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<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Colleagues:</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;"></span></p>
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<span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;"></span></p>
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<span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">In response to the ongoing events associated with COVID-19, access to all scientific collections located at the Sam Noble
Museum at the University of Oklahoma, Norman Campus will now be limited.</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> As of March 20, 2020 the Sam Noble Museum is closed to the public and scientific collections
are closed to visitors until at least May 11, 2020.</span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; background: white; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Incoming and outgoing loans</span><span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; background: white; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">have
been suspended. Institutions and individuals should not ship collections back or return specimen loans to the Museum at this time.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">
Loan requests will be filled when the Museum reopens depending on staff availability and collections access. </span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Researchers may continue to access collection information online through collection databases (</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin"><a href="https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/collections-and-research/" style=""><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: blue;">https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/collections-and-research/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">)
or through d</span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">ata aggregators.</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin"></span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; background: white;">
<span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">We are constantly monitoring this dynamic situation. The Sam Noble Museum will return to normal operations when we are
advised that it is safe to do so.</span></span></p>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">If there are questions for a particular collection, feel free to email the curators and curatorial staff directly.</span></p>
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<span style="background: white; color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Sincerely,</span></p>
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<span style="background: white; color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Richard Lupia</span></p>
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<div class="PlainText"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Head Curator</span></div>
<div class="PlainText"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Associate Curator, Paleobotany & Micropaleontology</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Sam Noble Museum</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Oklahoma</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2401 Chautauqua Avenue</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Norman OK 73072</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><rlupia@ou.edu></span></div>
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