Primary Source Material in Science: The Importance of Archival Field Notes
Document Type
PosterPublication Date
2013-04-03Keywords
digital librarybiodiversity heritage library
data mining
field notebooks
Biodiversity
Library and Information Science
Life Sciences
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Field notebooks are a gold mine of unpublished observations, journal notes, sketches, weather reports, specimen lists and travel narratives: these records are primary source data at its most raw and unevaluated. Historical collections of field notes may be the only documentation of a scientist’s thought processes, ideas and observations, particularly if only some of the material was ever published. As part of an IMLS National Leadership grant, the field notes of William Brewster, a highly published ornithologist working during the late 19th and early 20th centuries were digitized and made accessible via the Biodiversity Heritage Library portal. Along with digitizing specimens and other archival materials related to William Brewster, the notebooks allow easy access to his detailed notes and pioneering work in ornithology. The presentation of these notebooks enhances contemporary studies and makes the entire research cycle of this scientist’s work available for analysis by historians of science, scientists, social scientists and humanists or anyone interested in the process of discovery, by creating a richer and more interactive history of science resource. Who knows what ornithological preconceptions might be reconsidered if this body of work is fully available to contemporary researchers and citizen scientists? The purpose of this poster is to demonstrate the connections among Brewster’s field notes, specimens he collected, the publications that were the result of his work and current research, thus making a case for the value of archival research.DOI
10.13028/j4fh-a819Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/28606Rights
Copyright the Author(s)Distribution License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.13028/j4fh-a819