Many publications have extolled the value of natural history collections, however few have calculated the cost of caring for scientific specimens. A recent paper estimates the cost of incorporating specimens into a natural history collection and making them accessible to researchers and the public.
On average, it cost $17.51 per specimen for curation, installation, documentation, and databasing. Long-term care is estimated to cost $0.25 per year per specimen.
“Door to Drawer: Costs of Curation, Installation, Documentation, Databasing, and Long-Term Care of Mammal Voucher Specimens in Natural History Collections” was authored by a team of researchers at the Natural Science Research Laboratory at the Museum of Texas Tech University.
The paper can be downloaded for free at http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/publications/opapers/ops/OP323.pdf.