Desarrollo e implementación de un banco de imágenes para el Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas

Abstract

Biological collections are fundamental pillars for research, education, and biodiversity conservation. In this context, the Museo de Historia Natural of the Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas (MHNUD) has established itself as an academic and scientific reference, where most of the stored material is the result of numerous expeditions that have generated an extensive photographic archive. However, this visual material was scattered, which highlighted the need to create an organizational system to ensure its preservation and controlled access. In response, an internship was carried out at the museum, during which an image bank was designed and implemented. This bank brings together photographs of fauna, flora, landscapes, people, and field methods, and is accompanied by a detailed protocol that establishes guidelines for its use and management. The image bank is divided into two main components: a metadata matrix in Excel that records the essential information of each image, and the university's institutional repository, which allows for its visualization. To test its functionality, the Miraflores 2017 Expedition was used as a reference. The upload of the initial files demonstrated the system's viability and allowed for adjustments to be made to the protocol, which is replicable, practical, and adaptable to future projects. This work sets a precedent for digitization processes at the MHNUD.