<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">Lennart,</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">You have received some very good advice from Nigel, Dirk, and Andy, but just to make sure that your original question is addressed, a bit of clarification is in order:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">As Andy pointed out and the <i>Spectrum</i> standards recommended by Nigel state, if an <i>accessioned</i> specimen is permanently removed from the collection for any reason, you should indicate that it was <i>deaccessioned</i>, and the deaccessioning process must be thoroughly documented as well as the <i>disposal</i> process (disposal refers to how you get rid of the specimen, such as by exchanging it with another museum or giving it to another museum, destroying it completely, selling it, etc.). Remember that (1) only accessioned specimens can be deaccessioned; (2) the process should be well documented; and (3) you should not deaccession specimens that are lost or missing.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">The specimen record for deaccessioned specimens should be maintained in the museum--do not re-use catalog number of destroy any of the documentation about the specimen. The record is still valuable, even if the specimen no longer exists.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">As Dirk explained, a <i>lost</i> or <i>missing</i> specimen may turn up long after it has gone missing. For this reason, if you cannot find the specimen, you should not deaccession it, but rather indicate in the specimen record (e.g., the catalog or accession record) that it is lost or missing. In the 52+ years I have worked in natural history museums, I have seen a lot of lost or missing specimens suddenly turn up in the wrong container, in teaching collections, and in other museums by accident. As Dirk explained, even if you think specimens were lost in a war, you should not deaccession them but record them as lost or missing.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">If a specimen is used for <i>destructive sampling</i>, it can be deaccessioned as long as the process is documented, but as Dirk mentioned, frequently such specimens are not completely destroyed--there may be DNA or bones or skin or other parts that are not destroyed, in which case these should remain in the collection. Because each specimen is a record of the occurrence of a species or object at a particular place and time, saving parts of a damaged specimen is still important. Furthermore, in science museums we should keep in mind that we do not know what research use our specimens will have in the future. For example, the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery (where I volunteer) has many geoscience specimens that are rich in pyrite and over the years have crumbled to dust. At first glance, you might think that the pile of grit left behind is useless and should be thrown away, but recently, some researchers have asked specifically for that sort of material because they can extract rare earth metals, etc. from it. Similarly, the remaining parts of even heavily dissected specimens may have use in the future. <br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">The important thing is to document what was done to the specimen, when, by whom, and for what purpose.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">--John</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br clear="all"></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">John E. Simmons<br>Writer and Museum Consultant</span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">Museologica<br><i>and</i><br>Associate Curator of Collections<br>Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery<br>Penn State University<br><i>and</i><br>Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia<br>Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima</span></font><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jan 14, 2022 at 3:49 AM Lennart Lennuk <<a href="mailto:Lennart.Lennuk@loodusmuuseum.ee">Lennart.Lennuk@loodusmuuseum.ee</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div lang="ET">
<div class="gmail-m_-6986750050719334153WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Hi!<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Just a quick terminology question.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">What is a word for the act when an specimen in collection is destroyed and it needs to be maked that this specimen no longer exist in that collection?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Best regards!<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Lennart Lennuk<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Head of collections<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Estonian Museum of Natural History<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">+372 6603404, 56569916<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
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