Below is an extract from an entry in an accessions ledger for 1841 showing details of specimens presented to the Museum by Charles Darwin.
It is essential to maintain archive copies of primary documentation such as accessions ledgers relating the Museum Collections which date back to the early 19th Century. Traditionally this has involved producing microfilm copies or bound photocopies. We are taking advantage of new technology to produce easily reproduced, high definition images that may be stored and distributed on compact discs. When combined with a simple electronic indexing system the compact discs can replace the original (and increasingly fragile) hand-written ledgers as working copies. We expect to be able to store the contents of over 250 ledgers on just 35 compact discs. As the discs are not magnetic and have a long life, they are highly suitable for archive purposes.
Images are being captured in black and white using a high resolution scanning camera and stored as compressed files on compact discs. Scanning and production of the compact discs will be carried out in-house by curation staff.
Illustrations
This project is part of the Curation programme.
For further information contact:
Charles Hussey,
The Natural History Museum,
Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 171 938 8921 Fax: +44 (0) 171 938 9158
E-mail: cgh@nhm.ac.uk
