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Using the Registry

The Heritage Samples Registry is currently in active development and pilot testing. This page describes how the service is designed to work, so that interested institutions can understand what participation will involve and begin preparing for it.

Registering a sample

Registration is the process by which a physical sample is assigned an IGSN through the Registry. The aim is to keep this as straightforward as possible: the Registry is designed to work alongside existing institutional systems, not to add significant administrative overhead.

A sample can be registered at any of the following points:

  • At the time of sampling, once the sample has been labelled and basic context recorded
  • At the time of creation, if a sample is split or prepared from another sample
  • Retrospectively, for legacy samples where the minimum information can be reconstructed
  • Before publication, so the IGSN can be cited in reports, articles, and datasets

Registering early is encouraged. The metadata record can be updated and extended later as more information becomes available.

What information is needed

The Registry is designed to keep the minimum requirements lightweight. An IGSN can be assigned once a small set of core descriptive metadata is available. Detailed analytical results, conservation documentation, and related research outputs are outside the scope of what the Registry holds; these remain in existing institutional systems, repositories, and publications, with the Registry able to carry links and references to them where appropriate.

Minimum information required:

  • A local sample label or code used by the custodian institution
  • The custodian institution responsible for holding the sample
  • A source context describing what the sample was taken from, including an object identifier where available
  • The person or organisation responsible for creating or collecting the sample
  • A publication date for the Registry record

Optional information (recommended where available):

  • A short description of the sampling location on the source object
  • A URL linking to a public-facing page where sample information is presented
  • A small representative thumbnail image to support recognition and browsing
  • Alternative or legacy identifiers already in use locally
  • Basic sample type and relevant keywords
  • Links to related outputs such as datasets, publications, or project pages

How the IGSN integrates with existing systems

Once assigned, the IGSN can be added to any system that already holds information about the sample, such as a collection management system, laboratory database, or research platform, as a persistent alternative identifier. No migration of existing records is required. Local identifiers and documentation remain exactly where they are.

Institutions that maintain public-facing pages for their samples, or that make sample information available through an external platform or repository, can provide a direct link within the Registry record. Anyone resolving the IGSN can then be directed to that fuller presentation of the sample and its associated information.

Submitting and managing metadata records

The Registry will support metadata record submission through a combination of a web-based interface for individual registrations and batch submission routes for institutions registering larger numbers of samples. It is also designed to connect with the DataCite infrastructure, so that each IGSN is registered as a DOI within the wider persistent identifier ecosystem.

Full technical documentation, including the metadata schema and submission workflows, will be published as the pilot service matures. Institutions participating in the pilot phase will be supported directly through that process.

Once a metadata record is published and the IGSN is active, the identifier becomes a live, resolvable URL. Anyone following that link will be taken directly to the Registry landing record for the sample, making the IGSN immediately usable as a citation reference in publications, datasets, and reports.

Getting involved now

The Registry is not yet open for general registration, but expressions of interest from institutions are welcome at any stage. Engaging early helps to shape the service and ensures that your institution's workflows and requirements are taken into account as the metadata model and submission processes are finalised.

See also: