Search the Archive

General information about the archive

Information about the current holdings in the archive can be accessed through this link: Open Research Scan Archive Online  Use 'guest' as the username, and leave the password blank.

By default, one record is displayed at a time ('Form' view).  Clicking on the left or right side of the loose-leaf binder icon (in the frame on the left) will allow you to see successive records.  You can view several records at a time in a spreadsheet-like view by selecting 'View as: Table' in the left hand frame.

The archive includes specimens we have at the Museum that have not been scanned yet.  If a scan is available, this will be indicated in the  'scan type available' field.  In addition, some specimens have been scanned but cannot be used for research purposes, or cannot be obtained without special permission (e.g., because they come from private collections).  Researchers interested in these scans should contact the person indicated in the "access restrictions" field for more information.

For several specimens (particularly from the Morton collection), we have transcribed the notes from the original collector, as recorded in various museum logs.  Please note that many of these specimens were collected in the 19th century, and as a result, these notes contain descriptions that are often insulting and racist to us today.  We include them for historical completeness, and because they often contain useful information about provenience.  It should go without saying that these notes reflect the views of the collector(s), not the Museum or any of the staff.

Similarly, notes written by the collector on the specimen itself are included to help identify the actual specimen. As with the museum log notes discussed above, the notes on the specimens are also sometimes insulting and racist to us today.  We include them only as means to positively identify the specimen, so we can cross-reference it with the museum log entries.  In a very few cases, information regarding provenience of a specimen written on the specimen itself does not match that suggested in the original log books for that specimen number.  Where this occurs, it is noted  in the "Museum catalog entry" field.  Again, it should go without saying that these notes reflect the views of the collector(s), not the Museum or any of the staff.

Searching the archive

To search for entries with certain characteristics once you are in the archive, click on the spyglass icon at the top of the left frame in the archive search window, enter the characteristics of interest in the appropriate fields (in the frame on the right), and click 'perform find' (in the frame on the left).  This can be done in any view ('Form' or 'Table').  For example, if you enter the following:

'CT' in the 'scan type available' field
'>30' in the 'age' field
'M' in the 'sex' field

and then click 'perform find',  the archive will display all specimens (from all species) for which we have CT scans available that are also believed to be males older than 30 years of age.  For more information on how to search, sort, and/or browse this archive, click on the questionmark icon near the top of the left frame.

Requesting copies and/or access

If you want to request copies of specific CT files, please read the following link: Access and data sharing.  If you agree to these terms, please send us a detailed description of your project, indicate how you are willing to contribute to the archive project, and list which specimens you are interested in obtaining copies of.  This last step can be done most easily by 1) performing a search for the characteristics of interest, 2) switching to the 'specimen identifier' layout, 3) selecting 'View as: Table', 4) copying the specimen identifier info into an e-mail.

If there are any problems or questions about searching the archive, contact us.