[NHCOLL-L:1898] Re: Threatened Collections

[Roberta Faul-Zeitler]

April 17, 2003

Dear NHCOLL Colleagues:

The Natural Science Collections Alliance (which has not used the name,
Association of Systematic Collections since 2001) is taking several steps to
address proposed/actual funding cuts and concerns raised by our member
institutions. This is a problem that is broader and bigger, involving both
state governments and university politics, than asking any one federal
agency for a bailout.

We invite your suggestions and input to move this beyond a listserv
discussion into a coherent strategy that will allow the community to to
cooperate on solutions:

1) The upcoming NSC Alliance conference (in Berkeley, California -- June
5-7) will feature at least three sessions in which collections-holding
institutions (museums and universities) will be able to discuss and develop
strategy for addressing 1) economic approaches to preserving collections,
collections managers, and research personnel; 2) rally together at the
closing plenary (what can NSCA do for you) with a set of "next steps" and
unifying ideas that the community can use in communicating with local,
regional and national funders, both government and private.

I encourage you to come to the conference and actually take part in the
multiple opportunities to discuss the issues and come up with an action
plan.  http://www.nscalliance.org/annual_meeting/03/register.asp

2) The Alliance is rolling out a communications toolkit this summer with a
brochure, powerpoint presentation and script for use by member institutions
in making the case for collections. There will be specific examples of how
collections are making a difference. It is designed to be flexible so your
institution can use it --along with your own materials -- to talk with
funders, public officials and university administrators. Communications
Manager Andrea Schmidt is building a web gallery of examples and "success
stories" of how collections benefit science and society. Please feel free to
send story ideas to her at: communications at nscalliance.org. Cochairs of this
project are Cliff Siegfried (New York State Museum) and Brian Boom (Columbia
University). Both are on our board and can be emailed by logging onto our
web site. The kit will be available to members and for sale to non-members
at reasonable prices.

3) We are planning some next media steps that will build on the USA Today in
seeking national coverage. Details to be shared.

4) I have proposed to our board that the Alliance should establish a
strategy and network to address collections that are threatened with
orphaning, or are actually going to be orphaned. We would welcome your
advice and input on this. It would be far better for the community to
coalesce and work together on preserving collections intact and ensuring
their intellectual-scientific value (not to mention physical care and
safety) if they must be relocated.

In good times, people get busy and don't unify because they are involved in
their work. In bad times, people become preoccupied with their internal
institutional woes, and cease having time and emotional energy to expend on
working together as a community.

We welcome your ideas, suggestions and work with the Alliance's board and
members. Please feel free to cross-post this to other listservs whose
subscribers want to help.

Best wishes, Bobbie

Roberta Faul-Zeitler
Executive Director
Natural Science Collections Alliance
1725 K Street NW, Suite 601
Washington DC 20006
Tel. (202) 835-9050
FAX (202) 835-7334
Email: faulzeitler at nscalliance.org


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu
> [mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu]On Behalf Of Doug Yanega
> Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 8:51 PM
> To: NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
> Cc: taxacom at usobi.org
> Subject: [NHCOLL-L:1894] Re: Threatened Collections
>
>
> Given Gerald Noonan's message, this latest from Roberta Faul-Zeitler,
> and other signs of the coming Apocalypse, one rather immediate and
> urgent question comes to mind:
>
> If these threats are here and now, then it's almost certainly too
> late for us to be discussing what long-term plans we might make for
> reshaping public and political perception of the role of museums and
> taxonomists. Getting more public support five to ten years from now
> isn't going to help if half the museums in the country are dismantled
> in the next two years. It's like we're all tied to the railroad
> tracks in a big line while a train is heading for us (the first in
> line have already been hit, in fact), and if our best solution is
> calling the head of the railway and asking him to re-route the train
> before it runs *all* of us over, then I think we're in big trouble;
> there's too much inertia and bureaucracy in the way. I can think of a
> few alternatives, but they're very risky, require way more
> cooperation than our community is probably capable of, and involve
> way more public exposure than we're likely to be comfortable with, so
> I don't think they're realistic. Doesn't anyone one else have any
> ideas as to what we might do *now* to improve our odds - essentially,
> a way to cut whatever it is that ties us to the tracks?
>
> Peace,
> --
>
> Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
> Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
> phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
> 		http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
>    "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
>          is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
>