[NHCOLL-L:2504] Re: Conditions reporting for fluid collections

[Shirley S Albright]

Hi Chris,

Paisley Cato wrote a chapter on condition reporting for natural history 
specimens in a book/manual published by the Southeastern Registrar's 
Association [Basic Condition Reporting: A  Handbook, 3rd edition, edited 
by Marie Demeroukas, 1998].   I believe it's still available for sale 
from SERA.

She doesn't include a form specifically for fluid-preserved specimens, 
but there are some things that I routinely inspect if an object is going 
out on loan or as part of the inventory process:
Fluid level
Fluid opacity
Presence/absence of particulates in the jar
Concentration of the preservative
Status of the exterior labels/catalogue number
Status of the interior labels/catalgoue number
Container characteristics such as vertical stability, crowding of 
specimens within the container, and
             the quality of the seal between jar and lid (is leakage 
apparent?).

There are forms in the manual for taxidermy mounts and hides/skin 
collections.

Good luck!    Don't hesitate to call if you have further questions.

Shirley Albright
New Jersey State Museum
P.O. Box 530
Trenton, NJ 08625
(609) 292-6331


Chris Wolfe wrote:

> Good morning -
>
> I am a fairly new collections manager in an natural history museum 
> that is fortunate to have been able hire a conservator recently.  Our 
> conservator would like all of our departments to begin completing a 
> conditions report for all objects/specimens before sending out a loan 
> and after receiving a loan.  She has provided some general guidelines 
> about biological specimens that are particularly relevant to skin and 
> skeletal preparations, but as far as I can tell, there are fewer 
> guidelines specific to fluid collections.  For our herpetology 
> specimens, it seems obvious to me that I can easily document specimen 
> breakage (e.g., broken tail on a lizard) and whether a specimen has 
> been dissected, but I am curious to see how other collection managers 
> for fluid collections document conditions for their specimens.
>
> I would appreciate any assistance, suggestions, and insights you might 
> have on:
>
>  - When you do conditions reporting for your specimens?
>  - What factors do you examine when you do a conditions report?
>  - Do you have a report format you might be willing to share?
>  - Anything else you think is relevant regarding conditions reporting 
> for fluid or herpetological collections.
>
> Thank you all very much!
>
> Chris
>
>                                                                
> Christina A. Wolfe 
>                                                                    
> Collection Manager, Herpetology
> Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
> University of Oklahoma
> 2401 Chautauqua Avenue
> Norman, OK 73026
>
> 405.325.7771
> 405.325.7699 (fax)
> www.snomnh.ou.edu

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