ENHANCING DISCOVERABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS WITH RESCICOLL (REGISTRY OF SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released ReSciColl, a public-facing, user-friendly catalog designed to enhance access to scientific working collections owned and maintained by the USGS and State Geological Surveys. ReSciColl serves researchers, industry professionals, students, and the public by enabling efficient access to invaluable scientific collections, many of which are unique and irreplaceable. Supported by the mdEditor metadata creation platform, ReSciColl enables rich, standardized metadata documentation, improving the collections' FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) status for reuse in future research.

This presentation describes how mdEditor and ReSciColl streamline the cataloging and access processes for these collections. With mdEditor, users create detailed metadata records that form the foundation of ReSciColl's database. Customized metadata documentation profiles in mdEditor enhance consistency, adherence to domain standards, and integration of persistent identifiers such as DOIs, RoRs, and IGSNs, along with the provision of custom keyword lists. The collection-level metadata is then submitted to ReSciColl, enriching the overall catalog.

ReSciColl features a dashboard with collections management for owners and a collections map and interactive inventory for searching and exploring the collections. The map interface supplies spatial and keyword searches. The collection and item dashboard enables collection owners to manage and update their inventories as collections evolve.

ReSciColl and mdEditor provide advancements in managing and accessing our scientific collections, supporting more efficient and cost-effective research.