• Joint initiative between the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Archives

• Mission: one online location for field book content.

• Beginning as a Smithsonian-wide initiative and eventually including the entire biodiversity community.

What is a Field Book?*Primary source document. A record of field events leading up to and including the collection of biological specimens.

Typical Field books

• Specimen Lists• Journals with

descriptions of collecting specimen

Less typical field books (may include)

• Hand drawn Maps• Sketches• Photographs• Field Correspondence

What is a Field Book?*Primary source document. A record of field events leading up to and including the collection of biological specimens.

Typical Field books

• Specimen Lists• Journals with accounts

of collecting specimen

Less typical field books (may include)

• Hand drawn Maps• Sketches• Photographs• Field Correspondence

Other kinds of notes

• Depict specimens and surrounding environment.

• Illustrate precise location specimen was found.

• Expound or comment on what was found.

• Something extra.

Field books meet several research needs

• Specific location information for specimen• Itinerary information• Environmental context• Historic snapshot

Presented by Rusty Russell to the Society For The Preservation of Natural History Collections

Collected at Tucson May 15—this is a very common plant throughout southern Ariz. In many places it is a troublesome weed. The vine sometimes 30 feet long climb over bushes and small trees. It produces flowers until late in the fall. Most abundant along marshes and creeks.

Presented by Rusty Russell to the Society For The Preservation of Natural History Collections

Photo credit: Anna Friedman

Photo credit: Nora Lockshin

Preservation efforts headed by Conservator Anna Friedman are funded by the National Park Service Save America’s Treasures grant.

Conservation and Management

What if there are field books in my family papers?

Illustration in a moldy book, by Shannon Ramos, Creative Commons: Attribution 2.0. Retrieved from October 28, 2010 article by Catherine Shteynberg on The Bigger Picture.

A book of 19th century scientific reports of national exploration expeditions from SIA’s Reference Room library, suffering from a cracked spine and brittle paper, Courtesy of Michal Long. Retrieved from September 30, 2010 article on The Bigger Picture: http://siarchives.si.edu/blog/taking-care-our-own

Wikimedia Commons, retrieved September 13, 2011

Proceed With Caution and Care

Advise about caring for your collections The Bigger Picture : http://siarchives.si.edu/blog/you-asked-we-answered-taking-care-your-own-archives

Learn More About the Field Notes and Creator

• Who was your relative?• Was collecting a job or hobby• If collecting was part of their

job, where did they work?• What locations and date

ranges are there?• What Kind of Specimen are

they collecting?

http://www.ubio.org/portal/http://Eol.org

What if there are field books in my family papers?

What if there are field books in my family papers?

Is It Appropriate to Keep or to Donate?• Historical significance:

locally, nationally, or internationally

• Do the specimens belong to an institution?

Check specimen catalogs ofinstitutions your relative worked for or contact the department’s collections manager.

• What condition are they in?

• Do the field books match the scope of the repository you want to donate to?

AcknowledgementsRusty RussellCollections & Informatics, Botany

Carolyn Sheffield, Project ManagerSonoe Nakasone, Cataloging Coordinator

Lesley Parilla, Cataloger and Graphics DesignerEmily Hunter, Cataloger

Kira Cherrix, Image and Video Digitization Specialist, SIARicc Ferrante, Director of Digital Services, SIA

Tammy Peters, Supervisory Archivist, SIANora Lockshin, Paper Conservator, SIA

Sarah Stauderman, Collections Care Manager, SIAKirsten Tyree, Conservation Technician, SIA

Anne Van CampDirector, SI Archives

Please Visit Our Website athttp://mnh.si.edu/rc/fieldbooks/

Blog: http://nmnh.typepad.com/fieldbooks/

Flickr: http://tinyurl.com/fbpflickr

Questions?Carolyn Sheffield, Project Managersheffieldc@si.edu