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.
Three leading organizations that advocate for the preservation of natural history collections have voiced concerns about the National Science Foundation’s decision to halt the Collections in Support of Biological Research (CSBR) program. In a letter dated March 24, 2016, the organizations called for the agency to “reconsider this action, which can jeopardize the long-term care, […]
The NSC Alliance has called on Congress to adequately fund the preservation, curation, and digitization of natural history collections in fiscal year 2017. In testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, NSC Alliance expressed support for the new funding President Obama has requested for Interior and Smithsonian collections. For fiscal year 2017, […]
Earlier this week, the NSC Alliance learned that the National Science Foundation would place the Collections in Support of Biological Research (CSBR) on hiatus for fiscal year 2017. The NSC Alliance is deeply concerned by this announcement. In 2012, the NSC Alliance worked with other national organizations to oppose a proposal at that time to […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has initiated a national search for an Assistant Director for Geosciences (GEO). The Assistant Director will lead a directorate comprised of four divisions: Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, Earth Sciences, Ocean Sciences, and Polar Programs. Dr. Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences, will head the search committee. Nominations […]
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is moving to a new headquarters. The agency’s new address effective March 23 is 955 L’Enfant Plaza North, SW, Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20024-2135. The IMLS email addresses and telephone numbers will remain the same. Some IT systems will be offline during the move. The State Program Report […]
iDigBio’s Outlier Detection and Documentation by Collectors (ODD Collectors) Working Group is conducting a survey related to your experience with outliers (or “anomalies” or “oddities”) in biodiversity collections. For this survey, outliers are defined as individual specimens that differ from a previously documented or perceived general norm within a taxon in any biological characteristic such […]
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner (R) has announced a plan to reopen the state museum system, which was shuttered in September 2015 due to a budget impasse with the state legislature. The governor proposes to reopen four of the six museum sites and to start charging admission for the previously free museum. The Illinois Department of […]
Google’s Cultural Institute is partnering with the National Park Service to showcase culturally significant artifacts. The website provides high-resolution images of artifacts, documents, and photos. More than 3,800 federal objects are on display on the site. The website also features art and objects from museum collections around the world. Learn more at https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/home.
The “Stressors and Drivers of Food Security: Evidence from Scientific Collections” symposium will be held on 18-20 May 2016. This will be the first-ever symposium that brings together food security researchers and experts on scientific collections in diverse research disciplines. The symposium will be an ambitious look forward into food security research that relies on […]
The University of Minnesota seeks an Executive Director who will oversee the Bell Museum of Natural History and Planetarium’s mission through its personnel, research/programs and facilities. The museum’s mission is to ignite curiosity and wonder, explore our connections to nature and the universe, and create a better future for our evolving world. For more information, […]