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…
Contents 1 Contributors 2 Myanmar Amber Contributors Christina Byrd Myanmar Amber The following guidelines and resources were developed by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) Myanmar Advisory Working Group. These guidelines were developed with input from relevant experts and stakeholders. It is the hope of SVP that these resources and guidelines will help any members…
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,…
Published: March 24, 2025 News
About The Archives Committee preserves the institutional history of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) by accepting, storing, and providing access to the documentary records of the Society. Space is generously provided for this by the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA). The SPNHC archives document the founding, history, and activities of the…
Links http://www.spnhc.org/media/assets/cofo_1995_V11N1.pdf
Published: March 24, 2025 Best Practices
Contents 1 About 2 Committee Members 3 Links 4 Committee 4.1 Committee Documents About The purpose of the Best Practices Committee is to assemble and disseminate best practices associated with natural history collection care and to provide infrastructure that allows the development and evolution of best practices in response to innovations within the field. By initiating and hosting web-based discussion…
Published: March 24, 2025 Best Practices
Contents 1 Contributors 2 Introduction 3 The use of biocides in herbarium collections 4 Natural biocidal products 5 Miraculous chemicals and health risks 6 Classification of biocides 7 Characteristics of selected biocides used in herbaria 8 Inorganic compounds 8.1 Mercury chloride, (I) Hg2Cl2 and (II) HgCl2 (sublimate) 8.2 Arsenic (diarsenic trioxide), As2O3, As4O6; lead arsenate, PbHAsO4; other arsenic compounds 8.3 Hydrogen cyanide, HCN 8.4 Phosphine, PH3 8.5 Barium fluorosilicate BaSiF6,…
Published: March 24, 2025 Best Practices
Contents 1 Introduction to SPNHC & Best Practices 2 Defining Best Practices 2.1 Definitions 2.2 Selected Bibliography 3 Contributors Introduction to SPNHC & Best Practices The development of best practices in collections care is a key function of SPNHC. The SPNHC wiki Best Practices pages are a product of the Society’s Best Practices Committee with contributions from the broader SPNHC membership. One…
Published: March 21, 2025 Jobs, Teaching
Closing: April 19, 2025
The Arkansas Center for Biodiversity Collections (ACBC) https://www.astate.edu/college/sciences-and-mathematics/departments/biology/Arkansas-Center-for-Biodiversity-Collections/ Position Summary: The Arkansas Center for Biodiversity Collections (ACBC), housed in the Department of Biological Sciences at Arkansas State University, invites applications for a multi-year, non-tenure track, 9-month, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biological Collections position to begin in August 2025. Up to 2.5 months of summer funding…
Published: March 19, 2025 Collections Manager, Jobs
Closing: April 3, 2025
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/specimen-collections/ Requisition No: 847300 Agency: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Working Title: OPS F&W BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST II – 77901628 Pay Plan: Temp Position Number: 77901628 Salary: $20/hr, depending on experience Posting Closing Date: 04/01/2025 Total Compensation Estimator Tool The posting is available here: https://jobs.myflorida.com/job/ST-PETERSBURG-OPS-F&W-BIOLOGICAL-SCIENTIST-II-77901628-1-1-FL-33701/1277503200/ Duties & Responsibilities Managing biological specimen collections. …
Published: March 14, 2025 Collections Assistant, Jobs, Research Position
Closing: April 4, 2025
Bat Conservation International https://www.batcon.org/ Bat Conservation International Southwest USA Status: Full-time, exempt Reports to: Cultural Resource Coordinator (Autumn Cool) Key Relationships: Restoration Team, Habitat Protection & Restoration Program, Conservation Department Salary: $60,000–$64,000 per year BCI and our Mission Bat Conservation International (BCI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to ending bat extinctions worldwide, seeks a full-time…
Swedish Museum of Natural History https://www.nrm.se/ The Swedish Museum of Natural History is pleased to announce an open, permanent position for the Assistant Head of the Department of Zoology. Apply at https://recruit.visma.com/spa/sv/public/apply?guidAssignment=ffcb51cd-a057-4f97-b6ea-96967fcccd82&description=True (in Swedish) by 31 March 2025. About the museum The Swedish Museum of Natural History is the largest museum in Sweden and a…
Published: March 6, 2025 Collections Manager, Jobs
Closing: April 8, 2025
Natural History Museum of Denmark https://snm.dk/en The Natural History Museum of Denmark (NHMD), Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, is seeking a permanent full-time position for a Collection Manager, starting August 01, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. The candidate will be part of a diverse Collection Management Team across the museum and will…
Published: March 1, 2025 Announcements, News
Summer 2025 What: The staff of the New York Botanical Garden’s William & Lynda Steere Herbarium will host two training workshops on herbarium management this summer. The workshops will provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to herbarium management and collections care. Topics covered will include curation, imaging and digitization, integrated pest management, record keeping, georeferencing,…
Published: February 28, 2025 Jobs, Research Position
Closing: March 14, 2025
Canvas Art Law www.canvasartlaw.co.uk Vacancy: Provenance Researcher – Geology, Natural History and AntiquitiesCanvas Art Law is a team of like-minded lawyers, provenance researchers and advisors working in the international arts, culture and heritage sector. Founded in London in 2017, we have grown our team and our client base steadily over the last few years, taking…
Published: February 28, 2025 Curator, Jobs
New York Botanical Garden https://www.nybg.org/ Position Summary:The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is seeking an outstanding Mycologist or Cryptogamic Botanist for a career-track appointment in the Center for Biodiversity and Evolution. We seek candidates who are innovative and collaborative, eager to advance nature-based solutions to contemporary challenges. The successful candidate will develop an innovative collections-based…
Published: February 27, 2025 Announcements, News
Through the kind generosity of the California Institute for Biodiversity and the State of California, the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) has approximately US$300K to award in support of saving at-risk collections relating to the geographical area of California. In this time of rapid environmental change and declining wild biodiversity, it…
Paleontological Research Institution https://www.priweb.org/ The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) is searching for a new Assistant to the Director, with a start date of June 1, 2025. Duties include assisting the Director of the Institution with all areas of administration and operations, including but not limited to: scheduling, office management, Board of Trustees relations, correspondence, and…
Published: February 12, 2025 Jobs, Teaching
University of Iowa https://uiowa.edu/ The University of Iowa’s Division of Interdisciplinary Programs invites applications for a 100% Visiting Assistant Professor in Museum Studies for the 2025-2026 academic year. Duties of this position include teaching 4 classes per semester and include one in-person section and one online section of MUSM:3001 (Introduction to Museum Studies) each semester,…
Published: February 10, 2025 Jobs, Registrar
Dayton Society of Natural History and Boonshoft Museum of Discovery https://boonshoft.org/ Job Title: RegistrarDepartment: CollectionsReports To: Curator of Anthropology & ExhibitionsFLSA Status: Exempt | $33,000-$35,000/yr Summary The DSNH Registrar maintains museum databases utilizing PastPerfect Museum Software and monitors objects from the DSNH collections in storage and on display. The Registrar is part of a Collections team that oversees and…
Virginia Museum of History & Culture https://virginiahistory.org/ Position summary:The Manager of Exhibition Production serves as project manager for, and actively participates in, all aspects of the preparation and installation of the VMHC’s in-house exhibitions, long-term gallery rotations, traveling exhibitions, and other related projects. This position directly supervises the exhibition designer and exhibition coordinator and works…
Published: February 4, 2025 Collections Manager, Jobs
Arizona State University https://www.asu.edu/ Job Profile: Lab and Research Specialist 2 Job Family: Lab and Research Support Time Type: Full time Max Pay – Depends on experience: $64,700.00 USD Annual Job Description: The School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University (https://sols.asu.edu/) is seeking a full-time Research Specialist who will serve as the Vertebrate Collections…
Published: January 31, 2025 Announcements, News
Greetings colleagues,If you’ve created innovative software, tools, services, or workflows supporting the management and use of natural history collections, DemoCamp is an ideal venue for you to share your work at SPNHC 2025. DemoCamp is based on a presentation format without any slideshow – you show off your technology only using a live demonstration. We…
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History https://naturalhistory.si.edu/ The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History is seeking to contract a project leader to coordinate with United States Fish and Wildlife Service to grow a centralized collection of freshwater mussel genetic resources. The contract award shall be for one basic year and one option year. The period…
Published: January 23, 2025 News
The abstract submission process is now open for SPNHC 2025, to be held May 27-31 in Lawrence, KS, and hosted by the Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas. More details about the meeting can be found here: https://spnhc2025.ku.edu/. We have had an overwhelming response to our call for symposia/sessions with a diverse array of subjects pertaining to…
Published: January 8, 2025 Collections Manager, Jobs
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew https://www.kew.org/ Apply: Preserved Collections Manager – Careers | Kew Gardens This position offers an opportunity to play a key role in Kew’s large and globally important science collections. Reporting to the Head of Collections, the post holder provides leadership and oversight to the Preserved Collections (Herbarium Collections Management Unit, Spirit, Fungarium…
Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake https://www.theadkx.org/ Organization Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake (ADKX) dedicates itself to preserving and interpreting the diverse stories of Adirondack history, culture, and people. ADKX’s goal is to initiate thoughtful dialogue that will help shape the Adirondacks of the future. As the trusted repository for the…
Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens https://www.utep.edu/centennial-museum/ Hiring Department: The Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert GardensPosting End Date: Open until filled.Hours: 40 hours per week, standard Monday- Friday 8:00am- 5:00pm, flexibility is required on evenings and weekendsFLSA status: ExemptEarliest Start Date: 01/02/2025Salary: $43,234 annually.Required Application Materials• Resume• Cover Letter• List of three references The primary…
Published: January 7, 2025 Collections Assistant, Jobs
Closing: January 13, 2025
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History https://naturalhistory.si.edu/ NMNH Paleobiology Collections Management Positions The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is pleased to announce that we are accepting applications for multiple Museum Specialist (Geology) positions in the Department of Paleobiology working with invertebrate, plant, and vertebrate fossil collections. These are permanent, full-time, Federal…
Published: December 10, 2024 Deadlines, News
We invite you to submit a proposal for an organized session or workshop (Google form) at SPNHC 2025 that reflects the work of SPNHC, and collections standards and best practices that contribute to our understanding and documentation of biodiversity. Organized sessions can be symposia, panel discussions, lightning sessions, and other formats whose primary purpose is to convey…
