[NHCOLL-L:1370] Re: Invoicing loans of specimens

[Sally Shelton]

Excellent idea. If, however, you are sending specimens to the DC area, such an  invoice should not be sent by USPS for now. As a first-class letter or flat, it will be trucked to Ohio and irradiated before it is sent to DC, and the delays are not yet getting any shorter. In this case, we'd actually suggest  email with hard-copy backup by fax (or by FedEx or other overnight service if it is critical and you have the budget). This gives us another way to anticipate what should be coming in from you via Ohio and to have a shipping date on record. 



Sally Y. Shelton
Collections Officer
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC   20560-0107
phone (202) 786-2601, FAX (202) 786-2328
email Shelton.Sally at nmnh.si.edu

List owner, PERMIT-L


>>> "Alexandra M. Snyder" <amsnyder at UNM.EDU> 12:42:21 PM Friday, December 07, 2001 >>>
Thanks to all those on the list who have kept the rest of us up on current 
USPS practices and the new security measures as they apply to mailing 
natural history specimens.   However, I would like to emphasize that now, 
more than ever, an invoice should be sent under separate cover "announcing" 
to a receipient that they should be expecting specimens in the mail.  Even 
when using express mail, as silly as it may seem,  an invoice should be 
sent under separate cover.

I know that for many of you this is not a new idea and is part of your loan 
protocol.  However, I continue to receive loan returns and other 
transactions without a separate invoice preceding the box of specimens. 
"In my world" these "invoiceless" transactions are becoming more common. 
Many think that email is a solution but in my opinion it is not the way to 
formalize a museum transaction.

And sending an invoice enclosed with the specimens is like sending no 
invoice at all!  If the box is lost, so is the invoice and the receipient 
will never know the difference...until it is too late to possibly track the 
box.

================================
Alexandra M. Snyder, Collection Manager
Division of Fishes
Museum of Southwestern Biology
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131 USA
PH 505.277.6005  FAX 505.277.0304
amsnyder at unm.edu