[Nhcoll-l] Why retain physical specimens

[Andrew Stewart]

Hi Sarah,

This perennial chestnut just won’t give up! :( In my experience it has usually come from well-meaning people who are ignorant of the what & why of natural history collections, or (more sinister) managers who have an addenda of wanting to get rid of them. The former are easier to deal with than the latter.

I usually counter by pointing out that our role (amongst other things) is to answer the two key questions of biological science: “What species am I studying?” and “How do I tell it apart from ones that look like it?”. This can only be done properly when it is derived from actual specimens. More specimens = more information. Species are split or lost as more material becomes available for research. These other ‘alternatives’ are great but they’re what has been mined from working on the specimens and can never replace them.

In this new age, science is just being considered another opinion in a sea of tweeting ignorance.  Against that what we have are the specimens that are empirical facts that can be visited and visited again and again.

Good luck with your push-back!

Ngā mihi

Andrew Stewart

>><<<)o>
Assistant Curator Vertebrates (Fishes)
Museum of New Zealand
04 381 7314
027 7339363

From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Sarah K. Huber
Sent: Friday, 27 September 2019 6:00 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Why retain physical specimens

Recently I’ve been fielding a lot of questions about why our collection should retain a physical specimen once it has been digitized (e.g., CT-scanned, photographed, x-rayed, etc.). I’m curious how often other museum professionals are asked this question and what your general responses are for justifying the retention of a physical specimen. Why do you tell people it’s important to retain a specimen?

If anyone knows of article that have addressed this specific question I would appreciate references so that I can have them on hand for particularly curious visitors.

Thanks,
Sarah

Sarah K. Huber, Ph.D.
Curatorial Associate, VIMS Nunnally Ichthyology Collection
Office 804.684.7104 | Collection 804.684.7285
skhuber at vims.edu<mailto:skhuber at vims.edu> | http://www.vims.edu/research/facilities/fishcollection/index.php
PO Box 1346 | 1370 Greate Rd., Gloucester Pt., VA 23062

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