[NHCOLL-L:4009] RE: Request for subject-specific listserver info, & online lists of natural history collections

[Carolyn Rebbert]

Dear Scott,

There is a mineral listserve but you have to subscribe in order to post:
http://www.minsocam.org/MSA/MSA_Talk.html

I once put meteorite specimens online pretty easily and at no expense. It just creates a listing, but you can group it into smaller sections:
http://research.amnh.org/eps/collections/meteorites/alpha/A
Basically, if your database records are in good shape and you can export the desired data into an excel spreadsheet, then you can get shareware that converts excel to html.

Hope this helps.

Truly,
Carolyn

Carolyn Rose Rebbert, Ph.D.
Curator of Science
Bruce Museum of Arts and Science
1 Museum Drive
Greenwich, CT 06830
phone:(203) 869-6786 x334
fax:(203) 869-0963
www.brucemuseum.org<http://www.brucemuseum.org>

Member, US National Committee for IYPE
www.geosociety.org/iype/<http://www.geosociety.org/iype/>

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From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Scott LaGreca
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 11:54 AM
To: NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu; taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:4005] Request for subject-specific listserver info, & online lists of natural history collections

Dear colleagues,

I'm currently preparing an IMLS (Institute for Museum & Library Services) grant proposal for databasing and re-housing all of our natural history collections. (c. 15,000 specimens, total). Our collections include almost all groups of organisms, as well as minerals; the majority are shells (c. 7,500 specimens) and minerals (c. 3,500 specimens).

As part of my proposal I'm planning to "get the word out" to the scientific community about our natural history collections here. The question I need to answer in this proposal is: How do I do this? I need to have some sort of idea, for the purposes of the grant proposal.

The two ideas I've come up with are:

1. Send emails to subject-specific listservers. For example, I know that lichenologists have a listserver called "lichens-l" that one can subscribe to. I'm sure there are others.

Can any of you please send me information about mollusk-specific listservers? Mineralogy-specific listservers? other botany-specific listservers? entomology-specific listservers? Bird-specific listservers? Etc.

(I believe it would strengthen my grant proposal if I can list some of the listservers, by name, in our proposal)

2. List our museum on websites where other natural history collections are listed. For example, I know that, for botanists, there is a searchable, online "Index Herbariorum" (http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih/). Do similar online (or paper!) resources exist for mollusk collections? Mineral collections? Insect collections? Bird collections?

(I'd also like to list a few of these resources/lists, by name, in our proposal).

Please note that placing all of our specimen records online is *not* part of our project plan, at this stage. I realize that posting records online is the very best way to advertise a museum's holdings--but it's beyond the scope of our project. (We're hoping to put all of our specimen records online sometime in the future...).

So, in sum, I suppose what I'm asking for is:
What's the best way to "get the word out" to all the malacologists, mineralogists, botanists, entomologists, etc., about our holdings here at our little museum?--short of listing all of our specimen records on our institutional website. I believe that (1) and (2) above are the best ways--are there others?

Thanks to all of you in advance for any ideas/ information you can send my way.

Sincerely yours,

Scott

Scott LaGreca, PhD
Natural Science Coordinator
Berkshire Museum
39 South Street
Pittsfield, MA  01201  USA
TEL 413-443-7171, ext. 17
FAX 413-443-2135
slagreca at berkshiremuseum.org <mailto:slagreca at berkshiremuseum.org<blocked::mailto:slagreca at berkshiremuseum.org>>

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