[NHCOLL-L:5088] Re: Fwd: Museo de Historia Natural-San Marcos

[John E Simmons]

Laura,
Thank you for posting the notice about the problems at the Museo de Historia
Natural at la Universidad San Marcos.  I know the museum and the staff well
as I taught a workshop on collections care there in 2004.  The museum lacks
resources, but has a very dedicated staff.

Below is another letter on the subject from my friend and colleague Karen
Siu Ting of the museum. If anyone would like copies of the attachments that
Karen mentions, please contact me OFF LIST and I will forward them to you.

--John

John E. Simmons
Museologica
128 E. Burnside Street
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010
simmons.johne at gmail.com
303-681-5708
www.museologica.com
and
Adjunct Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
University Park, Pennsylvania

FORWARDED LETTER

Dear friends,

Please find attached to this message the official communications sent by the
Museum of Natural History in Lima, Peru about the critic situation that the
museum is going through. Basically, the university proposes to use the land
where the Musem is currently established to build a new building with
offices for the postgraduate school of the university, classrooms and a
shopping centre.
They seem to forget that the actual role of the museum, as well as doing
research, is hosting the largest and oldest scientific collection in Peru
(given that they do not contemplate this in their technical proposal, which
is attached in this message).

I also attach a jpeg file of the english version so that you can post it in
any social network that you are part of (ie. facebook). There's also some
blogs and news in the internet that have started to cover the news:

http://spaciolibre.net/?p=5748

http://www.larepublica.pe/pagina_impreso.php?pub=larepublica&anho=2010&mes=11&dia=17&pid=1&sec=13&pag=26

http://www.terra.com.pe/noticias/noticias/act2597420/universidad-san-marcos-destruiria-museo-historia-natural.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

http://nscalliance.org/?p=339

The last link is from a scientific collections alliance where they post a
letter by Bruce Patterson showing support.
Today (friday) will be a crucial day where the fate of the museum will be
decided.

Let's hope the heads of the university become more responsible and opt to
keep the property for the museum.

Thanks for your support and please continue to help us by letting others
know of this. You can also send a letter (in pdf) showing your rejection to
this by addressing to the Rector of the university: Dr. Luis Izquierdo. This
could be sent to me and I can forward it to the Director of the Museum, Dra.
Betty Millán and the people who are gathering all the supporting
documentation.

Saludos,

Karen

-- 
Karen Siu Ting

Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics Unit
Department of Biology
National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Ireland

Departamento de Herpetología
Museo de Historia Natural
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
Av. Arenales 1256 - Jesús María, Lima 14
Peru
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