Re: Standardizing insect labels ==> Code 49 uber alles
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 07:45:56 -0400
From: "christian thompson" <cthompson@sel.barc.usda.gov>
To: longinoj@elwha.evergreen.edu, jugalde@inbio.ac.cr, pick@pick.uga.edu
Cc: sackley@compuserve.com, bill.armstrong@intermec.com,
christine.deal@intermec.com, KPerry@intermec.com, brianb@mizar.usc.edu,
becky_nichols@nps.gov, Chuck_Parker@nps.gov, mkaspari@ou.edu,
dl@pick.uga.edu, djanzen@sas.upenn.edu, whallwac@sas.upenn.edu,
windsord@tivoli.si.edu, colwell@uconnvm.uconn.edu
Subject: Re: Standardizing insect labels ==> Code 49 uber alles
Pick, Jack & Jesus:
Sound great to me.
Our current INTERMEC pre-print label is stack of 3 barcodes with USNM ENT 99999999 under them on .547 x .125 label.
The ability to code 17 alphanumerics on a slightly larger label is great.
Let's go for it.
As for unique identifiers for big BIG projects, I have no problems. GSMNPATBI still leaves you 8 digits for 100 million insects. Which leads to another question. The whole point of barcodes was UNIQUE identifiers. And then we decided that those unique identifiers needed to idenfiy TWO things, the organization responsible for the initial data capture (NOT ownership) and the unique sequential number for the specimen. Hence, it is entirely appropriate that the GSMNP ATBI project has an unique identifier given that they are going to be the central clearing/sorting house for the bulk samples, etc.
And if Dan wants to have his own code, DANJANZEN is undoubtedly unique and if he is going to collect more than 100 million insects, then he could use DJANZEN and still be unique.
On the assignment of unique organization identifiers, when we originally were search for them we checked with the Botanical community. They already have a structure in place at ?Bronx Botanical Garden ?Pat Holmgren? (I should check my notes, but you get the idea) to assign codes for organizations. She can tell you whether, for example, anyone has ever registered/used GSMNPATBI, etc.
But I do think it is time for some organization (USOBI? the future GBIF secretariat?) to set up a "Domain Name Server" for organizational unique identifiers which are being used for specimen data databases, etc. We can discuss it and get it rolling at ECN this fall, but the issue is much larger than the entomology community, etc. And there are other issues they will have to address (like there needs to be a special universal tag (metadata tag) to be used with these barcodes to tell java machines to parse the alphas from the numerics and then to get URL from that DNS, etc. for the appropriate database, etc.) to get us to the interoperability we all want, etc.
F. Christian Thompson
Systematic Entomology Lab., USDA
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D. C. 20560
(202) 382-1800 voice
(202) 786-9422 FAX
cthompso@sel.barc.usda.gov
| Discover Life in America | Science | Unique Identifiers & Barcodes | Correspondence | Christian Thompson - 29 July, 1999 |