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.
With only days left before a stopgap funding measure expires, Congress finally found agreement on federal funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2015. The deal was reached more than two months after the fiscal year began. The lead negotiators on the deal released a joint statement about the legislation: “As we close in on our […]
An article in the December 2014 issue of BioScience considers the benefits of natural history collections and offers advice for the financial support of such collections. “Assessing the Value of Natural History Collections and Addressing Issues Regarding Long-Term Growth and Care†was written by several research staff at the Natural Science Research Laboratory at the […]
The National Park Service is proposing changes to the regulations regarding curation of federally-owned and administered archeological collections. The rule, if adopted, would establish definitions, standards, and procedures to dispose of particular material remains that are determined to be of insufficient archaeological interest. There is not currently a defined process for disposition of such materials. […]
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) have launched the Beyond the Box National Digitization Innovation Competition. The initiative will award $1 million to the individual or team who develops a novel way to accurately and efficiently capture digital images of insect specimens and their associated data from […]
A new paper in ZooKeys looks at the future of Italian natural history collections. According to the paper’s authors, “Italian natural history museums are facing a critical situation, due to the progressive loss of scientific relevance, decreasing economic investments, and scarcity of personnel.” The proposed solution is to create a network of museums that function […]
An article in the New York Times highlights the role of entomological collections in understanding the decline of bee species. Although the plight of honeybee species has garnered much attention in recent years, many species of wild bees are also in trouble. To understand why, a group of researchers looked at bee specimens from the […]
Applications are being accepted for the 2015 AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award. This award recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who have demonstrated initiative and leadership in science policy. Recipients receive first-hand experience at the interface of science and public policy. Winners receive: A trip to Washington, DC, to participate in the Biological […]
The National Research Council of the National Academies is currently developing a framework to guide future National Science Foundation (NSF) investments in advanced computing for scientific and engineering research. The study committee is seeking input from the scientific community on their vision for the future of NSF advanced computing in order to inform their recommendations […]
A national survey has launched to assess the state of the nation’s collections held by museums, scientific research collections, archaeological repositories, archives, and libraries. The results of the survey will be used to recommend next steps in collections preservation The Natural Science Collections Alliance is serving as an allied partner in the effort. If your […]
The Small Collections Network and iDigBio have announced the dates for future webinars in their series focused on small natural history collections. The webinars are free to attend and registration is not required. Small Fish in a Big Pond: Lessons Learned in Digitizing a Small Paleontology Collection 13 November 2014, 3-4 p.m. EST http://scnet.acis.ufl.edu/content/small-fish-big-pond-lessons-learned-digitizing-small-paleontology-collection The […]