GUIDELINES FOR THE CURATION OF GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS

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p -- ~ ---- ~-~ procedures, but the time that has elapsed between their many publications means of course some unevenness in coverage and standards. There is recognition within the Survey of the wide potential for a standard stratigraphic terminology and for some years work has been progressing towards a computer-compatible, codified system for the United Kingdom. A provisional edition was prepared in 1977 and has since been updated though never published (see Roberts 1980). The task has not been completed and although the key on new maps of the Survey will soon carry parts of this system, there are no immediate plans to publish the system itself as a reference work. Nevertheless, curators with contacts in the Survey may be able to obtain some assistance. International stratigraphic guides may also be of value to U.K. based museums. In particular institutions with large foreign collections will require published guidance. The following are some of the major references: 1956 (continuing) Lexique Stratigraphique International, CNRS, Paris 1967 The IUGS 'Proposed recommendations for the world-wide Geochronological scale'. 1970 Amer. Comm. on Strat. Nomen. 'Code of Stratigraphic nomenclature' 1979 Robison & Teichert (eds) 'Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology' Part A Introduction: Fossilization (Taphonomy) Biogeography and Biostratigraphy 1982 Harland et al. 'A Geologic Time Scale' [includes a particularly useful Appendix listing all published Stage, Series and System names] (2) Stratigraphic information recording systems. Possibly one of the most workable systems was developed at the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge, through its association with IRGMA (Information Retrieval Group of the Museum Association, the predecessor of MDA). The result of this was the MDA Geology Specimen Card. The Instructions (MDA 1980a) give details but essentially the card provides a 4-fold division (Complex, Rock, Zone and Age) in three lines: on any or all of these three lines, the three divisions that do not apply can be crossed out and one or more stratigraphic terms recorded as required. (Fig. 5) 3[FS"'te' Statm D 16.ntlll.r dam D CDLLICT,ON PIX~namti*t~l l Einghorn Shore I Kinghorn Parish I Fife I&od,W.:(pre)1973 L., Long I Orher CD 0rdln.l.l ..,m b "nlsicrur.c, Al,.,. W C0mpi.x -. 2pl + 9( C+" -- Rori '- Slr.llrllhy k.yroldl~fli WT27 87 Calciferous Sandstone Abden Bone Bed D.P,~ Olh., p011110n ".,"l & unlt,irru.r" :PI( - -- Carboniferous (~ower) I\?I~ pp.p.--- ~ s!,a,#9raph" d?!~,, under first Abden Limestone, e v e Kinghorn Basalt ~ .-P Lvr.11" *,all D1-j - ,,.r ~ p ~ --pp.p.-p--.p--- -- - C Cullril,un method Collrrlor dale Colrrllon "urner D Gillan: (pre)l973 S,O,P *I.F GEOLOGY r RGWI 19?5 1 0 1 5 Fig. 5. Part of a MDA Specimen Card showing stratigraphical recording.
4.4.4.3. Collection This system, although not rigorous, is very flexible and allows terms to be organised for indexing. A disadvantage is that many stratigraphic terms are not easily assigned to any particular division. The MDA suggest choosing the 'most appropriate' which appears to be inadequate advice. A far better solution has emerged from curators with considerable experience of using MDA cards who record lithostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and biostratigraphic terms, each type on one of the three lines provided on the card. See for example the stratigraphic format described by Brunton (1980 p. 627). This amounts to an internal convention. Indexes may be produced using all or one of these terms, again governed by convention. Appended to this system is 'Stratigraphy detail' where any notes (excluding index headings) can be made. Qualifying minor details associated with particular stratigraphic terms should, however, accompany the term itself, and follow it in brackets, e.g. pilula Zone (lower part) Particularly vital advice is that stratigraphic terms should be recorded in 'inverted' fashion to allow useful alphabetic indexes to be constructed. e.g. Jurassic (Lower) Chalk (Middle) Following this convention, it makes sense, intellectually and practically to record stratigraphic terms in order from major division to fine detail, e.g. Jurassic (Lower): Lias (Lower): Hettangian. Whilst the retrieval of detailed stratigraphic information would normally be expected of a large institution, a much more generalised stratigraphic classification would be more appropriate for the small museum. Thus a specimen whose label gives the information that it was collected from the Forest Marble of Oxfordshire might, in a large museum, be recorded and indexed under several stratigraphic headings, e.g. Jurassic (Middle) Bathonian Great Oolite (Forest Marble) Clydoniceras hollandi Zone The same specimen, in a small museum might justifiably be recorded as simply Jurassic (Middle). Gross stratigraphic classifications have an important function for the larger museum too, however. We argue in C3.5.1 that a stratigraphic arrangement for the storage of collections is desirable. Clearly, a specimen cannot be stored simultaneously in lithostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and biostratigraphic sequences. For this reason, a simple classification derived from a more specialised framework is of value to both large and small museums. Stratigraphic classifications of this kind are discussed in B4.4.1.1(3). Collection information in the present context concerns data about the act of finding a specimen in the field, i.e. its primary documentation. The methods of collecting and documenting specimens in the field has been covered in Section A2.1 of these Guidelines. Broadly speaking the catalogue entry of a specimen obtained from the field should include information collected at the same time; it represents therefore the final stage in the basic process of documentation which may have begun with field reference numbers, field identification, locality details, bed numbers and descrip-
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A . GUIDELINES FOR THE CURATION '-
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CONTENTS Part A INTRODUCTION ACQUI
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GUIDELINES FOR CURATION OF GEOLOGI
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involved at all stages of curation
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ACQUISITION: SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDA
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environomental (i.e. site) conserva
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PRIMARY ACQUISITION: COLLECTING AND
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clearly and indelibly labelled with
Page 18 and 19: 2.1.3.2. Geochemistry 2.1.3.3. Geop
Page 20 and 21: 2.2.1.3. Purchase 2.2.1.4. Exchange
Page 22: 2.2.2.2. Private collectors This ca
Page 25 and 26: ACQUISITION DOCUMENTATION INTRODUCT
Page 27 and 28: DOCUMENTATION OF SPECIMENS DURING P
Page 29 and 30: Against the corresponding number in
Page 31 and 32: DOCUMENTATION GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Page 33 and 34: measurements, descriptions, photogr
Page 35 and 36: Fig. 3. Cataloguing a specimen usin
Page 37 and 38: Specimen Identity Numbers may be su
Page 39 and 40: ldentn Comment Object(s) OBJECT EXA
Page 41 and 42: Cooper (1982), Mayer (1974, 1976),
Page 43 and 44: its entitlement to retain a specime
Page 45 and 46: or otherwise borrowed. Those which
Page 47 and 48: must be that in which a specimen is
Page 49 and 50: must be used. An extendible numberi
Page 51 and 52: Multiple classifications and cross-
Page 53 and 54: itself the task of describing, figu
Page 55 and 56: 4.4.1.2. Minerals 4.4.1.3. Rocks ne
Page 57 and 58: 4.4.2. Identity and identification
Page 59 and 60: The MDA Geology Specimen Card allow
Page 61 and 62: 4.4.2.6. Status A specimen acquires
Page 63 and 64: 4.4.3.3. Colour Colour is a notorio
Page 65 and 66: Regis, Charmouth; for Whitby, Saltw
Page 67: Redundant or shifting countries and
Page 71 and 72: at tracing the history and fate of
Page 73 and 74: Of immediate concern is the questio
Page 75 and 76: other information of significance m
Page 77 and 78: y documentation, development, techn
Page 79 and 80: The movement of a specimen is an ev
Page 81 and 82: When a specimen is replaced in its
Page 83 and 84: the nature of a specimen and within
Page 85 and 86: 5.4.2. The documentation of complex
Page 87 and 88: 6.1.1.2. conditions of loans a lett
Page 89 and 90: description of borrowed items (incl
Page 91 and 92: ecome separated from their accompan
Page 93 and 94: paragraphs above. It should be note
Page 95 and 96: 6.2.2.4. Outlineprocedure for dispo
Page 98 and 99: SPECIMEN PRESERVATION SUMMARY AND R
Page 100 and 101: 3.8.2. Photographic materials 3.8.
Page 102 and 103: Archives C3.8.1. The care and maint
Page 104 and 105: protection and specific treatments,
Page 106 and 107: field. The excavation of unstable f
Page 108 and 109: to storing the broken pieces unasse
Page 110 and 111: Borates. Most alter (dehydrate) to
Page 112 and 113: strength. Dental silicone moulding
Page 114 and 115: solution of the particular mineral.
Page 116 and 117: Fig. 11. Table of materials which m
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all exterior doors and windows requ
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locks of rock, for later laboratory
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Both the nature of the geological m
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ideal (e.g. BM(NH) London; Nat. Mus
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a considerable commitment from the
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of all of these specimens in the ev
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Stony meteorites should be doubly b
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obscure the sectioned material. By
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mould, fungi or bacteria, fluorish
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3.8.1.4. Repair 3.8.1.5. Binding Th
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The National Reprographic Centre fo
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Museum safety OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS:
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gives regulations for the design an
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2.1.1. Storage 2.1.2. Display While
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mineral is a minor constituent are
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appears to be the dimensions of the
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Secondary types Figured specimens C
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USES COLLECTIONS PREAMBLE In this P
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The criteria for selection of speci
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definition of a locality here is di
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museum on completion or abandonment
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Specimen-based publications Publish
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For details of palaeontological nom
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2.4.5. Referred specimens When an a
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the visitor. Either way, it fails t
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methods but do remember the need fo
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EXHIEITIONTITLE "LOST WORLDS " UNIT
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REFERENCES AND APPENDICES
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REF 2 BRUNTON, C. H. C. 1980. The u
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REF 4 persons exposed to ionising
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REF 6 OBRUCHEV, D. V. 1964. Agnatha
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REF 8 TAYLOR, H. A. 1980. The arran
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APP 2 .Museum use. NB. These glues
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APP 4 Tufskin. Alfred Adams & Co. L
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APP 6 0 Silicones and thermosetting
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APP 8 BARBOLA MODELLING PASTE Alec
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APP 10 GAUZE, cotton (B.P.B. Absorb
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APP 12 PLASTONE self-hardening mode
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APP 14 SEPARATORS and RELEASE AGENT
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APP 16 STORAGE SHELVING Bruynzeel S
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APP 18 Road, Linlithgow Bridge, Lin
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APP 20 FERRY PICKERING BOXES LTD.,
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APP 20 FERRY PICKERING BOXES LTD.,
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FERRY PICKERING BOXES LTD., 53 Mead
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APP 22 MONEY HICKS LTD, 49 Clapham
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APP 24 SOLMEDIA LTD, 31 Orford Road
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APPENDIX 3 NATIONAL SCHEME FOR GEOL
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APP 29 a resource for internal use
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29. AVON, SOMERSET. GLOUCESTERSHIRE
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