Decipher our collections,
discover hidden archives
and contribute to knowledge

The Microfossil Registration Ledgers are historical collection records that document registered microfossil specimens held by the Geological Survey of New South Wales. Each handwritten ledger entry captures key collection and scientific data (such as registration number, date, number of specimens, taxonomic name or description, formation, geological time period, locality, state and country) along with acquisition details, remarks and references to related papers or figures.

These ledgers commonly include handwritten scientific names, old locality descriptions, geological unit names, bibliographic notes and repeated entries carried down from previous rows. As primary registration records created during earlier collection and curation work, they are an important source of contextual information that underpins the scientific, historical and collection-management value of the microfossil collection.

This project focuses on transcribing these historical ledger pages, which are currently not fully available in a searchable digital format. Once transcribed, the records will be checked and added to the Geological Survey’s collection database, helping improve access to information about the specimens and supporting future updates to the Survey’s MinView webpage, where collection and geological data can be made publicly available for viewing and download.