[Nhcoll-l] Storage-grade containers

[Dean Pentcheff]

It can be useful to engage field collectors before they head out to
collect. Having collectors use storage-grade containers in the first place
can prevent having to rehouse. The choice of field collecting container is,
of course, driven by the requirements of the collector, but a
collection-grade container may work just as well as a "temporary" one that
the collector might use in the absence of advice.

We've had good experiences with agency biologists who were creating
project-based voucher collections that we inherited. They were quite happy
to use the vials we pre-supplied, so we didn't have to rehouse when the
collections came to us.

-Dean
-- 
Dean Pentcheff
pentcheff at gmail.com
pentcheff at nhm.org <dpentche at nhm.org>
https://research.nhm.org/disco



On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 12:05 PM Callomon,Paul <prc44 at drexel.edu> wrote:

> In our recent discussions of alcohol storage containers, we didn’t touch
> on the distinction between lab-grade containers and storage-grade ones. In
> the field and lab, scientists often use containers that are not
> storage-grade, such as:
>
>
>
> - glass vials and jars that have snap-on plastic lids
>
> - glass shell vials with push-in plastic lids
>
> - Eppendorf and other plastic sample tubes with push-on or screw-on lids
>
> - Nalgene and similar flexible plastic bottles
>
>
>
> None of these is storage-grade – that is, proven to be durable over longer
> terms (10 years plus). When consigning samples to the collection,
> therefore, they must be transferred to storage-grade containers. If you are
> handed several trays of field samples in plastic tubes for the collection,
> getting them into individual screw-top glass vials with proper lids and
> placing them in racks on shelves can cost hundreds of dollars. Attempting
> to bill scientists for this or persuading them to proactively add storage
> expenses to their grant budgets can be a lively conversation.
>
>
>
> Paul Callomon
>
> Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates
> ------------------------------
>
> *Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University*
>
> 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
> *prc44 at drexel.edu <prc44 at drexel.edu> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170*
>
>
>
>
>
>
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