Natural Science Collections Alliance
Our members are part of an international community of museums, botanical gardens, herbariums, universities and other institutions that house natural science collections and utilize them in research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and outreach activities.
The Inspector General (IG) for the Department of the Interior (DOI) has “found that DOI is failing to fulfill its stewardship responsibilities over museum collections.” In a December 2009 report, the IG found that DOI has failed to properly accession, catalogue, or inventory museum collections, leaving artifacts “unavailable for research, education, or display and … […]
In 2008, the Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance) conducted an online survey to assess how scientific collections were responding to worsening economic conditions. The complete findings of this survey have now been published in the online publication, CLS Journal of Museum Studies. The publication includes the survey results and some possible actions for scientific […]
Several fish fossils were taken from the Johnston Geology Museum at Emporia State University, located in Emporia, Kansas, on or around October 12, 2009. Information on the whereabouts of the stolen fossils is being sought by Dr. DeWayne Backhus, chair of the Department of Physical Sciences at the university. The part and counterpart of two […]
The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) is requesting nominations and proposals for several awards and grants. Nominations are currently being accepted for the SPNHC President’s Award and the Carolyn B. Rose Award. The President’s Award is presented to a current or former SPNHC member whose activities have furthered the objectives of […]
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has named paleontologist Dr. John Long the new Vice President of Research and Collections. Dr. Long previously served as Head of Sciences for the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. In his new position, Dr. Long leads the curatorial staffs, collection stewardship, and oversees the research conducted at […]
A new survey of U.S. natural history collections is being launched by CollectionsWeb. This comprehensive survey aims to inventory all U.S. natural history collections, produce a comprehensive database of this information, and establish a baseline for periodically assessing status and trends. The collected data will be shared with the natural science collections community for use […]
Natural Science Collections Alliance President William Y. Brown will be the next President and Director of the Woods Hole Research Center, an independent, nonprofit institute focused on environmental science, education, and public policy. The Center, located in Falmouth, Massachusetts, has projects in the Amazon, the Arctic, Africa, the Mid-Atlantic, and New England, as well as […]
Several Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance) members and other organizations have sent letters of support for a Presidential Executive Order to promote the preservation and use of scientific collections. The American Institute of Biological Sciences, the American Museum of Natural History, the American Public Gardens Association, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the […]
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is holding a special competition for institutions with living collections of plants and animals to receive the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf. The Bookshelf consists of a core set of 12 resources on the preservation and care of collections, as well as six texts specifically designed to […]
Researchers at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York City, have developed a DNA-based system that can identify individual species of wildlife. The analysis, which is based upon unique DNA signatures, is being used to identify the source of animal products and meats confiscated by customs agents around the world. Previously, investigators were […]