SPNHC Connection – March 2026

The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is a multidisciplinary organization composed of individuals who are interested in the development and preservation of natural history collections.

Table of Contents

President’s Report

My letter this time around will be short and sweet. It has been an interesting 2026 thus far, to put things mildly. Since my last letter, SPNHC has, among other things, improved how finances are handled, upgraded (and added) insurance policies, held an election, and continued to work tirelessly on upcoming in-person conferences. Thank you to all those who have helped with everything we’ve done so far! Please refer to “the written reports” in this newsletter for more information on some of these accomplishments.

The Finance Committee is doing some very great things and a lot of the movement on insurance policies, conflict of interest policies, banking updates and many other such things are all directly as a result of the activities of this committee lead fearlessly by Barbara Thiers. The Finance Committee works closely with the Treasurer’s Office and with Christy Classi Management Services (our contracted office manager). We are now better able to respond to budgetary issues and are better protected from potential problems. A huge “thank you” to the team!

We have contracted Ruth Seyler as our part-time conference organizer and sponsorship liaison. Ruth comes to us with many years of experience planning conferences for the American Institute for Conservation. In fact, the 2021 joint meeting of SPNHC and AIC was organized by Ruth. We are in good hands!

Speaking of meetings, Sue Ryder is the current co-chair of the Conference Committee. Cindy Opitz stepped down from the other co-chair spot but will remain on the committee. Andy Bentley, has agreed to step into the vacant co-chair spot. This brings the current composition of the committee to: Sue Ryder (co-chair), Andy Bentley (co-chair), Cindy Opitz, Tiffany Adrain, Irene Finkelde, Elise LeCompte, Paul Mayer, Wayne Florence (LOC 2026 chair), myself and Ruth Seyler. The committee is working regularly with the Cape Town Local Organizing Committee. As I type this, we are reviewing an MOU with Iziko, looking for a local conference coordinator that can work with Ruth, nailing down lodging options, field trips, and other venue-related logistics. Oxford Abstracts will be used again for the annual conference. The session proposals are being reviewed, and we hope that we will soon have registration open. Registration fees are not yet set (but are likely to be any day now, pending some of that venue-related logistical stuff).

Greg Watkins-Colwell, SPNHC President

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SPNHC 2026
Bridging Hemispheres: Collaborating for a Unified Natural Heritage
Link: https://spnhc.org/spnhc-2026-south-africa/
Date: September 7-11, 2026
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Host: Iziko South African Museum
Contact: spnhc2026@iziko.org.za

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Archives

Nothing to report

Best Practices

Since the Annual Meeting in May, the Best Practices Committee worked to improve wiki organization and bolster site content. Collections topics have been organized by theme on the main landing page (https://spnhc.org/wiki-home-page/) to help users more easily navigate the wiki. Recently, page content and 16 articles and institutional guides/SOPs related to preparing specimens have been added – from mounting plants to fluid preservation to creating study skins for birds and mammals. Special thanks to Andrea Carrillo and Erica Gardner for these valuable contributions. Please consider submitting full articles, content, or other resources (links, media, citations) using the following form: https://spnhc.org/wiki-submission-page/ or email us with feedback and suggestions: bpchairs@spnhc.org.

We also hosted a virtual coffee hour for committee members focused on international shipping regulations that covered a range of topics relating to the changing transport landscape, including forms, customs procedures, tariffs, and general challenges. Many thanks to Anja Frederichs for leading this session, as well as to Dirk Neumann for contributing his expertise. We hope to coordinate with colleagues to prepare an in-depth virtual training on these topics that will be open to the entire SPNHC community.

Respectfully submitted,
Emily Braker and Genevieve Tocci

Biodiversity Crisis Response

Four meetings were held online between the May 2025 report and the submission of this report in June, August, October and December. For more details see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URtds97edUvtu7XYqvLrG45zBa-pYbIqFJaUPJPtu80/edit?usp=sharing

The following topics were discussed:

1. SPNHC Wiki updates – members of the BCRC were asked for suggestions and those made were implemented. Several members were given editorial access to the wiki. https://spnhc.org/biodiversity-crisis-response-and-conservation-resources/
2. BCRC members participated in three events:

a) SPNHC AGM in Kansas. Libby Ellwood represented the group at the committee lunch outreach event. Members also contributed to the iNaturalist-based conference bioblitz.

b) Living Data meeting in Colombia. Several members attended in person.

c)  ICCROM 2023 Virtual Meeting, Alina attended. For details see https://www.iccrom.org/events/collections-2030-and-beyond

3. Organization of two 90 minute webinars for spring 2026, with potential topics to be discussed and approved by the community. The aim is to make it available in multiple languages using the Zoom translating services from SPNHC.
4. How the BCRC can align more with the SPNHC Strategic Plan – Goal 2, Objective V was the most relevant.
5. The role of biotechnology in conservation by various members.

Going forward members of the BCRC are likely to attend the next AGM in Cape Town in September if individual funding is secured. Suggestions for a symposium will be submitted, working title is “Contributions of natural history collections to conservation”.

The main focus for the next few months is to develop and promote the webinar.

With thanks to Libby Ellwood and Jutta Buschbom for their continued support of the BCRC.

Respectfully submitted,
Alina Freire-Fierro and Mike G. Rutherford, co-chairs
Jutta Buschbom and Libby Ellwood

Bylaws

Nothing to report.

Conference

The Conference Committee is always a very active committee to ensure the annual meetings are in place and run smoothly, but this year has been particularly busy after implementing the updated meeting guidelines and working with the Finance Committee, treasurer and executive council to update the finance model to accommodate the ambitions of the Conference Committee which resulted in the appointment of a conference and sponsorship coordinator for SPNHC.  

The highlight of the SPNHC calendar is the annual conference and the 2025 meeting hosted by the University of Kansas was a great success, with flawless organization and an interesting and engaging programme of presentations, workshops and tours. Huge thanks to Andy Bentley and his team, they did an amazing job pulling the conference together.

In recognition of the enormous administrative and financial burden the conference organisation puts on any local organising committee (LOC) that agrees to host the SPNHC annual conference, as well as the dwindling number of organisations in a position to host our meetings as the society grows, in conjunction with our wish to provide increased accessibility to our growing global membership the strategic plan states:

Goal 4: Ensure the sustainability of the Society 

• Explore engagement of a dedicated conference organiser 

• Create a Marketing and Sponsorship Committee 

The Conference Committee reviewed proposals from external candidates for the part-time paid role of Conference Coordinator and Sponsorship Liaison and met with the candidates before making recommendations to the executive council. We are delighted to have employed Ruth Seyler for a 2-year part-time position to provide some assistance and continuity in organising future SPNHC conferences.

Ruth and the Conference Committee have been working with the LOC in South Africa to arrange a wonderful programme of events in Cape Town for September this year. This will be the first SPNHC conference in Africa, and the theme of the conference is appropriately Bridging Hemispheres: Collaborating for a Unified Natural Heritage. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ruth has also been looking at the conference calendar for SPNHC going forward and will send out more information when we have confirmed details for the conference venues for 2027 and 2028. If you and your institute are interested in hosting a SPNHC conference, please contact anyone on the conference committee, we would be delighted to discuss any opportunities and possibilities.

The objectives for the coming year are to:

• Provide support and advice to the South African LOC to ensure the first SPNHC conference to be hosted in Africa is a wonderful experience for all and a great opportunity for natural history collections networking.
• Secure a suitable host for the 2027 SPNHC conference and subsequent conferences.
• Work to implement the goals and objectives of the new strategy.

Over the past few years Cindy Opitz has assumed a major role in the Conference Committee liaising, advising, coordinating and organizing conferences for SPNHC, and for that we would like to extend a big thank you to her. Due to other commitments Cindy has decided to step down from her role as co-chair but thankfully has agreed to remain on the committee as a member. Cindy was particularly instrumental in reviewing and updating the conference guidelines and securing the conference coordinator and sponsorship liaison position which will be an enormous help to the Conference Committee and the society going forward.

Current Conference Committee members

Co-chair & President-elect – Suzanne Ryder
Co-chair – position open
LOC 2025 chair – Andy Bentley
LOC 2026 chair – Wayne Florence
Greg Watkins-Colwell
Cindy Opitz
Tiffany Adrain
Irene Finkelde
Elise Le Compte
Paul Mayer

Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne Ryder and Cindy Opitz, co-chairs

Conservation

The Conservation Committee invites conservators, collections managers, and any others concerned with the physical preservation of specimens and holistic preventive care of collections. We work on projects on an as-needed basis, such as the survey and subsequent writing of a best practice for managing food in collection-holding institutions. Several of our members are involved in the Materials Working Group, a community of collection care, conservation, natural and applied scientists, as well as allied professionals united in developing guidelines and best practices for selecting, evaluating, and disseminating materials used in collection care. In recent years we have focused on providing conservation workshops at annual meetings to help train the larger SPNHC community. If you would like to join the committee and find your conservation community, email Fran Ritchie at franritchie@gmail.com

The committee began meeting on a monthly-ish basis during 2023 to create a more cohesive group, share tips and advice, and see projects. During the hour-long casual zoom calls, there have been lab tours, brainstorming sessions, and treatment progress reports. We hope to continue these sessions throughout the year.

Respectfully submitted,
Fran Ritchie, chair

Education

Nothing to report.

Elections

2026 election results:

President-Elect:
Libby Ellwood

Secretary:
Megan King

Member-At-Large (2):
Shannen Robson
Enrique Santoyo Brito

Finance

During the reporting period, the SPNHC Finance Committee oversaw the development of SPNHC policies regarding conflict of interest, discrimination, gift acceptance, and reimbursement. These policies have been approved by council and can be found on the SPNHC website. The Finance Committee also oversaw the application for a policy for Directors and Officers insurance that will protect society leaders in case they are sued for actions taken in conjunction with their role in SPNHC. Both the new policy implementation and the increased insurance coverage are actions taken to protect the integrity of SPNHC’s reputation and to adhere to best practices for professional society management. The Finance Committee also provided an analysis of SPNHC assets and liabilities to inform the decision to expand the contract with financial manager Christy Classi. Based on this analysis, the Finance Committee recommended the expenditure of additional funds for this purpose, and the expanded contract went into effect in January 2026. Compliance with the newly adopted Conflict of Interest Policy requires an annual sign-off form from all SPNHC officers and committee chairs that identifies any potential conflicts they have that might interfere with the mission or financial health of SPNHC. The sign-off form was sent to twenty-three individuals on 6 January; to date, signed forms have been received from 20. The council will need to decide what action to take with regard to officers or committee chairs who do not comply with the sign off request.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Thiers, chair

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access

Nothing to report.

Legislation and Regulations

On August 29th, an Executive Order suspended De Minimis Treatment of imports into the United States, removing the low-value exemption for all shipments into the US and requiring that duties be assessed on the value of the package (See the Presidential Action suspending duty free de minimis treatment for all countries). The Legs and Regs Committee released an alert seven days before the suspension and disseminated advice via NHCOLL-L to inform our members and community. After short-term suspensions by several national postal systems and international carriers to adjust their systems, issues related to shipping and import of packages into the US appear to be resolved. Committee members have reported that if the appropriate harmonized code is used for shipping, no duties should be assessed (See the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Revision 1 (2026)).

On December 12th, the committee informed SPNHC members about the open call of the CBD Secretariat to participate in a survey on decision NP-3/1, paragraph 18 (a), intending to improve some of the dysfunctionalities of the Nagoya Protocol. Our committee prepared a PDF template of the survey and invited active participation of individual SPNHC members via NHCOLL-L. We also participated separately in the survey since SPNHC has been identified as a CBD stakeholder.

The Legs & Regs Committee successfully organized a meeting with the FedEx International Headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, on September 30, 2025, to assist with issues associated with shipping alcohol preserved natural history specimens from Australia and New Zealand. Although IATA Special Provision A180 exempts alcohol preserved specimens from dangerous goods regulations if they are packed according to the IATA requirements, FedEx operations in Australia and New Zealand began classifying preserved museum specimens as “animal carcasses,” resulting in a refusal to accept these shipments despite decades of routine transfers under IATA SP A180 protocols. The meeting resulted in a successful resolution of shipping issues associated with Australia and New Zealand, and the committee will be preparing a written document and sharing it with FedEx to help avoid similar issues in the future.

Respectfully submitted,
Breda M. Zimkus and Dirk Neumann, co-chairs

Long Range Planning

Much of the work of the LRP Committee this year has been to implement the new strategy and work with the relevant committees to ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to support the new goals and objectives in the strategic plan. The work of the Finance and Conference Committees has been especially significant in putting necessary documentation and people in position to move the society forward. We would very much like to thank them and the work of all the committees over the past year for their continued commitment and efforts.

The LRP Committee is currently doing a review of the strategy to record how and if we are achieving the goals set and moving forward in the direction intended. Once this review is completed it will be sent to council for evaluation.

The other significant piece of work that is currently in progress with the Membership Committee is a review of the partnerships formally in place. We are reviewing their mandate, role, and relationships to make sure they are up to date and continue to be beneficial to both parties. We have sent out letters to all our current collaborative partners and aim to collate the responses and report the results to council.

The objectives for the coming year are to:

• Produce a report for council after reviewing current partnerships SPNHC has in place to make sure they are up to date and continue to be beneficial to both parties.
• Complete and evaluate the strategic review and report to council.
• Work with the standing committees to implement the goals and objectives of the new strategy.

It is with great personal sadness that the LRP Co-chair, Cindy Optiz has decided to stand down from this position. Cindy has been a joy to work with, she is efficient, knowledgeable and has been an integral part of SPNHC for a number of years which made her contribution to the LRP so invaluable. I would like to thank Cindy for her dedication and commitment to the LRP Committee this year and am very grateful that she has agreed to remain on the committee.

Current LRP Committee members
Co-chair & President-elect – Suzanne Ryder
Co-chair – position open
Cindy Opitz
Laura Abraczinskas
Tiffany Adrain
Shelley James
Anna Monfils

Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne Ryder and Cindy Opitz, co-chairs

Membership

Membership contributions are essential to sustaining the society’s ongoing efforts to champion natural history collections and the professionals who steward them. Through member support and annual dues, the society is able to advance its mission and continue its impactful work.

Joining this global organization connects you with an engaged, interdisciplinary network of experts committed to the preservation and use of natural history collections. Members become part of an international professional community that includes curators, conservators, scientists, collection managers, educators, archivists, and many others working across the natural sciences.

Annual membership expired on December 31 so if you haven’t already, it’s time to renew for 2026!

Remember there is an “auto-renew” option available for the following types of membership:

• Collection Forum Print Only
• Regular Online Only Member
• Regular Print and Online Membership
• Student Online Only Member
• Student Print and Online Member

Opting for automatic renewal means your membership is renewed on January 1 each year, so you can enjoy uninterrupted membership with no need for manual renewal.

Membership Stats

Membership grew strongly in 2025, reaching a total of 941 members across 31 countries, an increase of 75 compared with the previous year’s high. While current membership stands at 553, this reflects the annual renewal period, and numbers are expected to increase again as renewals are completed over the coming months and we get closer to our annual meeting in Cape Town later this year. 

Membership demographics

The geographical range of our membership remains heavily skewed towards North America, which consistently accounts for ~75-80% of membership.

The society is committed to broadening its global reach and fostering a more geographically diverse membership. Members are actively collaborating with the international collections community to explore new ways of strengthening connections and ensuring our society represents colleagues from around the world. As part of this effort, Members-at-Large Mariana Di Giacomo and Laura Rincón are currently running a survey to learn more about our Latin American community and explore how we can better support the region. They’ve received 122 responses so far and are still welcoming additional input. You can share your feedback here.

This focus on expanding global engagement extends to other regions as well. With our meeting in Cape Town on the horizon, we are especially eager to welcome greater representation from professionals working in African institutions. Our first-ever meeting in Africa, hosted by Iziko South African Museum, is appropriately themed Bridging Hemispheres: Collaborating for a Unified Natural Heritage.

In addition to regional outreach, SPNHC continues to cultivate close relationships with international collaborative partners who share our values and commitment to advancing our common goals. The Membership Committee recently reached out to reaffirm these connections and ensure we are meeting their expectations, with the aim of further developing these collaborations for the benefit of all parties. As we strengthen these global networks, our membership data also highlight the depth of expertise within the society. Our members represent a diverse and highly skilled professional community, with experience spanning many aspects of collections care. Upon joining the society, members are invited to share the areas in which they have worked. These data reveal particularly strong expertise in collection care and preservation, specimen preparation, and database management, reflecting the knowledge base that supports and enriches our international community.

Note: as members could select multiple areas of expertise, this pie chart shows the distribution of reported experience selections, not exclusive membership shares.

Promoting SPNHC

We continue to raise SPNHC’s visibility at conferences through advertisements in conference materials and by exhibiting the Membership Booth. Last year, members exhibited at the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA) conference in Manchester, UK, and at the Geological Society of America’s (GSA) annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas. At both events attendees were very engaged and keen to hear more about SPNHC’s work. In particular, at the GSA, members Talia Karim and Lindsay Walker were able to help forge connections between institutions, researchers and students and encourage attendees to mobilize their collections data.

If you have a suggestion for exhibiting the in-person or virtual Membership Booth at upcoming conferences, please contact Robyn Crowther (r.crowther@nhm.ac.uk). You may be eligible for full complimentary conference registration. The committee is happy to hear from anyone with connections at future SPNHC annual meeting locations who can help us widen the membership reach of the society.

Respectfully submitted,
Robyn Crowther, chair

Networking and Career Development

The Networking and Career Development Committee (NCDC) will host a luncheon event at the SPNHC 41st Annual Meeting to be held September 7-11, 2026.

The NCDC oversees various aspects of promoting networking, mentoring, and career development through SPNHC programming and conferences. You can read more about NCDC on the SPNHC website. We invite you to become a member no matter your level of experience; help us shape the future of our committee!

We also encourage you to attend our bi-monthly meetings which include museum career presentations and demonstrations. They are held virtually over Zoom on Wednesday at 3 PM EST/ 12 PM PST. Our next meeting is April 8, 2026. For the meeting link or to join our committee, please reach out to us through our committee email address, spnhc.ncdc@gmail.com

Respectfully submitted,
Hannah Bendull, Megan King, Meg Phillips, co-chairs

Publications

COLLECTION FORUM

Volume 36 of Collection Forum (dated 2022) remains the latest issue available online at https://collection-forum.kglmeridian.com/. Production of Volume 37 (to be dated 2023−2025) is now underway and will be closed once at least four articles have been published in an effort to realign the publication year with the actual calendar year.

As a special project, production of Volume 38 has also already begun. This themed volume will present papers based on contributions to the Preservation of Fluid Collections 2024 Conference held in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Laura Brambilla (La Haute École Arc Conservation-restauration) is serving as the coordinating editor for this special project and is managing the review of manuscripts with the assistance of an editorial board (Julian Carter, Sophie Cersoy, Marion Dangeon, Marc Herb, Dirk Neumann, and John Simmons) under the direction of the journal’s managing editor.

Articles in the most recent issue of Collection Forum are generally available online only to current members, becoming openly available to all once superseded by a subsequent issue. In cases where not enough articles have been accepted for publication within a given year and a volume thus spans a period of multiple years before sufficient content has been accumulated, individual articles within the multi-year volume will convert to open access status after a period of one year has passed from the date of initial publication online.

Collection Forum accepts full-length manuscripts as well as short communications, technical notes, detailed book reviews, and submissions that traditionally would have gone to the Leaflets series. Peer evaluation and editorial review of most content is coordinated through the journal’s team of associate editors; decisions concerning the most appropriate format for publication for certain submissions will be handled in collaboration with the leaflet, book review, and newsletter managers.

Members who present at the SPNHC annual meeting are strongly encouraged to submit manuscripts for consideration, particularly those who receive travel awards and support from the society. For inquiries about new submissions, please email the editors at editor@spnhc.org.

Scott Rufolo serves as managing editor of Collection Forum. Mariel Campbell, Mariana Di Giacomo, Shelley James, Cindy Optiz, and Genevieve Tocci volunteer their time as assistant editors.

For questions about online access to Collection Forum at the journal website at https://meridian.allenpress.com/collection-forum, please contact the editor. Address changes for print copies should be sent to membership@spnhc.org. Please confirm and update membership at https://spnhc.wildapricot.org/join-us or contact the SPNHC Treasurer at treasurer@spnhc.org.

SPNHC LEAFLETS

The SPNHC Leaflets are a series of single-topic, short papers on various technical aspects of collections care, management, preservation and conservation. Produced in the past as stand-alone references, a typical SPNHC Leaflets contribution describes and suggests practical means for solving a technical problem or issue. These “how-to” guides are designed to serve as training and education tools for natural history museum collection professionals and students in museum studies programs and will now be published as contributions to Collection Forum. If you are interested in publishing a Leaflets piece on natural history collections, please contact Breda Zimkus at bzimkus@oeb.harvard.edu or the managing editor of Collection Forum at editor@spnhc.org.

BOOK REVIEWS

In-depth book reviews with extensive content critique will be considered for publication in Collection Forum. Shorter book reviews profiling recent publications that would be of interest to members may be submitted for publication in SPNHC Connection. For more information concerning these two book review formats, to suggest a title for review, or to submit a review, please contact Lisa Goldberg at lgoldberg@lgpreservation.com or the managing editor at editor@spnhc.org.

SPNHC CONNECTION

SPNHC Connection Editor Liath Appleton and Assistant Editor Lori Schlenker continue their hard work to publish the society newsletter. Liath also serves as the SPNHC webmaster. For any newsletter submissions or updates to the society webpage, please email Liath at newsletter@spnhc.org. To access SPNHC Connection, please go to the Publications tab at  www.spnhc.org. The most recent issues require member login.

SPNHC BOOKS

Our most-recent book—Best Practices for the Preservation of Wet Collections by Dirk Neumann, Julian Carter, John E. Simmons, and Oliver Crimmen—was released in the fall of 2022.  It is available for purchase through https://www.universityproducts.com/ or through https://archetype.co.uk/ .  Other SPNHC book titles continue to be available through University Products at https://www.universityproducts.com/. The 2019 volume Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage, edited by Lisa Elkin and Christopher A. Norris, is being sold through University Products and through the AIC website at https://store.culturalheritage.org, where AIC members will receive a 15% discount off the $95 purchase price. An eBook of this title is in progress. Please contact editor@spnhc.org for more information or to suggest ideas for future book titles.

JOURNAL AND NEWSLETTER ACCESS

A reminder that past issues of the newsletter and the journal are available online at www.spnhc.org. More recent issues of Collection Forum (those published since 2014) are provided as fully interactive online volumes accessed through https://collectionforum.org/, which requires a separate member login (see above for information on Meridian site access). Older issues are available at the same link but have been uploaded as PDF documents. If you or your institution require assistance with accessing the newsletter or the journal, please contact editor@spnhc.org.

SPNHC PUBLICATION ARCHIVES

Carol Kelloff, Archives chair, maintains a reference library of all current and former SPNHC publications at the Smithsonian. If you have older print copies of SPNHC books or journal issues that are currently missing from the spnhc.org portal, and you would be willing to donate and/or provide scanned copies of these publications, please contact Carol at kelloffc@si.edu or at editor@spnhc.org.

For any questions about the Publications Committee or to volunteer, please use one of the following contact emails:

Collection Forum (Scott Rufolo, managing editor): editor@spnhc.org

SPNHC Connection (Liath Appleton, editor): newsletter@spnhc.org

SPNHC Leaflets (Breda Zimkus, editor): bzimkus@oeb.harvard.edu

Book Reviews (Lisa Goldberg, associate editor): lgoldberg@lgpreservation.com

There are positions open for additional volunteers to serve as associate editors for Collection Forum.

Respectfully submitted,
Scott Rufolo, chair

Recognition and Grants

Nothing to report.

US Federal Collections

The US Federal Collections Committee works towards building connections between federal agencies and non-federal organizations to increase collections accessibility and streamline the management of federal collections by non-federal repositories. We are grateful for our federal partners and colleagues who have been able to return to their offices and workplaces and resume the essential tasks of protecting US cultural and natural history heritage. We similarly recognize the past contributions and positive collaboration of those who were unfortunately separated from their government positions during the last federal shutdown. Those federal partners still in place continue to participate as they are able and offer their valuable insights and expertise.

While much of our discussion in the past year was focused on navigating the changing state of affairs during federal shutdowns and the unfortunate impact of RIFs (Reduction in Force), our committee also held meetings discussing a range of topics including international shipment of federal specimens, orphaned collections containing federal objects, updates on RAPTOR (the BLM’s new online permitting and report system), and the state of agreements and contracts with federal agencies.

A subset of our committee has been giving dedicated attention to increasing the discoverability of federal specimens. We have begun crafting recommendations for usage of certain Darwin Core terms as well as moving towards a best practice recommendation for non-federal institutions on denoting the ownership of federal objects held in their collections. This will be one of our primary objectives in 2026.

We encourage anyone interested in the management of US federal collections to join our committee and help foster these productive discussions.

Respectfully submitted,
Carrie A. Eaton, Janaki Krishna and Greg Liggett, co-chairs

Web and Social Media

The Web and Social Media Committee manages many aspects of the SPNHC online presence. You can find a complete list of who we are and what we do at https://spnhc.org/what-spnhc-does/governance/committees-and-representatives/#website.
Special thanks goes out to Jessica Utrup, who has been essential in maintaining the SPNHC jobs board and the NHCOLL-L listserv. We are currently looking for someone to manage our online events calendar. If you are familiar with WordPress and would like to help out, contact us at webmaster@spnhc.org. Interested in helping out with social media, have a job you want listed on our jobs board, or announcements you want sent out to our subscribers? Let us know!

Respectfully submitted,
Liath Appleton, chair

REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS

Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada

During the last few years, the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada (ANHMC) has maintained its role as a connector between the main natural history museums in Canada. At our quarterly board meetings, members have the opportunity to discuss current affairs and a variety of topics relevant to research, collections and public programs in our museums. Once a year, the Board organizes its annual general meeting at one of its members’ institutions across Canada, providing a great opportunity to visit these installations and have in-person conversation about current and future projects.

The ANHMC also has two committees that meet regularly: the Climate Change & Biodiversity Loss Committee (CCBLC) and the Indigenization, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (IEDIC). Each provides a forum for members to exchange information and plan activities such as webinars, partnerships with like-minded organizations, collaborations on travelling exhibits, film productions and much more. Another important initiative being undertaken by some of our members (Royal Ontario Museum, Canadian Museum of Nature and other partners) is one related to the Anthropocene and the proposed golden spike, from Crawford Lake, Ontario.  The new webinar series launched in 2024 has become very popular with the members and others and deals with a variety of topics relevant to its members. Led by the Royal Alberta Museum member and committee feedback, the CCBLC will soon circulate a sustainability survey for its Canadian members. We’ll hopefully be able to share the results in the next newsletter.

About the Alliance :

The Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada (ANHMC) was created in 2002 from a common desire among directors and senior curatorial staff of Canada’s key natural history museums (national provincial and territorial) to establish a network for the exchange of information on issues dealing with collections, research and education. They shared a concern for the image and perception of natural history museums and increased competition for public and private funding as well as a desire to enhance cooperation among their institutions. Incorporated in 2003, the network’s primary objective is to enhance visibility, recognition and benefit of natural history museums under the shared goal of connecting people with nature.

Collectively, ANHMC members house 31.6% of Canada’s natural history specimens (the others being in collections of non-member museums, universities, botanical gardens, zoos and government agencies). This amount represents the most complete and comprehensive representation of Canadian biodiversity (botany, vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, and earth sciences). The tens of millions of specimens represent the biota of all regions of Canada and provide historic perspective on our living environment dating back to the 19^th century.

Respectfully submitted,
Jean Marc Gagnon, SPNHC representative to ANHMC

American Society of Mammalogists

Beginning in 1972, the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) has had a standing committee called the Systematic Collections Committee (SCC), originally formed at the request of the National Science Foundation. The society has defined this committee’s responsibilities as follows: (1) Advising curators worldwide in matters of collection administration, curation, and accreditation; (2) Maintaining a directory of mammal collections and conducting a survey of existing collections once each decade (most recently published in 2018); and (3) maintaining a list of curatorial standards for mammal collections including tissue collections and managing a collection-accreditation program.

The following is a summary of activities since the Annual Meeting in 2024:

Four collections were officially accredited or reaccredited.

• University of Colorado Natural History Museum – the mammal collection was reaccredited, 25 October 2024.  Accreditation of the genetic resources collection is pending.
• Colección Regional Durango (CRD), Durango, Mexico – both the mammal and genetic resources collections were accredited, 7 November 2024.
• Utah Museum Natural History, University of Utah (UMNH) – the mammal collection was reaccredited, 7 November 2024.  Accreditation of the genetic resources collection is pending.
• Northern Michigan University (NMU) – the mammal collection was accredited, 7 November 2024.

Three collections are currently at various stages of the accreditation review process.

• Denver Museum of Nature & Science
• University of Oklahoma, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
• Museo Javeriano de Historia Natural-MUJ, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá

A revision of the Basic Curatorial Standards for Systematic Collections (Journal of Mammalogy, 85:180-181, 2004) is in progress. Once the revision is reviewed by the ASM President and Board of Directors, the updated Standards document will be submitted to the Journal of Mammalogy for publication.

Conversion of the Mammal collections of the Western Hemisphere: a survey and directory of collections in a digital format hosted on the ASM website has been approved by President Smith. Development is underway by an SCC subcommittee and the Communications Committee.

A guideline document for performing accreditations is in development.  Because accreditation visits are performed by a subset of the committee to keep the costs of travel down, this document will ensure standardization during site visits by a varied group of colleagues.

To view the documents mentioned here and other collection-related information, see: http://www.mammalogy.org/committees/systematic-collections#tab3.

Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne McLaren, SPNHC representative to ASM

American Society of Plant Taxonomists

The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) continued its mission in 2025 to advance plant systematics and taxonomy through research, education, and outreach. A major highlight was ASPT’s co-organization of the Botany 2025 conference (with the theme “Botany Without Barriers”), held July 26-30 in Palm Springs, California. The conference brought together 1,062 participants who presented over 750 scientific contributions, including symposia, papers, posters, and lectures. ASPT sponsored sessions, workshops, and field trips, and provided travel awards to support students and early-career researchers.

ASPT also strengthened its commitment to research funding and professional development. Graduate Student Research Grants were offered once again, including named awards and the BIPOC Excellence in Systematic Botany grant, providing up to $1,500 per award. In partnership with the Botanical Society of America, ASPT announced the Botanical Advocacy and Service Grant, awarding $1,000 to projects promoting public policy and outreach in plant systematics. In 2025 ASPT also awarded Charlotte M. Taylor the Asa Gray Award for outstanding accomplishments pertinent to the goals of the society and W. John Kress the Peter Raven Award for exceptional efforts at outreach to non-scientists.

The society continued quarterly publication of the journal Systematic Botany and introduced a new “Clades in Focus” article series, which aims to synthesize the current state of knowledge surrounding a clade, integrating past foundational work with contemporary advances and offering insights into future research directions. Systematic Botany Monographs saw the publication of a monograph of the genus Radula (Radulaceae, Marchantiophyta), further contributing to the advancement of taxonomy across the plant kingdom.

Looking ahead, ASPT remains committed to fostering collaboration, supporting early-career scientists, disseminating high impact scholarly work, and promoting diversity and inclusion. Join us for the Botany 2026 conference (celebrating “Biodiversity at the Boundaries”) in Tucson, Arizona, August 1-5, 2026!

Respectfully submitted,
Harlan Svoboda, SPNHC representative to ASPT

Association for Materials and Methods in Paleontology

Over the past few months, AMMP has been receiving submissions for abstracts and workshop proposals for the next annual meeting which is being hosted by the North Dakota Geological Survey in Bismarck, North Dakota. The meeting will be hybrid with in-person and virtual accessibility April 14-18, 2026.  Platform presentations will be pre-recorded and live, and posters will be in PDF format for the virtual component. All workshops will be offered for in-person attendance. Select workshops will be offered for virtual attendees. More information about the annual meeting can be found at this website: https://paleomethods.org/Annual-Meeting

This year’s symposium theme is “Defining ‘Best Practices.’” The 2026 AMMP symposium aims to begin the process of defining a set of best practices within the field of fossil preparation through discussion, case studies, and research. Categories that will be discussed include health and safety, fossil handling and storage, fieldwork, replication, specimen repair, adhesives, and more.

AMMP website: https://paleomethods.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/148962468849

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@associationformaterialsmet4935

Respectfully submitted,
Christina Byrd, SPNHC representative to AMMP

Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists

The biennial in-person ARCS meeting was held in St Louis, Missouri, 18-21 November 2026. The meeting had a large turnout, extensive trade show, many interesting presentations, and lots of opportunities for networking and interactions with colleagues.

The presentations of particular interest to SPNHC members included a proposal to add an 11^th agent to the Agents of Deterioration (AKA, Agents of Change), “Incorrect Cultural Care.”  Other sessions addressed moving collections, sustainability in collections care, refinement of the STiCH Carbon Calculator (https://www.iiconservation.org/news/updated-stich-carbon-calculator), using the wider climatic conditions of the Bizot Green Protocol (https://www.ne-mo.org/news-events/article/new-bizot-green-protocol-prioritises-sustainability-by-recommending-wider-climatic-conditions/), documenting oral history to preserve institutional memory (particularly to capture information from retired staff), the possible uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in collections work, indigenizing collection databases, managing private collections, the PEAS (Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety) Framework, and valuation of collections. There were also wide-ranging sessions on collection care standards and the role of registrars and collections specialists in institutional leadership.

The ARCS website (www.arcsinfo.org) has updated information on publications and other resources related to registration and collection care (https://www.arcsinfo.org/community/resources/resource-kit), and the Emergency Help Now! for US institutions is available (https://www.arcsinfo.org/community/resources/emergency-sub-committee-programs). As always, ARCS members can access resources by specialty on the website at https://www.arcsinfo.org/community/resources, pose questions and provide answers to other’s questions on the ARCS Members Forum (https://www.arcsinfo.org/members/Login?returnUrl=%2Fcommunity%2Fforum) and view listing of museum jobs and internships (https://www.arcsinfo.org/opportunities).

Respectfully submitted,
John E. Simmons, SPNHC representative to ARCS

Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities

Since 2021 I have been liaison between SPNHC and CETAF, the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities. In 2025, this engagement continued steadily. Regular interactions with CETAF were 1) through my membership and participation in the CETAF ePublishing Working Group, chaired by Laurence Bénichou (MNHN Paris, France) and Isabelle Gerard (RMCA Tervuren, Belgium); 2) attendance of SPNHC’s Legislation & Regulations Committee meetings to keep up-to-date with the European and US legal landscape; and 3) strategy meetings looking at natural science collections and data infrastructures in today’s science-policy and socio-economic environment from a global point of view with Eva Häffner (BGBM Berlin, Germany), who as the Secretary of the CETAF Executive Committee could bring to the discussions the CETAF perspective.

Below are some activities of the past year and information that might be of interest to SPNHC membership:

After three years of close collaboration among CETAF, Plazi and SPNHC members in CETAF’s ePublishing WG, our article in the European Journal of Taxonomy, a diamond open access journal sponsored by a consortium of European collection institutions, was published in July. It is the extended companion paper to the joint statement by BHL, CETAF and SPNHC on the non-copyrightability of data in scientific publications in Pensoft’s RIO journal. Our paper discusses the legal and ethical background, and provides the rationales supporting the recommendations of the joint statement. SPNHC member Mariko Kageyama (Tohoku University Sendai, Japan) provided essential legal advice, in particular on US copyright law, and is a co-author on both publications.

Work is underway on a subsequent manuscript clarifying the publication of taxonomic names and nomenclatural acts in preprints. With the rise of preprints, this topic has become of growing concern and impact. The development of the manuscript is chaired by Jana Hoffmann (SGN Frankfurt, Germany) and involves members of CETAF, Plazi, Pensoft, and SPNHC.

For SPNHC members who are looking for a channel to keep informed about CETAF’s work, over the past year I discovered LinkedIn as a valuable source for current news about CETAF’s activities and events. I can encourage SPNHC members to follow CETAF on the platform for regular updates, event announcements, and commentary on current developments.

Should you have questions or be interested in more information about CETAF, opportunities to engage with CETAF, or the interaction between SPNHC and CETAF, please contact me via SPNHC Slack or email.

Respectfully submitted,
Jutta Buschbom, SPNHC liaison to CETAF

Convention on Biological Diversity

In February 2025, COP-16, which had begun in Cali, Colombia, in October 2024, was successfully concluded during a meeting in Rome, Italy. Key decisions postponed in Cali due to extended negotiations and lack of quorum at the end of the meeting were adopted in Rome. Thus, COP-16 kept the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) on track by providing crucial decisions, including: 1) resource mobilization and the financial mechanism, 2) the specification of the monitoring framework, 3) mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting and review, 4) the operationalization of the multilateral mechanism to share the benefits from uses of digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI) and launch of its Cali Fund, and 5) capacity-building, technical and scientific cooperation and knowledge management, including the start of the 18 subregional technical and scientific cooperation support centers (TSCCs) distributed worldwide.

With these decisions successfully adopted, the Secretariat of the CBD, the CBD’s bodies and many expert working groups continued their implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its monitoring strategy at full speed. It is inspiring—and reassuring—to see multilateralism working productively as the myriad building blocks of the KMGBF develop and unfold.

As SPNHC’s representative, I monitored these developments through multiple channels. While the CBD’s plenary sessions continue to be streamed live on YouTube, I stayed informed primarily through IISD’s summaries, protocols, and analyses, along with various UN and NGO newsletters. I also attended over a dozen webinars organized by the CBD and stakeholders, including the DSI Network, IISD, COOP4CBD, and OECD.

Given that financial and socioeconomic sustainability has become a major concern for natural sciences collections, data, infrastructure, and services communities, I focused my attention specifically on financial topics within the KMGBF. The most valuable activity in this area was completing the Massive Open Online Course, “Biodiversity Finance: Designing and Implementing Finance Plans for Nature”, offered by the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN). I received certification in November 2024.

This training offers practical value to SPNHC members. BIOFIN’s methodology, though designed for countries, can be adapted to assess the financial and economic situation of natural history collections—both analog and digital—and develop long-term sustainability plans for them, their data and infrastructure, and the professional communities that maintain them—a need increasingly recognized across SPNHC, GBIF, TDWG, and related organizations. I am available to discuss how this framework might be applied within SPNHC member institutions or to provide guidance on accessing BIOFIN resources. Should you have questions or be interested in more information, please contact me via SPNHC Slack or email.

Respectfully submitted,
Jutta Buschbom, SPNHC liaison to CBD

Entomological Collections Network

Background:

ECN formed an MOU with SPNHC in late 2016; this is our 10^th annual report.  ECN is a 501(c)(3) non-profit international organization dedicated to promoting entomological science through the preservation, management, use and development of entomological collections and to disseminating information and fostering communications between collections managers around the world regarding best practices in entomological (and arthropod) natural history collections. The network is organized and operated exclusively for scientific and educational purposes. 

ECN 2025 (In-person and virtual meeting; In-person: 08-09 November 2025):

ECN homepage: https://ecnweb.net/

The annual ECN meeting was held as a blend of in-person and virtual modalities again in 2025 to facilitate and foster international participation. The in-person venue was the Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, USA

Here is a link to the meeting program:
https://ecnweb.net/welcome/meeting/ecn-2024/2025-program/

Meetings were held Saturday, 8 November and Sunday, 9 November, 2024. Once again, the “virtual” presentations provided a unique opportunity to hear from colleagues who usually might not otherwise be able to attend the meetings and to “virtually visit” several entomological collections from all over the globe. We had 148 in-person attendees and 42 virtual attendees, worldwide.

Contributed talks: 34

Symposia included:

1) The Promises (and Realities) of “AI” for the Insect Taxonomist

            Organizer/Moderator: Ainsley Seago, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA (6 talks presented)

2) Seeing Clearly Now: Tips and Tricks for Specimen Imaging, from Legacy Systems to the Latest Gear

            Organizers/Moderators: M. Andrew Johnston & Christopher C. Wirth, Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA (5 talks presented)

3) Discover the Hidden Gems in Our Museums

            Organizers/Moderators: Luc Leblanc, William F. Barr Entomological Museum, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA; Brittany L. Kohler, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA; and Peter Oboyski, Essig Museum of Entomology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA (9 talks presented)

2025 meeting organizers: Oliver Keller, Ainsley Seago, Andrew Johnston, Jack Whisenant, Patrick Gorring, Chris Wirth, Kristin Jayd, and Ashleigh Whiffin

ECN Social Media Team: Ashleigh Whiffin

Program layout and design: Chris Wirth and Kristin Jayd

The ECN Executive Committee and Officers:

• Peter Oboyski, President (2025-2027)
• Oliver Keller, Past President (2025-2027); President (2023-2025)
• Andrew Johnston, Vice-President (2021-2027)
• Jack Whisenant, Secretary (2023-2027)
• Patrick Gorring, Treasurer (2016-2027)
• Chris Wirth, Program Co-chair (2023-2027)
• Adam Haberski, Program Co-chair (2025-2027)
• Ashleigh Whiffin, Co-communications Officer (2019-2027)
• Isa Betancourt, Co-communications Officer (2025-2027)

Next ECN Meeting:

The next meeting of ECN will be November 7-8, 2026, in conjunction with the November 8-11 Columbus, Ohio, annual meetings of the Entomological Society of America:

https://www.entsoc.org/events/annual-meeting

Check the ECN website (http://ecnweb.org/) periodically for the most up-to-date information. Further announcements will come through the ECN listserv and via social media platforms: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/148208995368404/), Instagram (@entcollnet) and Twitter/X (@EntCollNtwrk).

Respectfully submitted,
Daniel K. Young, SPNHC liaison to ECN

Integrated Digitized Biocollections

Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) serves as the coordinating center for the U.S. national digitization effort funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF 2027654). iDigBio includes the Symbiota Support Hub, a service team and infrastructure resource for data portals that use the open source software Symbiota to manage and/or mobilize their data (https://symbiota.org/).

In 2025, iDigBio has continued its work to foster partnerships and innovations, facilitate development and sharing of digitization practices and workflows, and promote the use of biodiversity collections data by stakeholders through multiple initiatives, including:

Supporting and enhancing the management and mobilization of biodiversity specimen data through 51 Symbiota (https://symbiota.org/) portals containing 89.5+M occurrences and 43.5M images from over 2,000 biodiversity collections. The Symbiota Support Hub provides portal maintenance, help desk services, community capacitation, and documentation to these communities.

Hosting the Sustaining Collections Digitization Beyond NSF Funding webinar series, covering topics from collection management systems to digitization workflows to engagement/outreach activities (https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Sustaining_Collections_Digitization_Beyond_NSF_Funding:_A_Webinar_Series#Upcoming_Webinars). An additional 14 webinars are scheduled for 2026, and recordings for all webinars can be found at the previous link.

Leading courses through the Digitization Academy (https://digitizationacademy.org/) courses, including Introduction to Biodiversity Specimen Digitization (also offered in Spanish), Public Participation in Digitization of Biodiversity Collections, and Digital Imaging for Biodiversity Collections.

Building the Digitization Knowledge Base (https://digitizationknowledge.org/) to aggregate resources for the digital description of biodiversity. This project aims to enhance the visibility of these valuable resources and make it easier to identify and fill gaps in community documentation.

Offering an online 8-week the Strategic Planning for Collections course.

Offering the in-person workshop Using Digitized Herbarium Data in Research: Applications for Exploration, Taxonomy, and Ecology at Botany 2025.

Co-producing the October 2025 Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections (WeDigBio; https://wedigbio.org/) event.

Managing iDigBio social media accounts via LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/idigbio/) and Instagram (@idigbio) to more broadly communicate information relevant to digitization and the biodiversity specimen community.

Leading sessions and participating in discussions at international conferences, including the 2025 Living Data Conference in Bogota, Colombia.

Engaging in activities of the International Partners for the Digital Extended Specimen (IPDES).

Enhancing and curating U.S. institution data in the Global Registry for Scientific Collections (https://scientific-collections.gbif.org/).

Developing the biodiversity chatbot, iChatBio (https://ichatbio.org/), designed to help researchers and the public find and retrieve information about biodiversity, biocollections, and biological species from reputable data sources such as biodiversity data aggregators.

Continuing to mobilize biodiversity specimen data to GBIF and the iDigBio portal (https://www.idigbio.org/), which now includes over 149M specimen records with more than 67M associated media records from 1,900+ recordsets.

Respectfully submitted,
Katie Pearson, SPNHC representative to iDigBio

International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories

The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) is the leading global community for biobanking professionals, advancing high-quality, ethical, and innovative repository practices to support cutting-edge research and improve health and environmental outcomes worldwide. In 2025, the ISBER Annual Meeting took place in Montreal, Canada (May 12-16, 2025, with a virtual component June 10-11, 2025). Regional meetings occurred in Buenos Aires, Argentina (September 12-13, 2025), and Cape Town, South Africa (September 29-October 3, 2025), further extending its outreach and training opportunities across different continents.

This year ISBER is proud to partner with the Biobank Branch, China Medicinal Biotech Association (BBCMBA) and BGI (formerly Beijing Genomics Institute) for the World Biobanking Congress 2026, to be held April 21-25, 2026, at BGI Group’s global headquarters in Shenzhen, China. The event will feature two international gatherings: the 2026 ISBER Global Biobanking Congress “Global Collaboration for Advanced Technology and Innovation” will take place April 21-23, 2026, at the BGI Center. Sessions will be in-person and in English. Following this, the BBCMBA 18th China Holistic Integrate Biobankology Conference and 13th Hospital Dean’s Summit on Biobank are scheduled for April 23-25, 2026, at the InterContinental Shenzhen Dameisha Resort. The BBCMBA congress is delivered in Chinese only. A joint collaborative day on April 23 at the BGI Center will bring ISBER and BBCMBA participants together to highlight international partnerships and shared learning in global biobanking.

ISBER strongly advises delegates who require a visa for travel to China to begin the application process at least three months prior to their intended date of entry. Registration closes on April 20, 2026. Details on the events and a bundled registration package can be found on the conference website (https://www.isber.org/page/2026ISBERAnnual).

Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Y. Wang-Claypool, SPNHC representative to ISBER

Society of Herbarium Curators

The Society of Herbarium Curators (SHC) advanced its mission throughout 2025 by offering educational initiatives, promoting digital collaboration, and sustaining professional development opportunities for herbaria staff and students. SHC co-hosted the Botany 2025 conference in Palm Springs, California, in July and held a herbarium/collections-focused half-day symposium. SHC is looking forward to the Botany 2026 conference (celebrating “Biodiversity at the Boundaries”) in Tucson, Arizona, August 1-5, 2026!

An 8-week “Strategic Planning for Herbaria” online course was delivered in partnership with iDigBio, allowing participants to develop concise strategic plans for their collections addressing mission, goals, stakeholders, evaluation, and sustainability. The course will be offered again in 2026 so stay tuned for dates and registration information! SHC continued to co-sponsor the HERBARIA listserv and published its newsletter The Vasculum, featuring early career advice, society highlights, fieldwork reports, and an in-depth look at a ‘Featured Herbarium’ in each issue.

The society maintained its Student Research Grants program, awarding two $500 grants to graduate students and one $250 grant to an undergraduate. In 2025, the awardees were Marguerite Trost (University of Wyoming), Garrett Goodrich (Claremont Graduate University and California Botanic Garden), and Andrew Ruegsegger (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville).

As SHC moves into 2026, we are excited to build on the momentum of the past year. We are committed to expanding our professional development opportunities, supporting student research initiatives, and fostering community in the herbarium profession. SHC looks forward to strengthening these connections and championing the vital role of herbaria in global biodiversity research.

Respectfully submitted,
Harlan Svoboda, SPNHC representative to SHC

The Paleontological Society
The next meeting of The Paleontological Society (PS) will be held during the Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in Denver, Colorado, October 11-14, 2026.

The PS Collections Committee distributed a short survey this fall to gather responses about the state of funding for paleontological/geological collections from those working in these collections. The survey resulted from news that a couple of institutions housing paleontological/geological collections had lost promised funding or may lose space where collections were housed. Results of the survey will be used to determine where resources are needed and create collections grant/scholarship/internship funding opportunities.

Respectfully submitted,
Jessica Cundiff, SPNHC representative to PS

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE REPORTS

Jessica Utrup

SPNHC is an amazing organization that helps foster the sharing of ideas and knowledge as well as providing a welcoming community to museum professionals and scientists across many disciplines, institutions, and countries. I have spent my first year as Member-at-Large involved with the Elections Committee. This is our first year running the SPNHC election through our membership database. I also help manage the SPNHC jobs board. In addition, I continue to manage
the NHCOLL-L listserv. I am looking forward to my next year as a Member-at-Large, and I hope to be able to participate more actively with the Education Committee.

Respectfully submitted,
Jessica Utrup, MAL (2025-2028)