The Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections has announced a new registry of federally owned and operated scientific collections. The registry is managed by the Smithsonian Institution and includes more than 125 collections from 475 federal institutions. These numbers are anticipated to grow in the coming months.
The registry has information about the location of the collection, its access policy, and the url for the online catalogue. Registered collections include pollinating insects, plants, soils, germplasm, tree rings, human brains, and other organisms.
Federal agencies are also developing policies to manage their collections. More than a dozen agencies have completed their policies, including the Smithsonian, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of the Interior. Other agencies are still developing their policies.
Access the registry at http://usfsc.grscicoll.org/.