On this page you have some tips
on how to organise your collection.
Once you have your
rocks and minerals identified, you need to organise your rock and
mineral collection.
This means labeling
your specimens permanently.
Get rid of the sticky
labels that
you put on them in the field and replace them with a dot of white paint
(in an unimportant part) or correcting fluid - on top of which you can
write the number.
That number will link the specimen to its information in a catalogue. It used
to be a card index, nowadays, of course, it is a computer.
In your computer database,
write all the information about the specimen under its number:
* its name
* classification
* chemical composition
* exactly where you found it
* date you found it
* your name
*
Other details about the collecting spot, landmarks for finding it,
contact details of the people you need to contact for permission,
perhaps map references, local geology, key identifying features etc,
etc, etc... the more the better.
With
computers, remember how
easy it is to lose data. If your computer breaks down due to a virus or
anything else and you need to reinstall everything including Windows,
you will lose all data you had on that computer.
So make sure you back up.
Back up regularly, after every change you've made, and back up on many
devices. Do not trust one backup device only!
Backup devices typically last roughly as long as is their warranty
period. After
that, they often do break down!
There
are cases where you, for big bucks, can get your data restored from a
broken backup device. But there are also cases where you have lost
the data permanently. So, have three-four different backup devices
where you regularly back everything up!
This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that
all the information on this
site is correct,
collecting-rocks-and-minerals.com is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
Copyright notice:
All contents of this website are strictly protected
by the Law of
Copyright. What does that
mean?
Copyright
2010-2019
collecting-rocks-and-minerals.com. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED.