Arctos A multiinstitution multicollection museum database http arctos

Arctos A multi-institution, multicollection museum database http: //arctos. database. museum http: //code. google. com/p/arctos/

Major repositories using the Arctos database: (34 collections of specimens or observations, 1. 3 M records)

in partnership with which is a member of Tera. Grid – A nationwide network of 11 supercomputing facilities which is sponsored by U. S. National Science Foundation’s Office of Cyberinfrastructure

Arctos: A 15 year history Ø MVZ: 1995 - Hired Stan Blum to develop relational data model (following 1995 - modeling by Assoc. Systematic Collections). Ø MVZ: 1997 - Hired John Wieczorek to implement model (desktop application) using Sybase and Versata. Partial implementation (e. g. , no loans). Ø UAM: 1998 -2000 - John W. migrated mammal data to Oracle, set up Versata. Ø UAM: 2002 - Dusty Mc. Donald replaced Versata with Cold. Fusion, implemented full model (first web-based instance, aka Arctos). Ø MSB: 2003 – Joined Arctos at UAM (first multi-hosting instance). Ø MVZ and MCZ: 2005 -2007 - Implemented separate instances of Arctos at Berkeley and Harvard (MVZ: first Postgres, then Oracle). Ø MVZ: 2009 - Moved hosting of data to Alaska (Virtual Private Database version).

Arctos Specimen Catalog label data (and more) Arctos is an ongoing effort to integrate access to museum data, collection management tools, and external resources on the Web. Accessions Loans, usage Projects contribute and/or use specimens Citations Publications cite specimens The rest of Cyberspace Gen. Bank Federated portals Berkeley. Mapper “Media” in Tera. Grid

Arctos Philosphy Ø Maximize access to high quality information about collections on the web. Ø Integrate different kinds of information (specimen data, DNA sequences, media, etc. ) into easily and visually retrievable records. Ø Facilitate management of data by curators and collection managers. Collaboration (development, curatorial) is key to success. Ø Show value of specimens for scientific research to the public through web resources.

Breadth of Data in Arctos Fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds and bird eggs/nests, plants, arthropods, fossils, molluscs Ø Specimens and observations Ø Media (images, audio) Ø Publications, fieldnotes Ø Arctos constantly evolving to incorporate new kinds of data, e. g. , : Ø Better representation of non-publication documents (fieldnotes, correspondence) Ø Cultural collections (art, anthropology. . . ) Nearly all that is known about an object (or observation) can be included in Arctos.

Linking specimen records to archival documentation…

Access and Security 1. Virtual Private Database (Row-Level Security) allows collections to maintain control over data while sharing certain nodes (taxonomy, agents, geography). 2. Access to data is controlled by user privileges (collections, tables). 3. Public can query without user account. More options if logged in. 4. Business rules enforced at database (not application) level.

Arctos is… A versatile online collections management system Ø Cataloged Items (ID, attributes, parts, etc. ; batch uploading, downloading, editing; encumbrances) Ø Localities & Collecting Events (mapping, media, history) Ø Transactions (loans, accessions, borrows, permits; email reminders) Ø Usage (publications, projects, sponsors, Gen. Bank) Ø Curatorial (object tracking, parts, condition, relations, etc. ) ØDetermination history (identification, georef, attributes)

Arctos is… Modular and Pluggable Ø Projects and Publications Ø Media (local, external URI) Ø External Services (Gen. Bank, TACC, Morph. Bank, Cal. Photos, Ubio, etc. ; ) – Collaborative ØDi. GIR (ORNIS, Herp. NET, Ma. NIS, Vert. NET, etc. )

Arctos is… Customizable Ø Specific features, e. g. , Attributes (A cataloged item can have any number of attributes, customized to collections. A generic solution. ) Ø Users (search, results, identifiers, download; save and email searches) Ø Managers (users, headers, CSS, reports)

Arctos is… Open Ø Open source code Ø Built upon community needs Ø Compartmentalized (choose what you want to share) ØCommunity input valued (user group, code issue list) Ø Responsive development model (bugs generally fixed within hours, requests within days to weeks unless major new feature) – community discussion drives development

Arctos is… Economical Ø $15, 300/year hosting (currently split by 3 institutions): • secure environment • dedicated web server and database server • server and database administrators • Oracle 11 G • offsite backups in Alaska, TACC, San Diego Ø 1 full-time developer Ø 1 part-time DBA Ø Lots of input from users

Arctos Multihosting Ø Ø Ø Shared Code Shared Cost Shared Expertise Ø Curatorial Ø Technical ? MCZ Location not important (electrons are fast!)

Goal Run Arctos as a single system from one or more mirrored locations, from which each participating institution can be represented to its users and operators as an exclusive instance through row-level security, but in which vocabulary, programming, and physical resources are shared. (No technical issues to adding collections. Social issues in multihosting. )

Governance and Operating Support Ø Steering Committee and Advisory Group with representatives of each institution contributing to operational budget. Ø Ø Ø Steering Committee (institutional Directors or designees): budget, proposals for funding, proposals to connect to external resources, addition of collections, etc. Advisory Group (curators): priorities for development - Chair of Advisory Group oversees activity of developer(s), reports to Steering Committee Operating costs shared among institutions, funded by outside grants - identify developments that require outside funding vs. in-house support

Summary Ø Cost-effective access to a deeply relational, highly expandable database capable of recording all aspects of specimen curation, running on Enterprise-caliber hardware and software, managed by professional IT staff. Ø Community of experienced users provide input into data structure and new development. Burden of development and operation shared among institutions. Ø All Arctos data are online. The public can query it, privileged users manage it through web browsers. Ø Demonstrates and documents the scientific context of specimens (projects, documents, media, etc. )…more than just label data.