standardization of records keeping in indian zoos - Central Zoo ...

ISIS started in 1973
with 51 zoos in 2 continents -
used paper records
Computerized ARKS in 1985
Now 735 institution
members
in 73 countries
Advances in technology improved records-keeping procedures. ISIS was initiated
in 1973 with fifty-one zoos in North America and Europe initially joining the response to
the invitation to participate. ISIS now has 735 member institutions in 73 countries.
Originally, paper forms were filled out on each specimen, which were then sent to ISIS
for key-punch entry. All information was by and if you didn‟t have the key the records
would mean nothing to you.
In 1985, the initial version of the Animal Records Keeping System (ARKS)
software was made available to members so that each institutional representative could
enter their own institutional data and send it in to the central database. The ARKS
program has undergone a number of major revisions and is now in its fourth version.
Development of the ISIS website as well as the Specimen Reference DVD that contains
the information in the central database, it is now possible to access worldwide
information on any animal in the system worldwide, facilitating the management of
captive species as a global cooperative effort.
On the horizon is the new Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) (A.Miller
2009)
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