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<p>Long-time list-lurker here. Just wanted to add to this thread a
huge thank-you to everyone in collections who considers donations
to education centers. <br>
</p>
<p>Many are in perpetual need as their collections are, as I like to
say around here, doomed for the dust bin. Our limited resources
for collections care and our habit of allowing kids to touch
things (or take them home, as is the case with this brilliant
shell bucket idea) translate into things not lasting anywhere near
as long as they otherwise would.</p>
<p>Having worked with elementary and middle school kids in
environmental ed for a long time, I can tell you that
incorporating a kid's sense of touch into our lessons is
increasingly important--true for adults too. My guess is many of
you, like me, were influenced by these kinds of
touching/collecting experiences as a kid. Thank you all for
remembering that and for helping to make it possible for the
kiddos who come after you.</p>
<p>Sue</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
***********************************************
Susan Gallagher, Chief Naturalist
Carbon County Environmental Education Center
151 East White Bear Drive
Summit Hill, PA 18250
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:sugal@ptd.net">sugal@ptd.net</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.carboneec.org">www.carboneec.org</a></pre>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/14/2021 9:41 AM, Callomon,Paul
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:BL0PR01MB5220010CD56B50C521FC4A05C3B89@BL0PR01MB5220.prod.exchangelabs.com">
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<p class="MsoNormal">We regularly receive donations of entire
private shell collections, often after their owner dies.
Owners or their legal representatives must sign our Deed of
Gift, which specifies that we (a) transfers to us
unconditional legal ownership of all material and (b) clearly
states that we reserve the right to dispose of part or all of
the collection in an appropriate way.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sheer size of these collections often
means that we will discard a considerable proportion, mainly
because many specimens do not have a date of collection and/or
sufficiently specific locality data to make them useful to
science. Lacking an institutional registrar, we are able to
separate this material before any collection cataloging takes
place and the problem of “de-accessioning” thus does not arise
(note the distinction between assuming legal ownership and
accessioning).
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We maintain several large “free shells for
kids” buckets, from which visitors and their kids can pick out
shells to take home. These are currently only brought out
during specific events such as Academy Members’ Night or the
Philadelphia Shell Show, but there is no reason why they could
not be a permanent feature of the children’s area of the
museum. We certainly have enough surplus shells. Occasionally
Academy benefactors or board members will bring their kids or
grandkids for a “behind-the-scenes-tour” and letting them
loose with a bag in the shell buckets is a major highlight
that all enjoy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In consigning material to the Free Shells
bucket, we first remove any labels and weed out anything that
has dangerously sharp edges or spines. Kids love picking
shells out and filling a bag, and I know from my own
experience that being able to take shells home at an early age
can spark a lifelong attachment to them.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Removing the labels anonymizes the shells,
allowing wonder and curiosity to operate properly, and avoids
any complications that might arise if they could still be
linked to their previous owners. If someone asks, we can
always tell them what species a shell represents, and roughly
where it is from, though to date very few people have.
However, we get very positive feedback from members and
visitors about their children’s experience with the “shell
buckets” and donors are pleased to hear that their surplus
material is helping inspire natural curiosity in a new
generation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Paul Callomon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Collection Manager,
Malacology and General Invertebrates<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<div class="MsoNormal"
style="text-align:center;background:white" align="center">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">
<hr width="100%" size="2" align="center">
</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Academy of Natural
Sciences of Drexel University</span></b><b><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">1900 Benjamin Franklin
Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA<br>
<i><a href="mailto:prc44@drexel.edu" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="color:#0563C1">prc44@drexel.edu</span></a> Tel
215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><b>From:</b>
Nhcoll-l <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu"><nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu></a>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Catherine Early (she/her)<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, October 14, 2021 9:18 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu">nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Nhcoll-l] no data specimens<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<table class="MsoNormalTable"
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3.0pt;background:cornsilk;padding:0in 3.0pt 0in 3.0pt">
<p><b><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;font-variant:small-caps">External.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">Hello all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">I have a two-part question today:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">1) Is there any
<i>scientific</i> value to tanned hides with no data?
We have many large mammal hides that were purchased
from fur suppliers in the 1970's that take up a lot of
room but lack data. We might keep one of each species
for identification, but otherwise, they do not belong
in a scientific collection (where we are constantly
running out of space), correct? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">2) Have any of your institutions
developed protocols for deaccessioning no data
specimens into the hands of private citizens? We will
prioritize giving no data (former) specimens to
education centers, but there is a limited need for no
data shell collections that previous curators accepted
from donors, so we will likely need to look elsewhere.
We know that we would be limited in what we could give
to private citizens by permit restrictions for owning
wildlife parts, but we're also very concerned with
devaluing public opinions of specimens by creating the
impression that specimens can just be given away. I
would love to hear any language or agreements you've
developed to make it clear why items are deaccessioned
and how they differ from scientific specimens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
class="gmaildefault"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">Thanks</span></span><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">Catherine</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
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<table class="MsoNormalTable"
cellpadding="0" border="0">
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<td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a
href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smm.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cprc44%40drexel.edu%7C48b9fd8ff81f445aa76108d98f1516af%7C3664e6fa47bd45a696708c4f080f8ca6%7C0%7C0%7C637698143029111306%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=dUTiBAlwz9SokfTiSa5rdskKLZ%2FgYhmv7cNCzx09cqw%3D&reserved=0"
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<td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt
11.25pt">
<p
style="margin:0in;line-height:13.5pt"><strong><span
style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3F3F3F">Catherine
M. Early, PhD</span></strong><b><span
style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3F3F3F"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p
style="margin:0in;line-height:13.5pt"><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3F3F3F">she/her<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p
style="margin:0in;line-height:13.5pt"><i><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3F3F3F">Barbara
Brown Chair of Ornithology</span></i><span
style="font-family:"Times
New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p
style="margin:0in;line-height:13.5pt"><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3F3F3F">e:
<a href="mailto:cearly@smm.org"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">cearly@smm.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p
style="margin:0in;line-height:13.5pt"><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3F3F3F"><a
href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcatherineearly.wixsite.com%2Fhome&data=04%7C01%7Cprc44%40drexel.edu%7C48b9fd8ff81f445aa76108d98f1516af%7C3664e6fa47bd45a696708c4f080f8ca6%7C0%7C0%7C637698143029111306%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=C7sgG3cHULnYqQpASOCnl2H2ygo03mE5pkfthZBZ3f4%3D&reserved=0"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://catherineearly.wixsite.com/home</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p
style="margin:0in;line-height:12.0pt"><span
style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#3F3F3F">We
envision a world where everyone
has the power to use science to
make lives better,<br>
and we are committed to using
STEM as a tool to advocate for
justice and equity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
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