How to Retire a Specimen Record
Retiring specimen records is not a routine procedure; ensure you are authorized to make these changes before proceeding.
Deaccessioning a specimen:
-In Specimen Notes field (on the specimen tab), indicate to all users that X barcode number is retired and why (e.g., deaccessioned, sent to another institution, superfluous). Separate this note from other notes with a visual indicator (semicolon or pipe) and prepend it if there is any existing text in the field.
-Before retiring, check whether the catalog record is attached to anything else (View>Attachments>Current Record) to ensure the specimen is not attached to a narrative or other module that will lose functionality when the retired record is no longer visible online.
-In the catalogue Security tab, set the Record Status to "Retired" and set the Publish on Internet and Intranet buttons to "No" and "No". Do not delete the barcode number or other information in the catalogue record fields (including multimedia). Remember to save the record and physically remove the barcode from the specimen.
-After retiring, email Leanna and let her know the record(s) that were retired so that associated images can be updated.
Superfluous barcodes:
In addition to the steps above, all catalogue records with barcodes on the sheet should be pulled up. Decide on a barcode to keep (preference is to keep the older, lower numbered barcode, but use your best judgement due to placement or ease of barcode removal). Remember to instead make a EditBarcode task in the Tasks tab for specimens whose barcodes need updating but you haven't yet physically removed the barcode.
-Before retiring, in addition to a note in the Specimen Notes field (on the specimen tab) for the retired record(s), make a note in Specimen Notes on the barcode that’s being kept to note the removed superfluous barcode number and why it was removed (especially if this is a barcode that has been in the database for a while and could be cited somewhere).
-Before retiring, check the Tasks tab for an existing EditBarcode task and mark it as complete (with date).
-After retiring and removing any superfluous barcodes, the specimen should be reimaged.
Things to remember:
-Once retired and saved, the specimen record will not be retrieved using a default search that finds only active records.
-There are three identifiers associated with specimen records: barcode number, irn number, and UUID/GUID (generated by Emu the first time a record is saved). GUIDs cannot be changed because they’re currently set to be uneditable.
-In addition to barcode numbers, GUID numbers are used by online aggregators and are important for getting back to our source record, so think about this before creating and modifying specimen records.