Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

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Source (Source)

Definition:

Observations:

1. N.B.: Do not confuse the Source field with the Identifier and Collector fields. The Source field contains the name of the person who owned the specimen before it was acquired by your institution. The Identifier field contains the name of the person who identified the specimen. The Collector field contains the name of the person who found, collected, sampled or captured the specimen. It is possible, but not mandatory, for these fields to contain the same name.
2. Even if a donor or organization wishes to remain anonymous, you should enter the name in this field. This information will remain confidential, since it is for internal use only.
   Example

   A white ibis was given to your institution by Gregory Huong on October 29, 1939. Mr. Huong wishes to remain anonymous.

   	Discipline	ornithology
   	Genus	Eudocimus
   	Species	albus
   	Acquisition Mode	gift
   	Accession Date	1939-10-29
   	Source	Huong, Gregory

3. This field is used in conjunction with the Acquisition Mode and Accession Date fields.
   Example

   A naturalized Ungava lemming was given to your institution by Tom Whitefeather on September 23, 1990.

   	Discipline	zoology
   	Genus	Dicrostonyx
   	Species	hudsonius
   	Acquisition Mode	gift
   	Accession Date	1990-09-23
   	Source	Whitefeather, Tom

Entry rules:

1. Enter the family name followed by a comma, a space and the first name.
   Example

   	Source	Sicotte, Marie-Paule

2. Initials should be followed by periods.
   Example

   	Source	MacTavish, Lionel G.

3. Periods and commas should be followed by a space, unless they are followed by other punctuation.
   Example

   	Source	Singh, A.; Schwager, Joann

4. If an individual has an honorific title, enter his or her family name, comma, space, first name, comma, space and the title.
   Example

   	Source	Potvin, Joseph, Father

5. If you wish to enter two names for the same person, first enter the name by which he or she is best known, following the rules above, and add the other name in parentheses without inverting it.
   Example 1

   	Source	Dupuis, Juliette (Juliette Carrier)

   Example 2

   	Source	Saint-Stanislas, Sister, a.s.v. (Gabrielle Beaulieu)

6. Enter the full name of the organization or company, without inverting it, respecting the usual spelling.
   Example

   A specimen purchased from Stones Unlimited on May 23, 1991

   	Acquisition Mode	purchase
   	Accession Date	1991-05-23
   	Source	Stones Unlimited

7. If a specimen belonged to several people at the same time, enter the names in alphabetical order and separate them by a semicolon followed by a space.
   Example

   	Source	Duncan, Barry; Duncan-Roy, Claudette