Category: Curation Practices

Taxonomic Resources

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Botanical Collections, Collection Management, Curation Practices, Geology and Paleontology Collections, Zoology Collections

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Introduction 3 Contributors 4 General Taxonomic Resources 5 Botanical Resources 5.1 Online Nomenclature Resources 5.1.1 General Botany Resources 5.1.2 Vascular Plant Resources 5.1.3 Non-Vascular Cryptogam Resources 5.1.3.1 Bryophytes 5.1.3.2 Fungi and Lichens 5.1.3.3 Algae 5.2 Print Nomenclature Resources 5.3 Rules of Botanical Nomenclature 5.4 Botanical Latin 5.5 Assessing Specimen Names 6 Zoological Resources 6.1 Online Nomenclature Resources 6.1.1 Amphibians 6.1.2 Birds 6.1.3 Fishes 6.1.4 Invertebrates 6.1.5 Mammals 6.1.6 Reptiles 7 Geology and Paleontology 7.1 Online…

Taxidermy and Skins

Published: March 26, 2025    Archaeology and Ethnographic Collections, Best Practices, Curation Practices, Health and Safety, Specimen and Material Type, Zoology Collections

Contents Statement of Purpose Contributors Links Highlighted Resources History of Taxidermy Taxidermy Storage Stabilization & Restoration of Taxidermy Taxidermy & Pest Control Taxidermy & Disaster Recovery Health & Safety Statement of Purpose These links and documents contain information about the care and preservation of skin and taxidermy collections. There is a wealth of information on…

Supplies and Vendors

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Collection Storage, Curation Practices, Preventative Conservation Book, Specimen and Material Type

This page is an initial listing of useful supplies and vendors for curation activities Curation Supplies & Vendors Category 1 Category 2 Item Description Mfg Supplier Pricing Unit size Cmt Image Curation Storage Jars (flint & paragon) withpoly-propylene lids with F217 poly-ethylene, alcohol resistant liners N/A O’Berk/Kols containers $xx.xx/jar 8 oz – 1 gallon Also…

Storage Materials: Plastics

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Collection Storage, Curation Practices, Preventative Conservation Book, Specimen and Material Type

Chapter 33: Plastic Storage Products Scott Williams, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Contents 1 Chapter 33: Plastic Storage Products 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Basic Terminology 1.3 Suitability Criteria for Plastic Storage Products 1.4 Hazards Associated with Plastic Storage Products 1.5 The Nature of Plastics 1.5.1 Polymerization 1.5.2 Thermoplastics and Thermosets 1.6 Degradation of Plastics 1.6.1 Chemical Degradation 1.6.2 Oxidation 1.6.3 Moisture and hydrolysis 1.6.4 SIDEBAR 1 – How to Interpret the…

Shipping Small Fossils

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Collection Management, Collection Transactions, Curation Practices, Geology and Paleontology Collections, Specimen and Material Type

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Contributors 3 Introduction 4 Shipping Small and Fragile Fossils 5 Packing Micro-Fossil Mounts for Shipping 6 Links 7 References Statement of Purpose This page presents recommendations on how to pack and ship small fossils to prevent damage in transit. Contributors Carrie Eaton Introduction These glass vials are packed with batting then nested into a box for…

Shipping Collections

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Botanical Collections, Collection Management, Collection Transactions, Curation Practices, Geology and Paleontology Collections, Zoology Collections

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Contributors 3 Introduction 4 Shipment Types 4.1 Dangerous Goods 4.2 Genetic Resources 4.3 Geology and Paleontology 4.4 Pinned, Dry Insects 5 Shipping Regulations 5.1 List of Regulations 5.2 Links to SPNHC Wiki Pages 6 Links 7 References Statement of Purpose This page contains an overview on shipping collections and links out to specific shipping resources an information Contributors Genevieve Tocci; Shelley A. James;…

Rehousing Materials

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Collection Storage, Curation Practices, Preventative Conservation Book, Specimen and Material Type

This content is excerpted from Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage (2019), Elkin and Norris, eds. Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Contributors 3 Boards and Papers 4 Foams, Padding and Support Materials 5 Film and Sheet Products 6 Fabrics and Soft Products 7 Adhesives 8 Tapes 9 Mechanical Fasteners 10 Sewing 11 Products for Metals Storage 12 Inappropriate Materials Statement of Purpose This list of materials is primarily drawn from Chapter…

Paper Conservation

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Curation Practices, Specimen and Material Type

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Contributors 3 Introduction: Paper as an element of natural history collections 4 Definition of Paper 4.1 Permanent and Archival Papers 4.2 Highlights in the history of papermaking 4.3 Fibers Used in Papermaking 4.4 Considerations Regarding Removal/Replacement of Historical Papers 4.5 References Statement of Purpose Paper is frequently associated with natural history collection and herbaria specimens. It can be…

Numbering Natural History Collections

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Collection Management Policies, Curation Practices

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Introduction 3 Catalog Numbers 3.1 Best Practices 3.2 Legacy Numbering Systems 3.3 Lot-based Systems 3.4 Numbers for Specimens Prior to Accession 4 Accession Numbers 5 Persistent Identifiers 6 Barcodes 7 Contributors 8 References Statement of Purpose These links and documents contain information about numbering systems for natural history collections. This content was generated after several email threads on Nhcoll-l indicating…

Museum Techniques Skillshare

Published: March 26, 2025    Collection Management, Curation Practices, Desired BP Content

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Back to Basics Skillshare Symposium, Edinburgh June 2022 3 Contributors Statement of Purpose This page offers SPNHC members a place to share techniques, protocols, and workflows. Content formally presented at the SPNHC 2022 meeting in Edinburgh during the Back to Basics: Museum Techniques Skillshare Symposium is indicated when applicable. Back to Basics…

Microscope Slide Curation

Published: March 26, 2025    Botanical Collections, Curation Practices, Desired BP Content, Geology and Paleontology Collections, Zoology Collections

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Notes on Application 3 Mounting Media Considerations 4 Conservation Problems to Address 5 References Statement of Purpose These links and documents contain information about best practices for microscope slide curation. Notes on Application Especially small invertebrate specimens like worms, insects, crustaceans, and mites are mounted as whole mounts on microscope…

Invertebrate Zoology Collection Curation

Published: March 26, 2025    Curation Practices, Specimen and Material Type, Zoology Collections

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Contributors 3 Restoration/renovation 3.1 Rehydration 3.2 Deaccessioning 4 Labels and systems for printing 5 Identification and sorting of collected material 5.1 Accessioning 5.2 Georeferencing 5.3 Cataloging 5.4 Collection organization 6 Storage in collection 6.1 Preservation types 6.2 Sensitive and rare specimen handling/preserving 6.3 Fluid preserved invertebrate handling and storage 6.3.1 Clear glass, screw-top jars 6.3.1.1 Types of glass 6.4 Plastic Containers 6.5 Vials Containing Whole Specimens 6.6 Stainless…

Ichthyology Collection Curation

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Curation Practices, Geology and Paleontology Collections, Specimen and Material Type

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Contributors 3 Restoration/renovation 3.1 Rehydration 3.2 Deaccessioning 4 Labels and systems for printing 5 Identification and sorting of collected material 5.1 Accessioning 5.2 Georeferencing 5.3 Cataloging 5.4 Collection organization 6 Storage in collection (containers) 6.1 Sensitive and rare specimen handling/preserving 6.2 Clear glass, screw-top jars 6.3 Glass Gasket jars 6.4 Plastic Containers 6.5 Vials Containing Whole Specimens 6.6 Stainless steel tanks Statement of Purpose These…

Geological Collection Curation

Published: March 26, 2025    Curation Practices, Desired BP Content, Geology and Paleontology Collections, Specimen and Material Type

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Contributors 3 Types of Geological Collections 4 Acquisition 5 Curation 5.1 Identification 5.2 Cataloging 5.3 Georeferencing 5.4 Labeling 5.5 Storage and Organization 6 Policies 6.1 Access 6.2 Health and Safety 7 Links 8 References Statement of Purpose Geological collections are extremely broad in scope and inlcude paleontological, petrological, mineralogical and many other types of materials. These collections are the foundation of our understanding of…

Fluid Collections

Published: March 26, 2025    Botanical Collections, Curation Practices, Desired BP Content, Specimen and Material Type, Zoology Collections

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Introduction 3 Importance of stable environment for long-term preservation 3.1 Unstable storage environment accelerates deterioration 4 Temperature based expansion of ethanol 5 Contributors 6 Source Material 7 References Statement of Purpose These links and documents contain information about best practices for fluid collections relevant to natural history collections. Introduction Fluid-preserved specimens may be plants,…

Fluid Collection Monitoring

Published: March 26, 2025    Best Practices, Botanical Collections, Curation Practices, Specimen and Material Type, Zoology Collections

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Introduction 3 Preventing Evaporation 3.1 Risks of Evaporation 4 Topping Up 4.1 Quantitative Topping up Tools 5 Future Monitoring 6 Contributors 7 Additional Resources 8 References Statement of Purpose These links and documents contain information about best practices for monitoring fluid collections in natural history collections preserved in ethanol (EtOH). For additional information on fluid collection curation and management,…

Fluid Collection Imaging

Published: March 26, 2025    Curation Practices, Digitization and Imaging, Specimen and Material Type, Zoology Collections

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Contributors 3 Fluid Collections 2D Imaging 31 Workflows and Guides 3.2 Immersion tanks 4 Links Statement of Purpose This page is for information and workflows about imaging fluid collections Introduction Contributors Andrew D. Williston; Emily Braker Fluid Collections 2D Imaging Fluid-preserved specimens face some unique imaging challenges due to the risk of desiccation…

Adhesives

Published: March 24, 2025    Curation Practices, Specimen and Material Type, Specimen and Object Preparation

Contents 1 Contributors 2 Introduction 3 The use of adhesives in botanical collections 4 Adhesives used for mounting, repairs and conservation treatment 5 Methylcellulose (MC) 6 Hydroxylpropylcellulose (HPC) 7 Wheat starch paste (WSP) 8 Animal glues: Gelatins, Isinglass 9 Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVA) 10 Acrylics 11 A note on the Archer’s plastic adhesive 12 Conclusions on the use of adhesives in botanical collections 13 Bibliography Contributors Magdalena Grenda-Kurmanow Introduction…

Archives and Special Collections

Published: March 24, 2025    Curation Practices, Desired BP Content, News, Specimen and Material Type

Contents 1 Statement of Purpose 2 Introduction 3 Uses 4 Common Collection Types 5 Contributors 6 Source Material 7 Links 8 References Statement of Purpose These links and documents contain information about best practices for archives and special collections relevant to natural history collections. Introduction Special Collections are collections that are separated from an institution’s main collection according to; collector, rarity, specimen type,…