<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Consolas;
panose-1:2 11 6 9 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
h1
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
margin-top:24.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#365F91;
font-weight:bold;}
h2
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 2 Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:13.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;}
h3
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3 Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;}
h4
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 4 Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;}
h5
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5 Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#243F60;
font-weight:normal;}
h6
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 6 Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#243F60;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:italic;}
p.MsoHeading7, li.MsoHeading7, div.MsoHeading7
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 7 Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#404040;
font-style:italic;}
p.MsoHeading8, li.MsoHeading8, div.MsoHeading8
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 8 Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;}
p.MsoHeading9, li.MsoHeading9, div.MsoHeading9
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 9 Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#404040;
font-style:italic;}
p.MsoCaption, li.MsoCaption, div.MsoCaption
{mso-style-priority:35;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;}
p.MsoTitle, li.MsoTitle, div.MsoTitle
{mso-style-priority:10;
mso-style-link:"Title Char";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:15.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
border:none;
padding:0in;
font-size:26.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#17365D;
letter-spacing:.25pt;}
p.MsoTitleCxSpFirst, li.MsoTitleCxSpFirst, div.MsoTitleCxSpFirst
{mso-style-priority:10;
mso-style-link:"Title Char";
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
border:none;
padding:0in;
font-size:26.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#17365D;
letter-spacing:.25pt;}
p.MsoTitleCxSpMiddle, li.MsoTitleCxSpMiddle, div.MsoTitleCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-priority:10;
mso-style-link:"Title Char";
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
border:none;
padding:0in;
font-size:26.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#17365D;
letter-spacing:.25pt;}
p.MsoTitleCxSpLast, li.MsoTitleCxSpLast, div.MsoTitleCxSpLast
{mso-style-priority:10;
mso-style-link:"Title Char";
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:15.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
border:none;
padding:0in;
font-size:26.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#17365D;
letter-spacing:.25pt;}
p.MsoSubtitle, li.MsoSubtitle, div.MsoSubtitle
{mso-style-priority:11;
mso-style-link:"Subtitle Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
letter-spacing:.75pt;
font-style:italic;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
pre
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"HTML Preformatted Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
color:black;}
p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing
{mso-style-priority:1;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:windowtext;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
p.MsoQuote, li.MsoQuote, div.MsoQuote
{mso-style-priority:29;
mso-style-link:"Quote Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;
font-style:italic;}
p.MsoIntenseQuote, li.MsoIntenseQuote, div.MsoIntenseQuote
{mso-style-priority:30;
mso-style-link:"Intense Quote Char";
margin-top:10.0pt;
margin-right:.65in;
margin-bottom:14.0pt;
margin-left:.65in;
border:none;
padding:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;}
span.MsoSubtleEmphasis
{mso-style-priority:19;
color:gray;
font-style:italic;}
span.MsoIntenseEmphasis
{mso-style-priority:21;
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;}
span.MsoSubtleReference
{mso-style-priority:31;
font-variant:small-caps;
color:#C0504D;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.MsoIntenseReference
{mso-style-priority:32;
font-variant:small-caps;
color:#C0504D;
letter-spacing:.25pt;
font-weight:bold;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.MsoBookTitle
{mso-style-priority:33;
font-variant:small-caps;
letter-spacing:.25pt;
font-weight:bold;}
p.MsoTocHeading, li.MsoTocHeading, div.MsoTocHeading
{mso-style-priority:39;
margin-top:24.0pt;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
page-break-after:avoid;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#365F91;
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#365F91;
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading2Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 2 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 2";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading3Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading4Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 4 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 4";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;}
span.Heading5Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#243F60;}
span.Heading6Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 6 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 6";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#243F60;
font-style:italic;}
span.Heading7Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 7 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 7";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#404040;
font-style:italic;}
span.Heading8Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 8 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 8";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;}
span.Heading9Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 9 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 9";
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#404040;
font-style:italic;}
span.TitleChar
{mso-style-name:"Title Char";
mso-style-priority:10;
mso-style-link:Title;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#17365D;
letter-spacing:.25pt;}
span.SubtitleChar
{mso-style-name:"Subtitle Char";
mso-style-priority:11;
mso-style-link:Subtitle;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:#4F81BD;
letter-spacing:.75pt;
font-style:italic;}
span.QuoteChar
{mso-style-name:"Quote Char";
mso-style-priority:29;
mso-style-link:Quote;
color:black;
font-style:italic;}
span.IntenseQuoteChar
{mso-style-name:"Intense Quote Char";
mso-style-priority:30;
mso-style-link:"Intense Quote";
color:#4F81BD;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;}
span.HTMLPreformattedChar
{mso-style-name:"HTML Preformatted Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"HTML Preformatted";
font-family:"Consolas","serif";
color:black;}
span.EmailStyle48
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body bgcolor=white lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>A few years ago the Smithsonian hosted a conference called “21<sup>st</sup> Century Learning in Natural History Settings.” It included institutions from across the spectrum of sizes and disciplines in natural history and promoted a lot of productive discussion. Unfortunately, they stopped short of finalizing a definitive document that stated common values, goals, and standards. However, many of these things can be found in the discussion summaries and there are some nice drafts that may inform your own development. The homepage is here <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__21centurylearningnmnh.wikispaces.com_&d=AwMFAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=2YvGtgYNe5YcOGgx1cAh95RjtIvaWNj_rTum9RQKthU&s=xvweIh9892Q1OkBWig2Pwe8QY_XP5aa3Sv82IOfwihI&e=">http://21centurylearningnmnh.wikispaces.com/</a> Of particular interest may be the long term vision and value draft <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__21centurylearningnmnh.wikispaces.com_Long-2Bterm-2BVision-2Band-2BValue&d=AwMFAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=2YvGtgYNe5YcOGgx1cAh95RjtIvaWNj_rTum9RQKthU&s=2VK_QfQikN6kYWrOMSpwRodThTtK9YqNyvSDsQrt_cs&e=">http://21centurylearningnmnh.wikispaces.com/Long+term+Vision+and+Value</a> .<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>---Steve<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Steven M. Sullivan | Senior Curator of Urban Ecology<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>The Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum</span></font><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:3.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Museum|2430 North Cannon Drive|Chicago Illinois 60614|<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.naturemuseum.org_&d=AwMFAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=2YvGtgYNe5YcOGgx1cAh95RjtIvaWNj_rTum9RQKthU&s=beibQIFTnKJFwcqzZ88Yq_jRY_PENZS7QCRRMH_tU84&e="><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'>naturemuseum.org</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Collections|4001 North Ravenswood Ave.|Chicago Illinois 60613|<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__projectsquirrel.org_&d=AwMFAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=2YvGtgYNe5YcOGgx1cAh95RjtIvaWNj_rTum9RQKthU&s=d1Py1KmXe8kQxVOWiHJFX17dKFeLFRjfESvWbo8EPG8&e="><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'>projectsquirrel.org</span></font></a></span></font><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:3.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>P 708-937-6253 | F 773-549-0344 | <a href="ssullivan@naturemuseum.org"><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'>ssullivan@naturemuseum.org</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:3.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D;font-style:italic'>The Urban Gateway to Nature and Science<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 color=black face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:windowtext;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2 color=black face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:windowtext'> nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Dirk Neumann<br><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, January 23, 2015 1:53 AM<br><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu<br><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Nhcoll-l] Strategic plan/vision for the collection community<o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hi all,<br><br>the European Consortium of nat. his. Collections is currently developing such strategic goals, but they have early draft status at the moment. Earlier Position papers are available here: <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cetaf.org_taxonomy_publications&d=AwMD-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Btwigzn4Ka_ZAZ6_1Uyrwr3f8nanfFzFXqc00-4H37g&s=iwfEUqhMdPmCqf-ccXp5RngTSY0lRrmCi6Sa5UcC2F0&e=">http://www.cetaf.org/taxonomy/publications</a><br><br>However, as others already mentioned, at the moment there is a strong focus on all those fancy advances (Digitisation, barcoding, etc.), but we should not forget about the boring stuff: collections. <br><br>Collections are the foundation of all those nice outreaching initiatives. And instead of creating soft language on "integration of collections" which actually means shutting down and closing of collections, loss of taxonomic expertise and conservation knowledge, we should be careful not to risk and loose our expertise. Instead, we have to develop further, as especially DNA & tissue collections do not only need a lot of know-how in a changing legal environment, but also towards collection care: for long term storage, we are still in trial mode, there are no standards and no best practice.<br><br>At the same time, we and our ollections are confronted with a massive loss in knowledge (retirement, staff cutting, discontinued preparation skills, ...) and problems arising from usage of new techniques (just want to mention climate control & air pollutants). So preventive conservation should receive not only sufficient recognition in strategic plans, but play a vital role.<br><br>As siad before: our key business is collections. Without collections, we are nothing.<br><br>All the best<br>Dirk<br><br><br>Am 23.01.2015 um 00:38 schrieb Doug Yanega:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On 1/22/15 7:39 AM, Sublett, Clayton wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><div><div><p><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hi all,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Our collection is working on a strategic plan, and, as much as possible, I would like to work in goals of the natural history collections community. Does anyone know if there is a strategic vision for natural history collections/museums? The Organization for Biological Field Stations handed out a strategic vision at their 2013 meeting, and I was hoping something like this existed for collections. Beyond the push to database, digitize, and make collection data available online, I'm not sure about the goals of the community. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p></div></div></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>As others have already commented, though without much elaboration, it strikes me that as a community most of our "strategy" boils down to little more than damage control. Someone publishes a paper in Science accusing collections-based scientists of driving species to extinction, and we scramble to mobilize a rebuttal; some adminstrators somewhere decide to shut down a major collection, and we scramble to flood them with letters of support for the threatened collection. Rinse and repeat. On the whole, we are generally on the defensive, and we either hold our ground, or lose it - we never seem to advance - and that is about all the exposure we can expect to get. The average person is more interested in reading their horoscope than in reading anyone's mission statement, so unless we are acting in the role of protesting something, and gaining visibility thereby, no one is likely to pay any attention to us ("Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til it's gone"). Even within our own institutions, the higher administrative levels tend to treat everything like a business, and very few collections - especially if they have few or no public displays - actually generate profit, and collections (like libraries) are therefore more likely to be viewed as a form of charitable public service, to be supported only so long as we don't cost TOO much to maintain, relative to our PR value. It isn't clear to me, then, how any amount of advocacy can really counteract such a fundamental and unavoidable fact; most collections do not generate more revenue than they consume, and never will. From an administrator's point of view, a collection is a hole into which money pours but never comes back out. How can we make real advances and promote our interests when we owe our existence to what amounts to charitable forbearance?<br><br>More worrisome still, I will note that even within the community that we serve, the role of traditional collections-based science is being increasingly downplayed; the document Ellen Paul linked earlier, for example, makes no explicit reference to legacy material or vouchered specimens. There are many references to "knowledge" and "information" and "data" (as well as three uses of the term "molecular"), but nothing at all about museums or specimens. One can only presume that this reflects an increasing number of systematists who do not feel that their work requires any such infrastructure. In essence, every single point in the stated agenda can be accomplished without requiring the actual physical archival of (or reference to) whole organismal specimens, maintained in public depositories. If the explicit vision for the future of systematics as a discipline extols the virtues of molecular data but does not mention museums, then we are facing a much deeper problem than being misunderstood by our administrators; we are possibly looking at a future where the taxonomic community that we have served for centuries considers us irrelevant and archaic. Of the many taxonomists that have visited our collection in the last several years, a fair number had little or no interest in seeing or borrowing specimens that are more than 10 years old, because they only wanted material from which they could potentially extract DNA - and I imagine that trend will continue. How long can we argue to maintain legacy material if we can't even point to taxonomists that rely upon it?<br><br>Sincerely,<br><br><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>-- <o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'> <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cache.ucr.edu_-7Eheraty_yanega.html&d=AwMD-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=vwMAUPO4eZQ6KZ-JSKmCHcKrmT9OCkQnhY5yo4oQ9TE&s=gW1fnlhUmwcSJWwetl4lJu7drsNTMhAchXZ--SYUeOw&e=">http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'> "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'> is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br><br><br><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>_______________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Nhcoll-l mailing list<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><a href="mailto:Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu">Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><a href="http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l">http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>_______________________________________________ <o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>society. See <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.spnhc.org&d=AwMD-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Btwigzn4Ka_ZAZ6_1Uyrwr3f8nanfFzFXqc00-4H37g&s=PeroVGVsqCByaEirjx2dOisJ8ue6xqkLeDqdzybTFW0&e=">http://www.spnhc.org</a> for membership information.<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br><br><br><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>-- <o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Dirk Neumann<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Tel: 089 / 8107-111<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Fax: 089 / 8107-300<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Postanschrift:<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Zoologische Staatssammlung München<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Labor<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Münchhausenstr. 21<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>81247 München<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung:<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.zsm.mwn.de_ich_&d=AwMD-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Btwigzn4Ka_ZAZ6_1Uyrwr3f8nanfFzFXqc00-4H37g&s=FduDYdC8pzgBMcACynWYO_rhzhRCt5wq4LY2sKkndec&e=">http://www.zsm.mwn.de/ich/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>---------<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Dirk Neumann<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Tel: +49-89-8107-111<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Fax: +49-89-8107-300<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>postal address:<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Bavarian Natural History Collections<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Lab<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Muenchhausenstr. 21<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>81247 Munich (Germany)<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Visit our section at:<o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.zsm.mwn.de_ich_&d=AwMD-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=Btwigzn4Ka_ZAZ6_1Uyrwr3f8nanfFzFXqc00-4H37g&s=FduDYdC8pzgBMcACynWYO_rhzhRCt5wq4LY2sKkndec&e=">http://www.zsm.mwn.de/ich/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre><pre><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></pre></div></body></html>