, NHM

 

Thursday 8 May 14.30–16.00 (with training sessions in the morning and after the seminar)

 

As part of the annual Natural History Museum Pest Management Day, Robert Child  will give a talk about the new European Biocides Directive.

 

Robert Child has extensive experience as a professional research chemist and was the Head of conservation at the National Museum of Wales, Amguedddfa Cymru. He combines those with an expertise on the practical applications of  Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programmes in cultural institutions. His talk will give an overview of current IPM practices and the impact that the new biocides directive might have on this essential tool for collections preservation.

 

Speakers

  • Robert Child (former Head of Conservation at the National Museum of Wales)

 

Training sessions by NHM IPM Co-ordinators (0900, 1100, 1730)

  • Armando Mendez, Special Collections Information Assistant
  • Suzanne Ryder, Collections Manager

 

Who should attend?

The seminar is open to all museum professionals. We also welcome colleagues from other institutions who would find the seminar of interest. There is no booking fee and only large parties need to notify the organiser for catering purposes. Tea and coffee will be available in the lobby area after the talk

 

What will I hear?

Update on new European Biocide Directive. If you are interested in attending the seminar or one of the hour long NHM internal training sessions (9.00, 11.00, and 17.30) where you will learn about Natural History Museum IPM please book a place by emailing: Julie.reynolds@nhm.ac.uk

 

Collections seminar flyer 08 May image.jpg

A woolly bear you wouldn’t want to find! Woolly bear is the common name of the larvae of the Varied Carpet Beetle – Anthrenus verbasci They eat dried insect specimens, bird and mammal skins, textiles (especially woollen ones) and the animal glue used in old book binding.

© The Trustees of The Natural History Museum

 

 


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Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Preventive Conservation at English Heritage properties


pest.jpg

 

When?
Thursday 25 July 2013, 14:30-16:00

 

Where?
Flett Lecture Theatre, Natural History Museum, South Kensington

 

Who?

Speaker: Dee Lauder, Collections Pest Control & Maintenance Manager for the Collections Conservation Team, English Heritage.

 

Synopsis:
“Just as one man’s meat is another man’s poison, so one woman’s dream job is another’s nightmare. This is particularly true when that dream job involves setting traps for textile-chomping moths, wood-boring beetles and their larvae, or examining frass (insect droppings) to find out exactly what is gnawing through your beams, curtains and furniture. Yet, this is precisely what Dee Lauder, Collections Care Manager at English Heritage, spends her time doing”.

'Bugs Beware', Heritage Today, the in-house journal of English Heritage, 2005.

 

Dee is responsible for keeping English Heritage’s properties and their vulnerable collections – including books, textiles, carpets and furniture – pest-free. In this talk Dee will tell us how she and her team strive to achieve that goal.

 

Who should come?
The seminar is open to all museum professionals. We also welcome colleagues from other institutions who would find the seminar of interest. There is no booking fee and only large parties need to notify the organiser for catering purposes.

 

Science Group: All senior departmental managers & collection management staff.
Public Engagement Group:  Any staff who work with and use collections or manage staff who work with collections.

 

 

Tea and coffee will be available in the lobby area after the talk.

 

Suggestions for seminar speakers are always most welcome.
Please contact the organiser Clare Valentine.

 

 

For additional details on attending this or other seminars see http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/seminars-events/index.html

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Participation and Collections Management: Is good collection management and genuine public participation really possible?

 

 

hands on.jpg

 

When?
Thursday 27th June, 2013, 2.30pm-4.00pm

 

Where?
Flett Lecture Theatre, NHM, South Kensington

 

Who?

Speakers: 
Tim Vickers, Collections Care Officer, Luton Culture

 

What’s it about?:
This talk will look at some of the speakers experience of allowing hands on use of core collections to engage with the public. Focused primarily on the Museums archaeological collections, it will cover some of the risks and benefits of this way of working from a curator’s view rather than just for those who participate.

 

Who should come?
If you are thinking about or are working on a collections management project where you would like to involve members of the public where the focus is being hands-on.

 

Science Group: All senior departmental managers & collection management staff.

Public Engagement Group:  Any staff who work with and use collections or manage staff who work with collections.

 

We also welcome colleagues from other institutions who would find the seminar of interest.

 

There is no booking fee and only large parties need to notify the organiser for catering purposes.

 


Tea and coffee will be available in the lobby area after the talk.

 

Suggestions for seminar speakers are always most welcome.
Please contact the organiser Clare Valentine (c.valentine@nhm.ac.uk)

 

For additional details on attending this or other seminars see http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/seminars-events/index.html