PROJECT AND DATA CHALLENGES IN A FUNCTIONING RESEARCH FACILITY

The Kentucky Geological Survey is in the middle of a three-year project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to photograph and record metadata for 10,000 boxes of core to disseminate on the Survey’s website. Throughout the project we have adjusted the core selection process, faced challenges with the core housing and associated data, and started new projects related to data discovery. The project proposed to focus on core in high demand for viewing and core with significantly deteriorated boxes while also being representative of the overall collection. However, adjustments have been made to the project queue as cores not on the original list were requested for other projects. This and facility functionality have become secondary criteria for core selection as the project has progressed. Vital metadata about the core was discovered to be inconsistently recorded, so adjustments were also made to the project workflow to check core metadata including links to other data in KGS databases. Related core documents stored throughout the facility have been located and are being scanned as another project. Other challenges concerning in-house identifiers, missing boxes, awkward housing needs, sub and supplementary samples, and core orientation have also been addressed.

The project has also had many successes. To date, 157 cores have been processed with IGSNs assigned to them and their images posted online. We created expedited workflows for photography, editing, and online distribution to keep up with the pace of physical processing while maintaining quality and consistency among the digital products. We also adopted a digital assets management program to offer various digital dissemination options without burdening KGS resources. Industry users and Survey staff have begun to request core for photography and use the core photographs and available data when selecting core for research projects.

Further work will include integrating these products into KGS’s educational online content and teaching users about their existence and download options. Instructions for the use of the IGSNs when referencing our cores in publications will also be created. These efforts should expand our user base, expand the knowledge base and use of IGSNs, and improve the efficiency of our staff and visiting researchers.