About Multimedia

Data standard

This section describes a proposed data standard for multimedia in Mineral Sciences. All categories described here can be determined based on an EMu export file except the PDF archival format check, which requires a copy of the document. Note that these standards are stricter than those currently in use for annual reporting at NMNH.

Some guidelines and vocabularies used to develop this standard include:

File formats (images)

  • Below: Proprietary or uncommon file type

  • Meets: Acceptable archival file format (JPEG, PNG, non-animated GIF)

  • Exceeds: Preferred archival file format (TIFF, no specific byte order)

The exact formats specified by the NAA Digital Imaging Guidelines are:

  • Color: 24-bit RBG color TIFF format with an IBM PC byte order (ICC profile = Adobe RGB 1998)

  • Grayscale: 8-bit Grayscale TIFF format with an IBM PC byte order (ICC profile = Gray Gamma 2.2)

Asset quality (images)

  • Below: The minimum dimension is < 2000 px

  • Meets: The minimum dimension is >= 2000 px but < 3000 px

  • Exceeds: The minimum dimension is >= 3000 px

Asset quality (documents)

  • Below: The resolution is < 300 dpi

  • Meets: The resolution is 300 dpi

  • Exceeds: The resolution is > 300 dpi

PDFs

  • Below: PDF is not archival and/or not searchable

  • Meets: PDF is archival and searchable

Filenames

  • Below: Filename is > 255 characters long or contains spaces or non-ASCII characters

  • Meets: Filename is <= 255 characters long and does not contain spaces or non-ASCII characters

  • Exceeds: Filename is <= 64 characters long and follows a standard format

Embedded metadata

  • Below: One or more of the required metadata fields are missing

  • Meets: All required metadata fields are populated

  • Exceeds: All recommended metadata fields are populated

The lists of required and recommended IPTC metadata are based on the `Basic Guidelines for Minimal Descriptive Embedded Metadata in Digital

Images <https://sinet.sharepoint.com/sites/NMNH-Team/Encyclopedia-of-L ife/Shared%20Documents/GuidelinesEmbeddedMetadata.pdf#search=NAA%20Dig ital%20Imaging%20Guidelines>`_.

Required metadata

  • ObjectName

  • Source

  • CopyrightNotice

  • By-line

File naming guidelines

The basic form of the preferred format is {subject}_{identifier}_{description}, where

  • subject is the general subject of the photo

  • identifier is the catalog number or range represented in the file

  • description is a brief, specific description of the content of the file

Different subjects of media have different requirements. See the table below for details.

  • Filenames should only use alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens. Avoid spaces, other punctuation, and diacritics.

  • Filenames should not exceed 64 characters including the file extension. Modern OSes support longer filenames, but in practice these are unwieldy.

  • Filenames should be lowercase. Purely aesthetic.

  • Words within filenames should be separated by underscores. This improves readability slightly but is also mostly an aesthetic preference.

Common subjects include:

Subject

General format

Example

Accession documentation

accession_{accession_num}_{description}

accession_2012345_deed_of_gift

Catalog card

catalog_card_{catalog_num}

catalog_card_123456-00

Meteorite datapack

datapack_{meteorite_num}

datapack_eet_83883

Field notes

field_notes_{last_name}_{description}

field_notes_sorensen_jan_1986

Ledger

ledger_{collection_name}_{first_num-last_num}

ledger_rock_and_ore_110001-110025

Loan documentation

loan_{transaction_num}_{description}

loan_2012346_insurance_part_1

Publication

pub_{last_name_of_first_author}_{year}_{abbr_journal}

pub_melson_1985_gca

Specimen photo

specimen_{photo_id}_{catalog_num}

specimen_87-45678_g3551-00

Some notes about this list:

  • This list is not exhaustive, but please see the data manager for guidance before adding a new subject

  • EMu does not care if two multimedia records share a filename

  • More detailed metadata about multimedia should be always be included in the Title and Description fields in the EMu record

  • Field notes and publications should always have a bibliography record

Open access

The Smithsonian seeks to make as much of its holdings as possible available under a CC0 license, which allows the public to freely use information and assets. At a minimum, an asset must meet the following criteria to be eligible for open access:

  • The asset was created by a Smithsonian staff member, contractor, or volunteer

  • All objects depicted in the asset are owned by the Smithsonian

  • No identifiable people are depicted in the asset

  • The asset and all objects depicted are out of copyright, not subject to moral rights, and otherwise free of contractual restrictions

  • The depicted object is not culturally sensitive

Any of the above criteria (except possibly moral rights) can be waived by written agreement with the relevant party (i.e., the owner of a specimen or the holder of the copyright of a photo).

Warning: Watch out for incorrect usage of the creator field in EMu. Some users will list themselves as the creator of an asset even if they were only responsible for digitizing it.

Exceptions

Meteorites

All meteorite specimen photos meeting the general criteria above should be published as open access except the following:

  • Photos of certain archaeological objects from the meteorite collection, notably beads from near Havana, IL associated with the Hopewell culture and tagged with the names Brenham, Havana, Hopewell, or Hopewell Mounds. (Sensitive content > Native American and Native Hawaiian remains and objects)

Mineralogy

All mineral specimen photos meeting the general criteria above should be published as open access.

In addition to meeting the general criteria above, photos of gems and jewelry should be approved by the Curator-in-Charge of the gem collection before being made open access. Considerations when making the decision about publishing a gem or jewelry photo as open access include:

  • Observing copyright. Creative/expressive jewelry designs are eligible for copyright protection. Copyright protection in the United States lasts a long, long time, and eligible objects should be assumed to be in copyright unless documentation proving otherwise exists. Copyright protection does not extend to standalone gems.

  • Observing moral rights. A subset of copyrightable works (including sculptural works and therefore jewelry) provide artists additional protection in the form of moral rights. Among other things, moral rights include a right to attribution and a right not be associated with distorted versions of their work. Artists typically retain moral rights to their work even if they sign over copyright, and most copyrightable objects cannot therefore be made open access during the lifetime of the artist. Moral rights do not apply to photos unless they were made specifically for exhibition.

  • Maintaining relationships with donors. Donors are the lifeblood of the gem collection, and we need to make sure that they are comfortable with how assets from this collection are being used.

Petrology & Volcanology

All rock specimen photos meeting the general criteria above should be published as open access, including photos depicting the Ontanagon Boulder.