From esther.dondorp at naturalis.nl Mon Mar 2 07:54:00 2026 From: esther.dondorp at naturalis.nl (Esther Dondorp) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 13:54:00 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Battery jars? Message-ID: Dear colleagues, does anyone know a supplier for ordering (good-quality) battery jars? We have some objects that do not fit into our standard glassware, and the battery jars available from aquarium stores for example have rims that are too narrow to be sealed with our wax. Thank you! Esther Dondorp Senior Collectiebeheerder +31648704107 - +31648704107 esther.dondorp at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de Mon Mar 2 08:23:50 2026 From: d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 14:23:50 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Battery jars? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <84647f64-bf0e-4b51-84da-c57eb7a3cadf@leibniz-lib.de> Dear Ester, occasionally, such jars are sold for home decoration in DIY stores, but usually the glass quality is ... rather very simple soda-lime glass of low quality. We made a similar experience with full glass aquarium tanks that were unevenly blown into the mold and thickness especially at the corners of less then 2 mm at the corners (but + 1.0 mm in the middle). DWK (Duran/Wheaton/Kimble, a Schott Company) is producing some formats, which are available via lab vendors https://www.laborshop24.de/de/DURAN-Praeparatekasten-mit-aufgeschliffener-Glasplatte.html Apparently, there is a new manufacturer (which I haven't been aware off until now) that is producing also larger formats https://www.laborshop24.de/de/Aquarienkasten--Pneumatische-Wanne-aus-Klarglas--Rand-fein-geschliffen.html Neubert also offers different sizes https://www.neubert-glas.de/laborglas/onlineshop/katalog_php/1_995727484085_1175281088790_1713432985824/1023362157218/Praeparatekasten-AquarienkastenAquariumkasten.html?PHPSESSID=808bc3219a137a62453ce24a53233b99 Hope this helps Dirk Am 02.03.2026 um 13:54 schrieb Esther Dondorp: Dear colleagues, does anyone know a supplier for ordering (good-quality) battery jars? We have some objects that do not fit into our standard glassware, and the battery jars available from aquarium stores for example have rims that are too narrow to be sealed with our wax. Thank you! Esther Dondorp Senior Collectiebeheerder [https://naturalis-public-media-assets.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/Naturalis-mail-signature/logo.png] +31648704107 - +31648704107 esther.dondorp at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. 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Membership in SPNHC gives you access to a lively, active, and interdisciplinary global community of professionals dedicated to the care of natural history collections. SPNHC's membership is drawn from more than 20 countries and includes museum specialists such as curators, collections managers, conservators, preparators, and database administrators. The Society hosts annual meetings and sponsors symposia and workshops to foster the exchange of ideas and information. Member benefits also include early online access to the society's peer-reviewed journal, Collection Forum, a biannual newsletter and a wealth of content on our website at www.spnhc.org. Membership information can be found by visiting our website and clicking "Join SPNHC." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl Mon Mar 2 09:49:37 2026 From: hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl (Hannco Bakker) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 15:49:37 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Feedback on storage solution of large and irregular sized glass slides Message-ID: Dear colleagues, My name is Hannco Bakker and I am collection manager for various invertebrate groups here at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. And I would like to share a perhaps simple solution on large and irregular sized glass slides. It would be great to receive your feedback or thoughts about this. Perhaps you may have similar challenges with glass slides of a wide range of sizes. Often historical, self-made glass slides. Or in some cases makers may have extended the glass slides with labels that may give it an increased length. Labels can be fragile again, detaching or folding are not an option. Context should remain preserved. [image: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg] [image: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg] Some of you may use these glass slide cabinets with their plastic trays. Perfect for two standard sizes of slides. However, self-made or larger slides will not fit. Here in Naturalis these slides were stored in shelves of 5 cm in height, wasting a lot of space. There are some high quality, but expensive options such as special made cabinets by Bruynzeel or other manufacturers. Cabinets with steel made very thin drawers, saving a lot of space. But not every museum has a large budget. Or sometimes it is a problem of weight, as these cabinets weigh maybe a couple 100kg or more. Together with the slides, the weight may become a problem as well. Therefore we have looked into developing something of our own. It should meet requirements such as: - Museum grade quality; - practical friendly; - modular; - cheap(er); - easy to get/use materials; - not dependent on one manufacturer. And perhaps some others that I may have forgotten to mention. We've come to the following solution. - We kept our wooden cabinets, as we have the blueprints, any woodworker could make them. - 3d printed levels on the sides, to hold the trays. We have plenty of 3d printers and the file is open access for anyone to use, if the trays appear too thick the holders can be adjusted as well. - Cardboard trays with holes, so you could lift the slide up from underneath. Acid free, low waste. - Foam with double sided tape to make it modular for all sorts of sizes. We've received all the last bits and pieces from suppliers and I am testing it now. It feels very satisfying to have these slides stored in a more proper way now. [image: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg] [image: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg][image: 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg] It is not 'perfect', but very easy and user friendly. It has a home-made feeling, but with a touch of quality and proper selection of materials. It may solve a smaller housing problem, but may save a lot of space. I am looking forward to your thoughts on this solution. And we are happy to share our details. With kind regards, Hannco (Piet A.J.) Bakker Senior Collections Manager Invertebrates +31717519334 - hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 309606 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 210859 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 275999 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 128790 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 148701 bytes Desc: not available URL: From cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu Mon Mar 2 10:37:23 2026 From: cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu (Opitz, Cindy E) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 15:37:23 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Accepting applications: VAP in Museum Studies at UIowa In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: From: Trusty, Debra A Subject: Accepting applications: VAP in Museum Studies at UIowa Hello everyone! I am hoping you can help me get the word out and send the following messages to anyone you feel might be a good applicant for this position or on any job boards you have access to: The University of Iowa?s Classics and Religious Studies invites applications for a 100% Visiting Assistant Professor in Museum Studies for the 2026-2027 academic year. Duties of this position include teaching 4 classes per semester and includes one section of MUSM:2001 (Introduction to Museum Studies) each semester, as well as courses related to exhibition development, public education, and museum administration in fulfillment of the Museum Studies undergraduate certificate. The successful candidate will collaborate with colleagues and will serve on the Museum Studies Advisory Committee for the program, as well as other responsibilities as needed. The start date of this position is August 19, 2026. Information, including a list of required and desired qualifications and application materials, is provided here: https://jobs.uiowa.edu/faculty/view/75864. If you or anyone you know has questions, don't hesitate to reach out to Shannon Yost (shannon-yost at uiowa.edu). Review of applications will begin on March 6, 2026, and will continue until position is filled. Thanks for your help! Deb Debra A. Trusty, PhD (she/her/hers) Associate Professor of Instruction, Department of Classics, University of Iowa Museum Studies Program Coordinator, Division of Interdisciplinary Studies Department of Classics Honors Coordinator 224 Jefferson Building, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Office: 319-335-0624 [cid:bde747e6-42f1-47f5-a6ae-46c3ee1b150d] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Outlook-s0osu2rr.png Type: image/png Size: 30018 bytes Desc: Outlook-s0osu2rr.png URL: From d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de Mon Mar 2 12:16:51 2026 From: d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 18:16:51 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Access and authorship in natural history collections In-Reply-To: References: <9c56c9ab-c9da-448b-962e-dabce033f58b@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: <1510ff17-b900-4838-ab10-6bc0218bc13f@leibniz-lib.de> Hi Cody, I am not sure if I understand your question correctly, because "handling fees" do not commercialise a request in the meaning of the Nagoya Protocol. The key question for this would be if the requested tissues would be used/utilised for a commercial/applied purpose, or not. If an institution charges handling or shipping fees, e.g. to maintain operations or to cover costs that otherwise cannot be covered in-house, than this would not render the collection a commercial collection (i.e. making a profit out of incoming access requests). Such situations do exist however, one example are (parts of) microbial collections, which run on sales of materials from living cell lines, virus materiels etc. they propagate and/or offered as "a product". In an Nagoya Context, such collections can take on the role as a (commercial) Provider. In the EU, some microbial collections opted in to register this part of their collections. For Nagoya Compliance, these collections need to negotiate with the respective original providing countries access of third to this material, and would have all reporting and documenting obligations. But this is not the case here - as far as I understand. However, there might be a chance that a scientist requests a tissue for pure taxonomy/identification, but for doing so, this scientist needs to look into functions or expression patterns of genes, which is the case in some plants (e.g. for identification of thyme varieties). Typification would be a similar example. At least form the understanding of the EU ABS Regulation and for compliance on the user side, as long as the scientist is using the analytical results for pure identification, this would not be considered as utilisation in the meaning of the NP. Example: you could request tissue material collected and exported under a non-commercial collecting permit of country A to a collection in country B (staff at this collection did the fieldwork in country A for biodiversity discovery and legally exported the material). The collection in country B charges handling/shipping fees for the tissue request, the tissues are used to identify potential new species / to compare these tissues with species form other countries outside A. This would still be a non-commercial request/use, and the reason (species discovery) would still match with the original permit conditions (sharing with third is allowed, if use for biodiversity discovery). Hope this helps ... (?) With best wishes Dirk Am 27.02.2026 um 23:52 schrieb Cody Thompson: ACHTUNG/ATTENTION: Diese E-Mail stammt von einem externen Absender. / This e-mail comes from an external sender. Following up on John's and James's comment about charging for loans, this has been happening in tissue collections in the US for several years now, especially in vertebrate tissue collections that are accessed frequently by biomedical researchers. From my understanding, the fees are used to support the time for pulling, subsampling, packing, and shipping material. Generally there is also a way to avoid the loan fees, e.g., documentation showing contributions to collections. So, researchers that reciprocate collection access are not affected. In the past, I know researchers have often been asked to cover shipping costs for tissue loans. However, I am wondering if it is becoming more acceptable to assess these additional fees to support the time of collection personnel. And if so, how does that track with the constraints of Nagoya, or potential limitations on commercial use found in collecting permits? Take care, Cody Cody W. Thompson, PhD Mammal Collections Manager & Associate Research Scientist University of Michigan Museum of Zoology 3600 Varsity Drive Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 Office: (734) 615-2810 Fax: (734) 763-4080 Email: cwthomp at umich.edu Website: codythompson.org Please click here to support the UMMZ Mammal Division, its collections, and research mission!!! On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 6:47?PM Mickley, James > wrote: Dear all: I have also heard of institutions in the USA requiring authorship as a loan condition. We have also discussed charging a fee for loans, and this at a major herbarium. There are obvious reciprocity issues with both, and we have opted not to do this for now. However, these discussions may come from a position of necessity and perhaps survival rather than simply padding CVs. My institution values publications and cashflow; they don't otherwise value loans fulfilled, or collections as a public good, especially given that our faculty do not often request loans from other institutions for their research. Even pointing to the large number of outside publications that cite our collections seems to get a lukewarm response. We often caution each other about not undervaluing ourselves as a collections community, and I think that's a worthwhile conversation to have. I'd suggest that authorship or fees are maybe not the best way to accomplish this, but looking across campus at similar service providers (e.g., imaging, genomic, diagnostic), the standard is to charge for time, data, access, and the like. Cheers - James Mickley ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. James Mickley (he/him/his) Assistant Professor of Practice (Herbarium Curator) Senior Instructor Oregon State University | Botany and Plant Pathology Office: 2511 Cordley Hall | OSU Herbarium | OregonFlora [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4zIfq0ClZNu1aSuk1IPrE7BPe2aqa_lXxtMZTEd999j8LYGXr7OPZ4pZNRJZXIajvnGir7oyQU] ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of John E Simmons > Sent: Monday, February 2, 2026 12:55 PM To: Erika Natarajan > Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Access and authorship in natural history collections [This email originated from outside of OSU. Use caution with links and attachments.] This is a very interesting discussion, and I appreciate all of the viewpoints expressed so far. It is an important discussion to have. I have worked with natural history collections for nearly six decades (since my freshman year in college in 1969) so I have seen a lot of changes in the field, particularly in who collects specimens, who has collections, and who uses collections. I was a full-time collections manager at the California Academy of Sciences (4 years), at the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas (26 years), I have been an independent collections consultant since 2008, and I have published widely on collections and collection care. FIRST--the idea that a staff member of an institution should be automatically included as an author simplify for making a loan of specimens or access to specimens possible is hogwash. If that was a standard, I would have an astounding publication record. A simple acknowledgement is appropriate, but nothing more. The very idea seems to go along with the ridiculous trend of having 15 or 20 authors on a single publication. Enough with authorship inflation already. SECOND--Back in the Pleistocene when I first started working collections, there was an informal quid pro quo among collecting institutions. Staff or students from institution A would borrow B, who would loan to C, and so forth so that the costs of preparing loans or providing access (which can be very high) were evened out over time. This has not been true since the advent of molecular systematics in the late 1980s. Most (but not all) of the people borrowing specimens or accessing specimens in collections today do not work for collecting institutions and do not collect specimens that others might use, so the system is out of balance. Passing along the costs of borrowing specimens, in particular, is reasonable. Most curators can easily determine which institutions are reciprocal (e.g., offer collection access or loans themselves) and which are not. This is only fair. The collecting institutions are already burdened with the cost of upkeep of collections; they should not be expected to bear the cost of loans to researchers who do not have collections to loan. Researchers without collections would not expect cost-free use of scanning electron microscopes, etc., and should not expect cost-free collection loans, either. Yes, collections belong to all of us, but no, we do not all help support collections, do we? --John John E. Simmons Writer and Museum Consultant Museologica and Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery Penn State University and Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 2:42?PM Erika Natarajan > wrote: I think this discussion highlights a broader ethical distortion in scientific publishing and research culture. Publications were originally meant to disseminate discoveries and advance knowledge. Over time, however, institutional reward systems have shifted the focus toward authorship as a metric, sometimes regardless of the actual quality, rigor, or originality of the data. In that context, authorship risks becoming a form of currency rather than a reflection of genuine intellectual contribution. I would also like to gently challenge the assumption that collections in ?wealthier? or ?first-world? countries are inherently better supported or better managed than those in countries such as Colombia. I am currently volunteering in a large museum in a high-income country, and what I observe daily is that heavy bureaucracy, rigid administrative structures, and institutional inertia often hinder good collection care and research access ? even when there is an excellent and highly committed curator. Conversely, many collections in Colombia operate under severe material constraints, yet are sustained by extraordinary scientific dedication, deep local expertise, and strong engagement with regional biodiversity. Their main limitation is not a lack of competence or commitment, but a lack of institutional recognition and structural support. These are fundamentally different challenges. For these reasons, I think it is misleading to frame this issue as a simple dichotomy between ?rich country? and ?LMIC? collections. Both operate under systemic pressures that can distort ethical practices in different ways. Mandatory or expected authorship, however, remains problematic in any context if it is not based on real intellectual contribution. Supporting underfunded collections should be achieved through fair and voluntary collaboration, shared research agendas, funding, training, and infrastructure ? not by redefining authorship as compensation. Ultimately, what matters most is not who signs the paper, but the discovery itself and its contribution to scientific knowledge. Perhaps emerging tools, including AI, can help us refocus evaluation on scientific content and impact rather than on name accumulation. Erika Isabel Natarajan On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 11:16?AM Andrew J. Crawford > wrote: What a great question and interesting topic for discussion. Several issues have been brought up and points of view shared, to which I will add one more I haven't seen in this threat. In principle, I am against the notion that me providing a service as curator implies I should be on your paper. I am providing a service to the community, and I hope to enjoy reciprocity in my own work and maintain good relationships with other collections, as someone already mentioned in this thread. Also, the collections are not mine, I am only the temporary custodian of this national or global patrimony. Most curators are already being paid to support the collections and increase their use, and probably were hired without the expectation of being on papers developed by users of the collection. If the visitor is asking too much of the curator, beyond their normal duties, the curator can always say "No, come do that yourself, we cannot offer that service at this time." That said, now imagine you coming from a relatively rich country and you visit a developing nation, like Colombia, and you invoke the principle of reciprocity. The problem is that most collections in Colombia, and likely in Lower to Middle-income countries (LMIC) generally, just do not have the institutional support you find at a larger institution in a wealthier country. In Colombia, I know of collections with really valuable material that receive basically no institutional support with literally no salaries -- functioning by student volunteers and professors paid to teach, with no institutional recognition of their curatorial dedication. Sometimes the curator is not paid to curate. Likely no one is paid for their expertise, or to process permits, take measurements, or ship packages. The individual grant paying for the research by the visitor from a wealthy country is likely many times bigger than the entire annual budget for many collections in LMICs. (I know all collections in the world are short-staffed and short on resources, but the difference between "less than you need" and "nothing" is harsh.) Thus, if I want to access for example tissues from a collection in Colombia, especially a smaller collection with little support, and the curator asks to be on my future paper, perhaps this is the least I can do to support them and thank them for their personal sacrifices towards maintaining these valuable regional collections that support biodiversity inventories & systematics, and train a population of deserving students. If the tissues are from a taxonomic group they have experience with, my future paper will only be that much improved by having them on board as a true collaborator, anyway. And if I had a decent-sized grant, I might take the next step and say, "Thanks for sharing and helping me make my own research better. Now let's talk about your ideas. What's interesting to you as a biodiversity scientist or how can we help you as a curator?" Anyway, all these issues are context-dependent, and the world is much more complex than what I outlined above. I just wanted to mention this additional variable where we might make slightly different decisions as contexts change. All best wishes, -Andrew Andrew J. Crawford Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle (ANDES) Department of Biological Sciences, Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de los Andes, Bogot?, Colombia, South America @crawfordaj.bsky.social? IG: @craw.crawdad On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 10:07?AM Dirk Neumann > wrote: Hi Luis, the case I mentioned was real scientific input (i.e. prior determination of faunal remains to species level be sure that requested species are included in the bone rubble and the taxonomic IDs are correct). This is justified, especially if this material is used for stable isotopes or aDNA (because the bones are previously undetermined and unrecognised in the bags with the archaeological material). Also for tissues MTAs - as in our case - this can be justified. Depending on the contractual conditions the material war originally accessioned under the respective access laws of the Provider Country / Nagoya Protocol. In this case, it can be that co-authorship is a contractual requirement that arises independent of the scientific input. Of course, the latter raises questions towards agreed principles for co-authorship for publications, and I am not sure if this is the case her, just wanted to mention that such linkages with MTAs for tissue request can occur. With best wishes Dirk Am 02.02.2026 um 15:27 schrieb Luis Cer?aco: Thank you all for your input. It is not strange to have curators and collection managers from the different institutions we work with or consult specimens as co-authors. In many cases it makes sense and it is completely legitimate. This can be discussed between the leading author and the staff. As Dirk said, in some situations there are extra efforts that the staff needs to make to make the collection accessible and that can be recognized by the authors (while not necessarily as authorship). In other situations, when someone cannot physically visit the collection and request the collection manager to, let's say, count the scales of 200 lizards, that most likely can turn into what we envision as a collaboration and thus deserves authorship. What shocked me the most in this case is that it is written in the official documentation (in this case a MTA for tissues), that a "demand of 50 specimens justify co-authorship" of the local staff. I'm aware of some curators that "force" themselves into papers that used their collections, but having this into official policy is a whole other situation... Em seg., 2 de fev. de 2026 ?s 14:11, Taylor, Sarah > escreveu: I have been offered authorship on publications (which I declined) twice after researcher visits to our herbarium. From the researchers' perspective, the contributions I made to their research (time, expertise on recommending specimens they might want to examine, assistance with equipment, and assistance accessing publications) merited recognition above mention in the acknowledgments section. From my perspective, I didn't offer original ideas, contribute to analysis, or write the resulting papers. In my experience, asking for authorship in exchange for loans/research visits is definitely NOT common or a new trend. I also think it's likely to be ineffective - every collection I know of, including mine, asks researchers to a) acknowledge the collection in publications and b) send a pdf or, at the least, citation of publications, and the success rate of request (b) is well below 20%. The success rate of request (a) seems higher but I have definitely found peer-reviewed publications that use images of CONN specimens with zero reference to our herbarium anywhere in the paper. This is an interesting topic and two more replies have come in since I started typing - I'm looking forward to the discussion. Best, Sarah ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sarah Taylor, PhD Scientific Collections Manager George Safford Torrey Herbarium (CONN) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut 75 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3043 Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043 U.S.A. P: 860.486.1889 F: 860.486.4320 https://biodiversity.uconn.edu/herbarium/ Pronouns: she/her or they/them ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Scott A Schaefer > Sent: Monday, February 2, 2026 8:55 AM To: Luis Cer?aco >; NHCOLL-new > Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Access and authorship in natural history collections *External sender: This message was not sent through the UConn email system. It might be safe, but use caution before interacting with links, attachments, or requests.* This sounds like an egregious abuse of the principal of reciprocity inherent to research use of museum collections and is not something I?ve heard of in my 40+ years of museum work. Whether or not such collections were built and are now maintained by ?public money?, the understanding of reciprocity (= you do for me, I do for you) is part of what facilitates research use of museum collections and extends from loan approvals and processing to shipping and packaging. I would hope this example is isolated to some misplaced thinking by uninformed people. I am also aware of other recent practices that threaten the reciprocity agreement, such as charges levied for permit applications required for both the loan approval and the export. In response, curators and collection managers may be encouraged to avoid such lending practices by refusing to participate? both in borrowing and lending to these institutions. The community would be served by hearing from others that have been impacted by these practices. Scott __________________________________________ Scott A. Schaefer, Ph.D. Dean of Science for Collections and the Public Understanding of Science Director, Institute for Comparative Genomics Curator and Professor American Museum of Natural History 200 Central Park West New York, NY 10024-5192 USA Office: 212-769-5652 Mobile: 215-570-2943 Email: schaefer at amnh.org From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Luis Cer?aco > Date: Monday, February 2, 2026 at 8:23?AM To: NHCOLL-new > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Access and authorship in natural history collections EXTERNAL SENDER Dear colleagues, Recently I've learned through a colleague that was requesting access to specimens from a big European natural history institution, that it was expected for him to include staff members for that given institution in the authorship of any research that would come from that access, especially if the access was above a certain number of specimens. This is apparently now part of the official loan/access agreement of that institution. I was quite shocked. In the last 15 years I've been an active user of natural history collections and had my share of curatorship/collection management work, in different countries and different continents, and I've never encountered such "in-your-face" and abhorrent demand. Collections have been built with public money and are kept through public money (most of the times) - thus they should be seen as a public good, not a way to enrich the CV of staff members. That got me curious - is this a new trend or I've been really lucky so far? -- _________________________________________________________ Luis M. P. Cer?aco, Ph.D., Commissioner International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature Invited Curator of the Herpetological Collections at Museu Nacional de Hist?ria Natural e da Ci?ncia, Lisbon, Portugal CIBIO/InBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources University of Porto, Portugal https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis-Ceriaco ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0591-9978 Scopus Author ID: 51260938100 [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wZ5SeVd89_kAncItat_P1VY9QpO0E_pfBtJDOS8YDqfC4o6bfR6sQQNFdyg9UEAJsit-B2tQU] -- _________________________________________________________ Luis M. P. Cer?aco, Ph.D., Commissioner International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature Invited Curator of the Herpetological Collections at Museu Nacional de Hist?ria Natural e da Ci?ncia, Lisbon, Portugal CIBIO/InBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources University of Porto, Portugal https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis-Ceriaco ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0591-9978 Scopus Author ID: 51260938100 [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wZ5SeVd89_kAncItat_P1VY9QpO0E_pfBtJDOS8YDqfC4o6bfR6sQQNFdyg9UEAJsit-B2tQU] _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cwthomp at umich.edu Mon Mar 2 12:27:37 2026 From: cwthomp at umich.edu (Cody Thompson) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 12:27:37 -0500 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Access and authorship in natural history collections In-Reply-To: <1510ff17-b900-4838-ab10-6bc0218bc13f@leibniz-lib.de> References: <9c56c9ab-c9da-448b-962e-dabce033f58b@leibniz-lib.de> <1510ff17-b900-4838-ab10-6bc0218bc13f@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Thanks, Dirk! Your response exactly covers my questions, i.e., when are assessing "handling fees" for tissues and/or loans acceptable? Thanks again, Cody Cody W. Thompson, PhD Mammal Collections Manager & Associate Research Scientist University of Michigan Museum of Zoology 3600 Varsity Drive Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 Office: (734) 615-2810 Fax: (734) 763-4080 Email: cwthomp at umich.edu Website: codythompson.org *Please click here to support the UMMZ Mammal Division, its collections, and research mission!!!* On Mon, Mar 2, 2026 at 12:17?PM Dirk Neumann wrote: > Hi Cody, > > I am not sure if I understand your question correctly, because "handling > fees" do not commercialise a request in the meaning of the Nagoya Protocol. > The key question for this would be if the requested tissues would be > used/utilised for a commercial/applied purpose, or not. > > If an institution charges handling or shipping fees, e.g. to maintain > operations or to cover costs that otherwise cannot be covered in-house, > than this would not render the collection a commercial collection (i.e. > making a profit out of incoming access requests). > > Such situations do exist however, one example are (parts of) microbial > collections, which run on sales of materials from living cell lines, virus > materiels etc. they propagate and/or offered as "a product". In an Nagoya > Context, such collections can take on the role as a (commercial) Provider. > In the EU, some microbial collections opted in to register this part of > their collections. For Nagoya Compliance, these collections need to > negotiate with the respective original providing countries access of third > to this material, and would have all reporting and documenting obligations. > > But this is not the case here - as far as I understand. > > However, there might be a chance that a scientist requests a tissue for > pure taxonomy/identification, but for doing so, this scientist needs to > look into functions or expression patterns of genes, which is the case in > some plants (e.g. for identification of thyme varieties). Typification > would be a similar example. At least form the understanding of the EU ABS > Regulation and for compliance on the user side, as long as the scientist is > using the analytical results for pure identification, this would not be > considered as utilisation in the meaning of the NP. > > Example: you could request tissue material collected and exported under a > non-commercial collecting permit of country A to a collection in country B > (staff at this collection did the fieldwork in country A for biodiversity > discovery and legally exported the material). The collection in country B > charges handling/shipping fees for the tissue request, the tissues are used > to identify potential new species / to compare these tissues with species > form other countries outside A. This would still be a non-commercial > request/use, and the reason (species discovery) would still match with the > original permit conditions (sharing with third is allowed, if use for > biodiversity discovery). > > Hope this helps ... (?) > > With best wishes > Dirk > > > > Am 27.02.2026 um 23:52 schrieb Cody Thompson: > > ACHTUNG/ATTENTION: Diese E-Mail stammt von einem externen Absender. / > This e-mail comes from an external sender. > > > Following up on John's and James's comment about charging for loans, this > has been happening in tissue collections in the US for several years > now, especially in vertebrate tissue collections that are accessed > frequently by biomedical researchers. From my understanding, the fees are > used to support the time for pulling, subsampling, packing, and shipping > material. Generally there is also a way to avoid the loan fees, e.g., > documentation showing contributions to collections. So, researchers that > reciprocate collection access are not affected. > > In the past, I know researchers have often been asked to cover shipping > costs for tissue loans. However, I am wondering if it is becoming more > acceptable to assess these additional fees to support the time of > collection personnel. And if so, how does that track with the constraints > of Nagoya, or potential limitations on commercial use found in collecting > permits? > > Take care, > Cody > > Cody W. Thompson, PhD > Mammal Collections Manager > & Associate Research Scientist > University of Michigan > Museum of Zoology > 3600 Varsity Drive > Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 > Office: (734) 615-2810 > Fax: (734) 763-4080 > Email: cwthomp at umich.edu > Website: codythompson.org > > *Please click here to support the UMMZ Mammal Division, its collections, > and research mission!!!* > > > > On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 6:47?PM Mickley, James < > james.mickley at oregonstate.edu> wrote: > >> Dear all: >> >> I have also heard of institutions in the USA requiring authorship as a >> loan condition. We have also discussed charging a fee for loans, and this >> at a major herbarium. There are obvious reciprocity issues with both, and >> we have opted not to do this for now. However, these discussions may come >> from a position of necessity and perhaps survival rather than simply >> padding CVs. My institution values publications and cashflow; they don't >> otherwise value loans fulfilled, or collections as a public good, >> especially given that our faculty do not often request loans from other >> institutions for their research. Even pointing to the large number of >> outside publications that cite our collections seems to get a lukewarm >> response. >> >> We often caution each other about not undervaluing ourselves as a >> collections community, and I think that's a worthwhile conversation to >> have. I'd suggest that authorship or fees are maybe not the best way to >> accomplish this, but looking across campus at similar service providers >> (e.g., imaging, genomic, diagnostic), the standard is to charge for time, >> data, access, and the like. >> >> Cheers >> - James Mickley >> >> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> ------------------------------------------ >> >> *Dr. James Mickley *(he/him/his) >> >> *Assistant Professor of Practice (Herbarium Curator) * >> >> *Senior Instructor* >> >> *Oregon* *State University *| *Botany and Plant Pathology* >> >> Office: 2511 Cordley Hall | OSU Herbarium >> | OregonFlora >> >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of John E >> Simmons >> *Sent:* Monday, February 2, 2026 12:55 PM >> *To:* Erika Natarajan >> *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Access and authorship in natural >> history collections >> >> >> [This email originated from outside of OSU. Use caution with links and >> attachments.] >> This is a very interesting discussion, and I appreciate all of the >> viewpoints expressed so far. It is an important discussion to have. >> >> I have worked with natural history collections for nearly six decades >> (since my freshman year in college in 1969) so I have seen a lot of changes >> in the field, particularly in who collects specimens, who has collections, >> and who uses collections. I was a full-time collections manager at the >> California Academy of Sciences (4 years), at the Natural History Museum at >> the University of Kansas (26 years), I have been an independent collections >> consultant since 2008, and I have published widely on collections and >> collection care. >> >> FIRST--the idea that a staff member of an institution should be >> automatically included as an author simplify for making a loan of specimens >> or access to specimens possible is hogwash. If that was a standard, I would >> have an astounding publication record. A simple acknowledgement is >> appropriate, but nothing more. The very idea seems to go along with the >> ridiculous trend of having 15 or 20 authors on a single publication. Enough >> with authorship inflation already. >> >> SECOND--Back in the Pleistocene when I first started working collections, >> there was an informal quid pro quo among collecting institutions. Staff or >> students from institution A would borrow B, who would loan to C, and so >> forth so that the costs of preparing loans or providing access (which can >> be very high) were evened out over time. This has not been true since the >> advent of molecular systematics in the late 1980s. Most (but not all) of >> the people borrowing specimens or accessing specimens in collections today >> do not work for collecting institutions and do not collect specimens that >> others might use, so the system is out of balance. Passing along the costs >> of borrowing specimens, in particular, is reasonable. Most curators can >> easily determine which institutions are reciprocal (e.g., offer collection >> access or loans themselves) and which are not. This is only fair. The >> collecting institutions are already burdened with the cost of upkeep of >> collections; they should not be expected to bear the cost of loans to >> researchers who do not have collections to loan. Researchers without >> collections would not expect cost-free use of scanning electron >> microscopes, etc., and should not expect cost-free collection loans, >> either. >> >> Yes, collections belong to all of us, but no, we do not all help support >> collections, do we? >> >> --John >> >> John E. Simmons >> Writer and Museum Consultant >> Museologica >> *and* >> Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery >> Penn State University >> *and* >> Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia >> Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima >> >> >> On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 2:42?PM Erika Natarajan >> wrote: >> >> I think this discussion highlights a broader ethical distortion in >> scientific publishing and research culture. Publications were originally >> meant to disseminate discoveries and advance knowledge. Over time, however, >> institutional reward systems have shifted the focus toward authorship as a >> metric, sometimes regardless of the actual quality, rigor, or originality >> of the data. In that context, authorship risks becoming a form of currency >> rather than a reflection of genuine intellectual contribution. >> >> I would also like to gently challenge the assumption that collections in >> ?wealthier? or ?first-world? countries are inherently better supported or >> better managed than those in countries such as Colombia. I am currently >> volunteering in a large museum in a high-income country, and what I observe >> daily is that heavy bureaucracy, rigid administrative structures, and >> institutional inertia often hinder good collection care and research access >> ? even when there is an excellent and highly committed curator. >> >> Conversely, many collections in Colombia operate under severe material >> constraints, yet are sustained by extraordinary scientific dedication, deep >> local expertise, and strong engagement with regional biodiversity. Their >> main limitation is not a lack of competence or commitment, but a lack of >> institutional recognition and structural support. These are fundamentally >> different challenges. >> >> For these reasons, I think it is misleading to frame this issue as a >> simple dichotomy between ?rich country? and ?LMIC? collections. Both >> operate under systemic pressures that can distort ethical practices in >> different ways. Mandatory or expected authorship, however, remains >> problematic in any context if it is not based on real intellectual >> contribution. >> Supporting underfunded collections should be achieved through fair and >> voluntary collaboration, shared research agendas, funding, training, and >> infrastructure ? not by redefining authorship as compensation. Ultimately, >> what matters most is not who signs the paper, but the discovery itself and >> its contribution to scientific knowledge. Perhaps emerging tools, including >> AI, can help us refocus evaluation on scientific content and impact rather >> than on name accumulation. >> >> Erika Isabel Natarajan >> >> On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 11:16?AM Andrew J. Crawford >> wrote: >> >> What a great question and interesting topic for discussion. Several >> issues have been brought up and points of view shared, to which I will add >> one more I haven't seen in this threat. >> >> In principle, I am against the notion that me providing a service as >> curator implies I should be on your paper. I am providing a service to the >> community, and I hope to enjoy reciprocity in my own work and maintain good >> relationships with other collections, as someone already mentioned in this >> thread. Also, the collections are not mine, I am only the temporary >> custodian of this national or global patrimony. Most curators are already >> being paid to support the collections and increase their use, and probably >> were hired without the expectation of being on papers developed by users of >> the collection. If the visitor is asking too much of the curator, beyond >> their normal duties, the curator can always say "No, come do that yourself, >> we cannot offer that service at this time." >> >> That said, now imagine you coming from a relatively rich country and you >> visit a developing nation, like Colombia, and you invoke the principle of >> reciprocity. The problem is that most collections in Colombia, and likely >> in Lower to Middle-income countries (LMIC) generally, just do not have the >> institutional support you find at a larger institution in a wealthier >> country. In Colombia, I know of collections with really valuable >> material that receive basically no institutional support with literally no >> salaries -- functioning by student volunteers and professors paid to teach, >> with no institutional recognition of their curatorial dedication. >> Sometimes the curator is not paid to curate. Likely no one is paid for >> their expertise, or to process permits, take measurements, or ship >> packages. The individual grant paying for the research by the visitor from >> a wealthy country is likely many times bigger than the entire annual budget >> for many collections in LMICs. (I know all collections in the world are >> short-staffed and short on resources, but the difference between "less than >> you need" and "nothing" is harsh.) >> >> Thus, if I want to access for example tissues from a collection in >> Colombia, especially a smaller collection with little support, and the >> curator asks to be on my future paper, perhaps this is the least I can do >> to support them and thank them for their personal sacrifices towards >> maintaining these valuable regional collections that support biodiversity >> inventories & systematics, and train a population of deserving students. If >> the tissues are from a taxonomic group they have experience with, my future >> paper will only be that much improved by having them on board as a true >> collaborator, anyway. >> >> And if I had a decent-sized grant, I might take the next step and say, >> "Thanks for sharing and helping me make my own research better. Now let's >> talk about your ideas. What's interesting to you as a biodiversity >> scientist or how can we help you as a curator?" >> >> Anyway, all these issues are context-dependent, and the world is much >> more complex than what I outlined above. I just wanted to mention this >> additional variable where we might make slightly different decisions as >> contexts change. >> >> All best wishes, >> -Andrew >> >> Andrew J. Crawford >> Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle (ANDES) >> Department of Biological Sciences, Facultad de Ciencias >> Universidad de los Andes, Bogot?, Colombia, South America >> @crawfordaj.bsky.social? >> IG: @craw.crawdad >> >> >> On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 10:07?AM Dirk Neumann >> wrote: >> >> Hi Luis, >> >> the case I mentioned was real scientific input (i.e. prior determination >> of faunal remains to species level be sure that requested species are >> included in the bone rubble and the taxonomic IDs are correct). This is >> justified, especially if this material is used for stable isotopes or aDNA >> (because the bones are previously undetermined and unrecognised in the bags >> with the archaeological material). >> >> Also for tissues MTAs - as in our case - this can be justified. Depending >> on the contractual conditions the material war originally accessioned under >> the respective access laws of the Provider Country / Nagoya Protocol. In >> this case, it can be that co-authorship is a contractual requirement that >> arises independent of the scientific input. >> >> Of course, the latter raises questions towards agreed principles for >> co-authorship for publications, and I am not sure if this is the case her, >> just wanted to mention that such linkages with MTAs for tissue request can >> occur. >> >> With best wishes >> Dirk >> >> >> Am 02.02.2026 um 15:27 schrieb Luis Cer?aco: >> >> Thank you all for your input. >> >> It is not strange to have curators and collection managers from the >> different institutions we work with or consult specimens as co-authors. In >> many cases it makes sense and it is completely legitimate. This can be >> discussed between the leading author and the staff. >> As Dirk said, in some situations there are extra efforts that the staff >> needs to make to make the collection accessible and that can be recognized >> by the authors (while not necessarily as authorship). In other situations, >> when someone cannot physically visit the collection and request the >> collection manager to, let's say, count the scales of 200 lizards, that >> most likely can turn into what we envision as a collaboration and thus >> deserves authorship. >> What shocked me the most in this case is that it is written in the >> official documentation (in this case a MTA for tissues), that a "demand of >> 50 specimens justify co-authorship" of the local staff. >> I'm aware of some curators that "force" themselves into papers that used >> their collections, but having this into official policy is a whole other >> situation... >> >> Em seg., 2 de fev. de 2026 ?s 14:11, Taylor, Sarah < >> sarah.taylor at uconn.edu> escreveu: >> >> I have been offered authorship on publications (which I declined) twice >> after researcher visits to our herbarium. From the researchers' >> perspective, the contributions I made to their research (time, expertise on >> recommending specimens they might want to examine, assistance with >> equipment, and assistance accessing publications) merited recognition above >> mention in the acknowledgments section. From my perspective, I didn't offer >> original ideas, contribute to analysis, or write the resulting papers. >> >> In my experience, asking for authorship in exchange for loans/research >> visits is definitely NOT common or a new trend. I also think it's likely to >> be ineffective - every collection I know of, including mine, asks >> researchers to a) acknowledge the collection in publications and b) send a >> pdf or, at the least, citation of publications, and the success rate of >> request (b) is well below 20%. The success rate of request (a) seems higher >> but I have definitely found peer-reviewed publications that use images of >> CONN specimens with zero reference to our herbarium anywhere in the paper. >> >> This is an interesting topic and two more replies have come in since I >> started typing - I'm looking forward to the discussion. >> >> Best, >> Sarah >> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Sarah Taylor, PhD >> >> >> Scientific Collections Manager >> >> George Safford Torrey Herbarium (CONN) >> Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology >> *University of Connecticut* >> 75 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3043 >> Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043 >> U.S.A. >> >> P: 860.486.1889 >> F: 860.486.4320 >> *https://biodiversity.uconn.edu/herbarium/ >> * >> >> >> >> Pronouns: she/her or they/them >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of Scott >> A Schaefer >> *Sent:* Monday, February 2, 2026 8:55 AM >> *To:* Luis Cer?aco ; NHCOLL-new < >> nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu> >> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Access and authorship in natural history >> collections >> >> *External sender: This message was not sent through the UConn email >> system. It might be safe, but use caution before interacting with links, >> attachments, or requests.* >> >> This sounds like an egregious abuse of the principal of reciprocity >> inherent to research use of museum collections and is not something I?ve >> heard of in my 40+ years of museum work. Whether or not such collections >> were built and are now maintained by ?public money?, the understanding of >> reciprocity (= you do for me, I do for you) is part of what facilitates >> research use of museum collections and extends from loan approvals and >> processing to shipping and packaging. I would hope this example is isolated >> to some misplaced thinking by uninformed people. >> >> I am also aware of other recent practices that threaten the reciprocity >> agreement, such as charges levied for permit applications required for both >> the loan approval and the export. In response, curators and collection >> managers may be encouraged to avoid such lending practices by refusing to >> participate? both in borrowing and lending to these institutions. >> >> The community would be served by hearing from others that have been >> impacted by these practices. >> >> Scott >> >> __________________________________________ >> >> Scott A. Schaefer, Ph.D. >> >> Dean of Science for Collections and the >> >> Public Understanding of Science >> >> Director, Institute for Comparative Genomics >> >> Curator and Professor >> >> >> >> *American Museum of Natural History * >> >> 200 Central Park West >> >> New York, NY 10024-5192 USA >> >> >> >> Office: 212-769-5652 >> >> Mobile: 215-570-2943 >> >> Email: *schaefer at amnh.org * >> >> >> *From: *Nhcoll-l on behalf of Luis >> Cer?aco >> *Date: *Monday, February 2, 2026 at 8:23?AM >> *To: *NHCOLL-new >> *Subject: *[Nhcoll-l] Access and authorship in natural history >> collections >> >> *EXTERNAL SENDER* >> >> Dear colleagues, >> >> Recently I've learned through a colleague that was requesting access to >> specimens from a big European natural history institution, that it was >> expected for him to include staff members for that given institution in the >> authorship of any research that would come from that access, especially if >> the access was above a certain number of specimens. This is apparently now >> part of the official loan/access agreement of that institution. >> >> I was quite shocked. In the last 15 years I've been an active user of >> natural history collections and had my share of curatorship/collection >> management work, in different countries and different continents, and I've >> never encountered such "in-your-face" and abhorrent demand. Collections >> have been built with public money and are kept through public money (most >> of the times) - thus they should be seen as a public good, not a way to >> enrich the CV of staff members. >> >> That got me curious - is this a new trend or I've been really lucky so >> far? >> >> -- >> _________________________________________________________ >> *Luis M. P. Cer?aco, Ph.D.*, >> Commissioner International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature >> Invited Curator of the Herpetological Collections at Museu Nacional de >> Hist?ria Natural e da Ci?ncia, Lisbon, Portugal >> CIBIO/InBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources >> University of Porto, Portugal >> https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis-Ceriaco >> ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0591-9978 >> Scopus Author ID: 51260938100 >> >> >> >> -- >> _________________________________________________________ >> *Luis M. P. Cer?aco, Ph.D.*, >> Commissioner International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature >> Invited Curator of the Herpetological Collections at Museu Nacional de >> Hist?ria Natural e da Ci?ncia, Lisbon, Portugal >> CIBIO/InBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources >> University of Porto, Portugal >> https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis-Ceriaco >> ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0591-9978 >> Scopus Author ID: 51260938100 >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing listNhcoll-l at mailman.yale.eduhttps://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> >> >> -- >> >> ****** >> >> >> >> *Dirk Neumann* >> >> Collection Manager, Hamburg >> >> >> >> Postal address: >> >> *Museum of Nature Hamburg* >> Leibniz Institute for the Analysis >> >> of Biodiversity Change >> >> Dirk Neumann >> >> Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 >> >> 20146 Hamburg >> +49 40 238 317 ? 628 >> >> *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * >> >> www.leibniz-lib.de >> >> >> >> -- >> Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels >> Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany >> >> Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; >> Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian >> Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) >> Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn >> Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst >> >> >> -- >> Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels >> Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany >> >> Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; >> Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian >> Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) >> Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn >> Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing listNhcoll-l at mailman.yale.eduhttps://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > -- > > ****** > > > > *Dirk Neumann* > > Collection Manager, Hamburg > > > > Postal address: > > *Museum of Nature Hamburg* > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > > of Biodiversity Change > > Dirk Neumann > > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > > 20146 Hamburg > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > > *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * > > www.leibniz-lib.de > > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ianicus.za at gmail.com Mon Mar 2 12:37:30 2026 From: ianicus.za at gmail.com (Ian Engelbrecht) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 19:37:30 +0200 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Access and authorship in natural history collections In-Reply-To: <1510ff17-b900-4838-ab10-6bc0218bc13f@leibniz-lib.de> References: <9c56c9ab-c9da-448b-962e-dabce033f58b@leibniz-lib.de> <1510ff17-b900-4838-ab10-6bc0218bc13f@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: I asked ChatGPT for a summary of the conversation thus far. No need to read the prompt as it's just the email bodies here. https://chatgpt.com/share/69a5ca83-189c-8002-b2f9-9e374e4acc7e ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Dirk Neumann Date: Mon, Mar 2, 2026 at 7:17?PM Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Access and authorship in natural history collections To: Hi Cody, I am not sure if I understand your question correctly, because "handling fees" do not commercialise a request in the meaning of the Nagoya Protocol. The key question for this would be if the requested tissues would be used/utilised for a commercial/applied purpose, or not. If an institution charges handling or shipping fees, e.g. to maintain operations or to cover costs that otherwise cannot be covered in-house, than this would not render the collection a commercial collection (i.e. making a profit out of incoming access requests). Such situations do exist however, one example are (parts of) microbial collections, which run on sales of materials from living cell lines, virus materiels etc. they propagate and/or offered as "a product". In an Nagoya Context, such collections can take on the role as a (commercial) Provider. In the EU, some microbial collections opted in to register this part of their collections. For Nagoya Compliance, these collections need to negotiate with the respective original providing countries access of third to this material, and would have all reporting and documenting obligations. But this is not the case here - as far as I understand. However, there might be a chance that a scientist requests a tissue for pure taxonomy/identification, but for doing so, this scientist needs to look into functions or expression patterns of genes, which is the case in some plants (e.g. for identification of thyme varieties). Typification would be a similar example. At least form the understanding of the EU ABS Regulation and for compliance on the user side, as long as the scientist is using the analytical results for pure identification, this would not be considered as utilisation in the meaning of the NP. Example: you could request tissue material collected and exported under a non-commercial collecting permit of country A to a collection in country B (staff at this collection did the fieldwork in country A for biodiversity discovery and legally exported the material). The collection in country B charges handling/shipping fees for the tissue request, the tissues are used to identify potential new species / to compare these tissues with species form other countries outside A. This would still be a non-commercial request/use, and the reason (species discovery) would still match with the original permit conditions (sharing with third is allowed, if use for biodiversity discovery). Hope this helps ... (?) With best wishes Dirk Am 27.02.2026 um 23:52 schrieb Cody Thompson: ACHTUNG/ATTENTION: Diese E-Mail stammt von einem externen Absender. / This e-mail comes from an external sender. Following up on John's and James's comment about charging for loans, this has been happening in tissue collections in the US for several years now, especially in vertebrate tissue collections that are accessed frequently by biomedical researchers. From my understanding, the fees are used to support the time for pulling, subsampling, packing, and shipping material. Generally there is also a way to avoid the loan fees, e.g., documentation showing contributions to collections. So, researchers that reciprocate collection access are not affected. In the past, I know researchers have often been asked to cover shipping costs for tissue loans. However, I am wondering if it is becoming more acceptable to assess these additional fees to support the time of collection personnel. And if so, how does that track with the constraints of Nagoya, or potential limitations on commercial use found in collecting permits? Take care, Cody Cody W. Thompson, PhD Mammal Collections Manager & Associate Research Scientist University of Michigan Museum of Zoology 3600 Varsity Drive Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 Office: (734) 615-2810 Fax: (734) 763-4080 Email: cwthomp at umich.edu Website: codythompson.org *Please click here to support the UMMZ Mammal Division, its collections, and research mission!!!* On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 6:47?PM Mickley, James wrote: > Dear all: > > I have also heard of institutions in the USA requiring authorship as a > loan condition. We have also discussed charging a fee for loans, and this > at a major herbarium. There are obvious reciprocity issues with both, and > we have opted not to do this for now. However, these discussions may come > from a position of necessity and perhaps survival rather than simply > padding CVs. My institution values publications and cashflow; they don't > otherwise value loans fulfilled, or collections as a public good, > especially given that our faculty do not often request loans from other > institutions for their research. Even pointing to the large number of > outside publications that cite our collections seems to get a lukewarm > response. > > We often caution each other about not undervaluing ourselves as a > collections community, and I think that's a worthwhile conversation to > have. I'd suggest that authorship or fees are maybe not the best way to > accomplish this, but looking across campus at similar service providers > (e.g., imaging, genomic, diagnostic), the standard is to charge for time, > data, access, and the like. > > Cheers > - James Mickley > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------------------------------------------ > > *Dr. James Mickley *(he/him/his) > > *Assistant Professor of Practice (Herbarium Curator) * > > *Senior Instructor* > > *Oregon* *State University *| *Botany and Plant Pathology* > > Office: 2511 Cordley Hall | OSU Herbarium > | OregonFlora > > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of John E > Simmons > *Sent:* Monday, February 2, 2026 12:55 PM > *To:* Erika Natarajan > *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Access and authorship in natural > history collections > > > [This email originated from outside of OSU. Use caution with links and > attachments.] > This is a very interesting discussion, and I appreciate all of the > viewpoints expressed so far. It is an important discussion to have. > > I have worked with natural history collections for nearly six decades > (since my freshman year in college in 1969) so I have seen a lot of changes > in the field, particularly in who collects specimens, who has collections, > and who uses collections. I was a full-time collections manager at the > California Academy of Sciences (4 years), at the Natural History Museum at > the University of Kansas (26 years), I have been an independent collections > consultant since 2008, and I have published widely on collections and > collection care. > > FIRST--the idea that a staff member of an institution should be > automatically included as an author simplify for making a loan of specimens > or access to specimens possible is hogwash. If that was a standard, I would > have an astounding publication record. A simple acknowledgement is > appropriate, but nothing more. The very idea seems to go along with the > ridiculous trend of having 15 or 20 authors on a single publication. Enough > with authorship inflation already. > > SECOND--Back in the Pleistocene when I first started working collections, > there was an informal quid pro quo among collecting institutions. Staff or > students from institution A would borrow B, who would loan to C, and so > forth so that the costs of preparing loans or providing access (which can > be very high) were evened out over time. This has not been true since the > advent of molecular systematics in the late 1980s. Most (but not all) of > the people borrowing specimens or accessing specimens in collections today > do not work for collecting institutions and do not collect specimens that > others might use, so the system is out of balance. Passing along the costs > of borrowing specimens, in particular, is reasonable. Most curators can > easily determine which institutions are reciprocal (e.g., offer collection > access or loans themselves) and which are not. This is only fair. The > collecting institutions are already burdened with the cost of upkeep of > collections; they should not be expected to bear the cost of loans to > researchers who do not have collections to loan. Researchers without > collections would not expect cost-free use of scanning electron > microscopes, etc., and should not expect cost-free collection loans, > either. > > Yes, collections belong to all of us, but no, we do not all help support > collections, do we? > > --John > > John E. Simmons > Writer and Museum Consultant > Museologica > *and* > Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery > Penn State University > *and* > Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia > Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima > > > On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 2:42?PM Erika Natarajan wrote: > > I think this discussion highlights a broader ethical distortion in > scientific publishing and research culture. Publications were originally > meant to disseminate discoveries and advance knowledge. Over time, however, > institutional reward systems have shifted the focus toward authorship as a > metric, sometimes regardless of the actual quality, rigor, or originality > of the data. In that context, authorship risks becoming a form of currency > rather than a reflection of genuine intellectual contribution. > > I would also like to gently challenge the assumption that collections in > ?wealthier? or ?first-world? countries are inherently better supported or > better managed than those in countries such as Colombia. I am currently > volunteering in a large museum in a high-income country, and what I observe > daily is that heavy bureaucracy, rigid administrative structures, and > institutional inertia often hinder good collection care and research access > ? even when there is an excellent and highly committed curator. > > Conversely, many collections in Colombia operate under severe material > constraints, yet are sustained by extraordinary scientific dedication, deep > local expertise, and strong engagement with regional biodiversity. Their > main limitation is not a lack of competence or commitment, but a lack of > institutional recognition and structural support. These are fundamentally > different challenges. > > For these reasons, I think it is misleading to frame this issue as a > simple dichotomy between ?rich country? and ?LMIC? collections. Both > operate under systemic pressures that can distort ethical practices in > different ways. Mandatory or expected authorship, however, remains > problematic in any context if it is not based on real intellectual > contribution. > Supporting underfunded collections should be achieved through fair and > voluntary collaboration, shared research agendas, funding, training, and > infrastructure ? not by redefining authorship as compensation. Ultimately, > what matters most is not who signs the paper, but the discovery itself and > its contribution to scientific knowledge. Perhaps emerging tools, including > AI, can help us refocus evaluation on scientific content and impact rather > than on name accumulation. > > Erika Isabel Natarajan > > On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 11:16?AM Andrew J. Crawford > wrote: > > What a great question and interesting topic for discussion. Several > issues have been brought up and points of view shared, to which I will add > one more I haven't seen in this threat. > > In principle, I am against the notion that me providing a service as > curator implies I should be on your paper. I am providing a service to the > community, and I hope to enjoy reciprocity in my own work and maintain good > relationships with other collections, as someone already mentioned in this > thread. Also, the collections are not mine, I am only the temporary > custodian of this national or global patrimony. Most curators are already > being paid to support the collections and increase their use, and probably > were hired without the expectation of being on papers developed by users of > the collection. If the visitor is asking too much of the curator, beyond > their normal duties, the curator can always say "No, come do that yourself, > we cannot offer that service at this time." > > That said, now imagine you coming from a relatively rich country and you > visit a developing nation, like Colombia, and you invoke the principle of > reciprocity. The problem is that most collections in Colombia, and likely > in Lower to Middle-income countries (LMIC) generally, just do not have the > institutional support you find at a larger institution in a wealthier > country. In Colombia, I know of collections with really valuable > material that receive basically no institutional support with literally no > salaries -- functioning by student volunteers and professors paid to teach, > with no institutional recognition of their curatorial dedication. > Sometimes the curator is not paid to curate. Likely no one is paid for > their expertise, or to process permits, take measurements, or ship > packages. The individual grant paying for the research by the visitor from > a wealthy country is likely many times bigger than the entire annual budget > for many collections in LMICs. (I know all collections in the world are > short-staffed and short on resources, but the difference between "less than > you need" and "nothing" is harsh.) > > Thus, if I want to access for example tissues from a collection in > Colombia, especially a smaller collection with little support, and the > curator asks to be on my future paper, perhaps this is the least I can do > to support them and thank them for their personal sacrifices towards > maintaining these valuable regional collections that support biodiversity > inventories & systematics, and train a population of deserving students. If > the tissues are from a taxonomic group they have experience with, my future > paper will only be that much improved by having them on board as a true > collaborator, anyway. > > And if I had a decent-sized grant, I might take the next step and say, > "Thanks for sharing and helping me make my own research better. Now let's > talk about your ideas. What's interesting to you as a biodiversity > scientist or how can we help you as a curator?" > > Anyway, all these issues are context-dependent, and the world is much more > complex than what I outlined above. I just wanted to mention this > additional variable where we might make slightly different decisions as > contexts change. > > All best wishes, > -Andrew > > Andrew J. Crawford > Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle (ANDES) > Department of Biological Sciences, Facultad de Ciencias > Universidad de los Andes, Bogot?, Colombia, South America > @crawfordaj.bsky.social? > IG: @craw.crawdad > > > On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 10:07?AM Dirk Neumann > wrote: > > Hi Luis, > > the case I mentioned was real scientific input (i.e. prior determination > of faunal remains to species level be sure that requested species are > included in the bone rubble and the taxonomic IDs are correct). This is > justified, especially if this material is used for stable isotopes or aDNA > (because the bones are previously undetermined and unrecognised in the bags > with the archaeological material). > > Also for tissues MTAs - as in our case - this can be justified. Depending > on the contractual conditions the material war originally accessioned under > the respective access laws of the Provider Country / Nagoya Protocol. In > this case, it can be that co-authorship is a contractual requirement that > arises independent of the scientific input. > > Of course, the latter raises questions towards agreed principles for > co-authorship for publications, and I am not sure if this is the case her, > just wanted to mention that such linkages with MTAs for tissue request can > occur. > > With best wishes > Dirk > > > Am 02.02.2026 um 15:27 schrieb Luis Cer?aco: > > Thank you all for your input. > > It is not strange to have curators and collection managers from the > different institutions we work with or consult specimens as co-authors. In > many cases it makes sense and it is completely legitimate. This can be > discussed between the leading author and the staff. > As Dirk said, in some situations there are extra efforts that the staff > needs to make to make the collection accessible and that can be recognized > by the authors (while not necessarily as authorship). In other situations, > when someone cannot physically visit the collection and request the > collection manager to, let's say, count the scales of 200 lizards, that > most likely can turn into what we envision as a collaboration and thus > deserves authorship. > What shocked me the most in this case is that it is written in the > official documentation (in this case a MTA for tissues), that a "demand of > 50 specimens justify co-authorship" of the local staff. > I'm aware of some curators that "force" themselves into papers that used > their collections, but having this into official policy is a whole other > situation... > > Em seg., 2 de fev. de 2026 ?s 14:11, Taylor, Sarah > escreveu: > > I have been offered authorship on publications (which I declined) twice > after researcher visits to our herbarium. From the researchers' > perspective, the contributions I made to their research (time, expertise on > recommending specimens they might want to examine, assistance with > equipment, and assistance accessing publications) merited recognition above > mention in the acknowledgments section. From my perspective, I didn't offer > original ideas, contribute to analysis, or write the resulting papers. > > In my experience, asking for authorship in exchange for loans/research > visits is definitely NOT common or a new trend. I also think it's likely to > be ineffective - every collection I know of, including mine, asks > researchers to a) acknowledge the collection in publications and b) send a > pdf or, at the least, citation of publications, and the success rate of > request (b) is well below 20%. The success rate of request (a) seems higher > but I have definitely found peer-reviewed publications that use images of > CONN specimens with zero reference to our herbarium anywhere in the paper. > > This is an interesting topic and two more replies have come in since I > started typing - I'm looking forward to the discussion. > > Best, > Sarah > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > > Sarah Taylor, PhD > > > Scientific Collections Manager > > George Safford Torrey Herbarium (CONN) > Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology > *University of Connecticut* > 75 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3043 > Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043 > U.S.A. > > P: 860.486.1889 > F: 860.486.4320 > *https://biodiversity.uconn.edu/herbarium/ > * > > > > Pronouns: she/her or they/them > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of Scott A > Schaefer > *Sent:* Monday, February 2, 2026 8:55 AM > *To:* Luis Cer?aco ; NHCOLL-new < > nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu> > *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Access and authorship in natural history > collections > > *External sender: This message was not sent through the UConn email > system. It might be safe, but use caution before interacting with links, > attachments, or requests.* > > This sounds like an egregious abuse of the principal of reciprocity > inherent to research use of museum collections and is not something I?ve > heard of in my 40+ years of museum work. Whether or not such collections > were built and are now maintained by ?public money?, the understanding of > reciprocity (= you do for me, I do for you) is part of what facilitates > research use of museum collections and extends from loan approvals and > processing to shipping and packaging. I would hope this example is isolated > to some misplaced thinking by uninformed people. > > I am also aware of other recent practices that threaten the reciprocity > agreement, such as charges levied for permit applications required for both > the loan approval and the export. In response, curators and collection > managers may be encouraged to avoid such lending practices by refusing to > participate? both in borrowing and lending to these institutions. > > The community would be served by hearing from others that have been > impacted by these practices. > > Scott > > __________________________________________ > > Scott A. Schaefer, Ph.D. > > Dean of Science for Collections and the > > Public Understanding of Science > > Director, Institute for Comparative Genomics > > Curator and Professor > > > > *American Museum of Natural History * > > 200 Central Park West > > New York, NY 10024-5192 USA > > > > Office: 212-769-5652 > > Mobile: 215-570-2943 > > Email: *schaefer at amnh.org * > > > *From: *Nhcoll-l on behalf of Luis > Cer?aco > *Date: *Monday, February 2, 2026 at 8:23?AM > *To: *NHCOLL-new > *Subject: *[Nhcoll-l] Access and authorship in natural history collections > > *EXTERNAL SENDER* > > Dear colleagues, > > Recently I've learned through a colleague that was requesting access to > specimens from a big European natural history institution, that it was > expected for him to include staff members for that given institution in the > authorship of any research that would come from that access, especially if > the access was above a certain number of specimens. This is apparently now > part of the official loan/access agreement of that institution. > > I was quite shocked. In the last 15 years I've been an active user of > natural history collections and had my share of curatorship/collection > management work, in different countries and different continents, and I've > never encountered such "in-your-face" and abhorrent demand. Collections > have been built with public money and are kept through public money (most > of the times) - thus they should be seen as a public good, not a way to > enrich the CV of staff members. > > That got me curious - is this a new trend or I've been really lucky so far? > > -- > _________________________________________________________ > *Luis M. P. Cer?aco, Ph.D.*, > Commissioner International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature > Invited Curator of the Herpetological Collections at Museu Nacional de > Hist?ria Natural e da Ci?ncia, Lisbon, Portugal > CIBIO/InBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources > University of Porto, Portugal > https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis-Ceriaco > ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0591-9978 > Scopus Author ID: 51260938100 > > > > -- > _________________________________________________________ > *Luis M. P. Cer?aco, Ph.D.*, > Commissioner International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature > Invited Curator of the Herpetological Collections at Museu Nacional de > Hist?ria Natural e da Ci?ncia, Lisbon, Portugal > CIBIO/InBIO - Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources > University of Porto, Portugal > https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis-Ceriaco > ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0591-9978 > Scopus Author ID: 51260938100 > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing listNhcoll-l at mailman.yale.eduhttps://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > -- > > ****** > > > > *Dirk Neumann* > > Collection Manager, Hamburg > > > > Postal address: > > *Museum of Nature Hamburg* > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > > of Biodiversity Change > > Dirk Neumann > > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > > 20146 Hamburg > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > > *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * > > www.leibniz-lib.de > > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing listNhcoll-l at mailman.yale.eduhttps://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- ****** *Dirk Neumann* Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: *Museum of Nature Hamburg* Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kj23v at fsu.edu Wed Mar 4 14:18:40 2026 From: kj23v at fsu.edu (Kalina Jakymec) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2026 19:18:40 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] =?windows-1252?q?Digitization_Academy_=7C_Online_Cour?= =?windows-1252?q?ses_=7C_Applications_Closing_Soon_/_Cursos_en_l=EDnea_?= =?windows-1252?q?=7C_Cierre_de_solicitudes_pronto?= Message-ID: Hola - Greetings from the Digitization Academy! ?Saludos desde la Digitization Academy! ENGLISH: A reminder that applications for two upcoming courses close this Friday, March 6. See details below, and feel free to share this opportunity with colleagues and others who may be interested. ESPA?OL: Les recordamos que las solicitudes para dos pr?ximos cursos cierran este viernes 6 de marzo. Consulte los detalles a continuaci?n y no dude en compartir esta oportunidad con colegas y otras personas que puedan estar interesadas. ________________________________ Digital Imaging for Biodiversity Collections April 6?29, 2026; Mondays and Wednesdays, 3?4:30p ET (US) (English language offering) The aim of this free, online Digitization Academy course is to empower participants with the knowledge and skills to (1) identify and describe relevant facets of biodiversity specimens that can be captured and shared with common digital imaging modalities, (2) identify sources of digital imaging protocols and best practices, (3) identify and prioritize major differences among digital image file formats, hardware, and software options, (4) explain the workings of a digital SLR or mirrorless camera/lens, camera control software, and image processing software, (5) archive and share digital images, and (6) anticipate new uses for digital images of biodiversity specimens, such as in artificial intelligence and immersive media. Participation will require access to a digital camera. The course will be delivered in English. Those from outside the U.S. may apply. Applications are due by 9pm ET on Friday, March 6. Click here to apply! _________________________________________ Introducci?n a la Digitalizaci?n de Espec?menes de Biodiversidad Del 7 al 30 de abril de 2026; martes y jueves, de 3:00 a 4:30 p. m. (ET, EE. UU.) (Ofrecido en espa?ol) El objetivo de este curso gratuito y en l?nea, ofrecido por el Digitization Academy, es capacitar a los participantes con el conocimiento y habilidades para: (1) identificar y describir facetas relevantes de la informaci?n o informaci?n potencial relacionada a espec?menes de biodiversidad, (2) identificar y describir protocolos de digitalizaci?n comunes y las mejores pr?cticas relacionadas con la transcripci?n, toma de imagen, y la georreferenciaci?n, (3) identificar usos posteriores relevantes para la toma de decisiones de digitaci?n, (4) reconocer los principios b?sicos de la gesti?n de datos, incluyendo la importancia de los identificadores ?nicos, (5) identificar opciones de sistemas de gesti?n de colecciones y las principales diferencias entre estos, y (6) esbozar un proyecto de digitalizaci?n, incluyendo control de calidad y un plan de gesti?n de datos que incluya el intercambio posterior de los datos. El curso tambi?n incluye una conversaci?n con representantes de algunos de los principales proyectos de sistemas de gesti?n de colecciones. El curso se impartir? principalmente en espa?ol, aunque algunos aspectos pueden estar en ingl?s. Aquellos interesados en participar fuera de EE.UU. pueden aplicar. Las solicitudes deben enviarse antes de las 9 p. m. (ET) del viernes 6 de marzo. ?Haz clic aqu? para postularte! Kalina Jakymec iDigBio Workforce Development Manager Florida State University digitizationacademy.org | idigbio.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From evlecompte2 at gmail.com Wed Mar 4 17:45:38 2026 From: evlecompte2 at gmail.com (Elise LeCompte) Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2026 17:45:38 -0500 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Graduate Student Survey Regarding Paleontology Collections and Indigenous Community Involvement Message-ID: Hello Fellow SPNHC List serve members. I received the following email as part of the AAM (American Alliance of Museums) community list serv. For those of you who aren't AAM members and are interested in completing Ms. Wynstra-Cope's survey, here is the message: Hello, I am Nancy Wynstra-Cope, a student in the Master of Arts in Museology department at the University of Washington with an interest in collections care and making museum collections more accessible. My master's thesis research is exploring the extent to which museum professionals working in natural history museums with paleontology collections are engaging with Indigenous communities, as well as the barriers and factors that influence engagement. For this study, I am interested in recruiting participants with a variety of perspectives working within different domains of museum work, such as education, exhibits, collections, programs, etc., to get a broad view of community engagement in museums with paleontology collections and exhibits. I am inviting museum professionals to participate in a 10-minute survey about their professional experiences. If you have any colleagues whose experiences are applicable for this study, please forward this survey to them. The results of this study will be published in the UW Museology Graduate Program Journal *MuseumsForward*. Indigenous engagement in museum paleontology is currently understudied, and through this research, I hope to provide information to the museum field about what working with communities looks like. This survey is voluntary and while names will be collected to ensure there are no repeat results, the results will be anonymous. I hope you will choose to participate! If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at: nancywc at uw.edu. Link to survey: forms.gle/Wz4W9MZfJ94fdDrMA Thank you for your time! -Nancy Wynstra-Cope -- Elise V. LeCompte Museum Consultant 14205 SE 161 Place Hawthorne, FL 32640 TEL: 407-443-6419 Email: evlecompte2 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bradbredehoft at museumstudy.com Fri Mar 6 15:16:32 2026 From: bradbredehoft at museumstudy.com (Brad Bredehoft) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2026 15:16:32 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Nhcoll-l] April online professional Development courses at Museum Study Message-ID: <1907027403.277666.1772828192113@email.ionos.com> Introduction to Integrated Pest Management online course begins March 30 on Museum Study Join Conservator Gretchen Anderson for the 4 week online course Introduction to Integrated Pest Management. Silverfish will eat your paper materials, moths will eat your woolens and feather objects, mice will gladly nest in anything they can! How can you protect the collection in your care from this very real and very serious threat? Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach, using low-toxicity strategies to manage the threat. This online course explores the foundation of knowledge needed to solve pest problems in a myriad of situations that might be encountered in cultural institutions. For more information visit https://www.museumstudy.com/introduction-to-integrated-pest-management Moving Museum Collections online course begins March 30 on Museum Study Are you planning a remodel, new storage, or a new building and will need to move all or part of your collection? Don't wait until the last minute. Join Instructor Lori Benson, veteran of three large scale museum collection moves, for the 4 week online course Moving Museum Collections. This course provides an overview of how to plan and manage a move to avoid the many pitfalls. The course will help you define the scope of your project, develop a work plan and schedule, prepare a communication scheme, define proposals for vendors, choose equipment, estimate costs, identify hazards, organize staffing, and establish packing techniques and standards. Whether you are moving across the hall or across town, Moving Museum Collections will provide a guide for a successful move. For more information visit our website: http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/moving-museum-collections/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gregory.watkins-colwell at yale.edu Fri Mar 6 15:24:18 2026 From: gregory.watkins-colwell at yale.edu (Watkins-Colwell, Gregory) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2026 20:24:18 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] =?windows-1252?q?FW=3A_Global_Survey_on_Cryo-Collecti?= =?windows-1252?q?ons_and_Wildlife_Biobanking_=96_Request_for_SPNHC_Dissem?= =?windows-1252?q?ination?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I received this e-mail regarding a survey of cryo-collections and biobanks. Please feel free to share this wherever appropriate. Greg **************** Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell Sr. Collection Manager, Herpetology and Ichthyology Division of Vertebrate Zoology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7789-9806 YALE PEABODY MUSEUM Main Office: 203-432-3791; West Campus: 203-737-7568; Fax 203-432-9277 Package shipping address: Greg Watkins-Colwell Division of Vertebrate Zoology YALE PEABODY MUSEUM 170?210 Whitney Avenue New Haven, CT 06511 USA 203-432-3791 ****************** From: Natalie Calatayud Sent: Friday, March 6, 2026 12:30 AM To: president at spnhc.org Cc: russoim at cardiff.ac.uk Subject: Global Survey on Cryo-Collections and Wildlife Biobanking ? Request for SPNHC Dissemination Dear President and Committee members, I am writing on behalf of Dr Isa-Rita Russo and myself to request SPNHC?s assistance in circulating a global wildlife biobanking survey to your membership. Dr Isa-Rita Russo is based in the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, and I am based at the Museums Victoria Research Institute and the Ian Potter Australian Wildlife Biobank at Melbourne Museum. Our work centres on wildlife biobanking and cryopreservation, with a focus on strengthening coordinated biological collections to support taxonomy, conservation breeding, genomics, and long-term genetic resource management. This project developed following the recent publication of the IUCN SSC biobanking guideline documents. Within that process, I moderated the gap analysis section, and along with a number of co-authors, including Isa-Rita, contributed as a co-author to that component. Through that focused exercise, it became clear that while strategic guidance exists, there remains limited consolidated empirical data on current global practice, infrastructure capacity, governance frameworks, and implementation constraints, particularly across museum and natural history collections that maintain frozen tissue and cryopreserved resources. In response, we convened a multi-institutional group of collaborators to undertake a structured global survey titled ?Global Wildlife Biobanking Gap Analysis: Practices, Capacity, Risks and Opportunities.? The aim is to generate an evidence-based overview of wildlife biobanking and cryo-collection activity across regions, taxa, and institution types, and to identify practical capacity gaps and priority needs that may inform future coordination, standards development, and resource planning. The author team includes Gina Della Togna (Amphibian Survival Alliance), Christina Hvilsom (EAZA), Andrew Mooney (Dublin Zoo), Cecilia Langhorne (RZSS WildGenes Biobank), Candace Williams (Oxford Nanopore Technologies), Claire Williams (University of Texas at Austin / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute), Rose Upton (University of Newcastle), Joanna Sumner (Museums Victoria Research Institute), and Jennifer Hetz-Rodriguez (Australian Wildlife Biobank), in addition to the two of us. The study has received favourable ethical approval from the Cardiff University School of Biosciences Research Ethics Committee. Given the leadership of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections in advancing preservation standards and stewardship of natural history collections globally, we would be very grateful if you would consider sharing the survey invitation through appropriate SPNHC communication channels. We would also warmly welcome participation from members managing frozen tissue collections, cryopreserved resources, or associated genomic repositories. Participation is voluntary, the survey takes approximately 20?60 minutes depending on level of involvement, responses are anonymised and reported only in aggregated form, and the survey will remain open until 30 June 2026. We are also encouraging organisations to disseminate the survey through their social media platforms, excluding X. If helpful, we would be very happy to provide suggested wording suitable for platforms such as LinkedIn or Instagram, although please feel free to adapt this to suit SPNHC communication formats. Survey link: Global Wildlife Biobanking Gap Analysis Survey For ease of circulation, a short invitation text suitable for forwarding is provided below: Invitation: Global Wildlife Biobanking Gap Analysis Survey We invite professionals working in wildlife conservation, biobanking, cryobiology, genomics, zoological and museum collections, and related fields to participate in a global survey on wildlife biobanking practices, capacity, gaps, and priorities. This collaborative, multi-institutional project was developed following the recent IUCN SSC biobanking guideline publication to provide a coordinated global evidence base on current biobanking practice and capacity. The study has received favourable ethical approval from the Cardiff University School of Biosciences Research Ethics Committee. The survey takes approximately 20?60 minutes depending on experience, and responses are anonymised and reported in aggregated form. Survey link: Global Wildlife Biobanking Gap Analysis Survey We are, of course, happy to adapt the wording to align with SPNHC communication formats if helpful. With thanks for your consideration, Natalie Calatayud, PhD Museums Victoria Research Institute Ian Potter Australian Wildlife Biobank On behalf of Isa-Rita Russo, PhD School of Biosciences Cardiff University Museums Victoria acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung Bunurong peoples of the eastern Kulin Nations where we work, and First Peoples across Victoria and Australia. Our organisation, in partnership with the First Peoples of Victoria, is working to place First Peoples living cultures and histories at the core of our practice. [https://museumsvictoria.com.au/media/d0cbdwva/mv-email-signature.png] This e-mail is solely for the named addressee and may be confidential. You should only read, disclose, transmit, copy, distribute, act in reliance on or commercialise the contents if you are authorised to do so. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, please notify postmaster at museum.vic.gov.au by email immediately, or notify the sender and then destroy any copy of this message. Views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender, except where specifically stated to be those of an officer of Museums Victoria. Museums Victoria does not represent, warrant or guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained nor that it is free from errors, virus or interference. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu Mon Mar 9 10:06:16 2026 From: gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu (Nelson,Gil) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 14:06:16 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Reminder: iDigBio Notes from Nature webinar tomorrow Message-ID: Our first March webinar is tomorrow, so be sure to register! This month?s sessions highlight innovative tools, practical imaging strategies, and professional development opportunities designed to support collections at every stage. From public participation and emerging technologies to photography best practices and structured online training, these webinars are designed to help you strengthen workflows, build capacity, and sustain digitization efforts well into the future. We hope you will join us to learn from experts in the field, connect with the community, and continue advancing digitization efforts together! Check out the full webinar lineup below for details and registration information. Register here: https://www.idigbio.org/content/webinar-series-importance-sustaining-biodiversity-specimen-collections-digitization-absence For past recordings and upcoming events, visit the series Wiki page: https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Sustaining_Collections_Digitization_Beyond_NSF_Funding:_A_Webinar_Series March 10, 2026: Notes From Nature: A Tool for Digitizing Collections (2:00-3:00pm ET) Speakers: Michael Denslow (Notes From Nature) Abstract: This webinar will focus on the public participation project Notes from Nature (https://notesfromnature.org/). Topics will include the basics of public participation projects for museum collections, Notes from Nature and ancillary tools that can assist your digitization and outreach campaigns. Other topics will include the basics of designing and implementing a public participation campaign, volunteer engagement and data analysis. We'll also cover advancements in OCR and Large Language Models (LLMs) and how they can be used to enhance your campaign. Please join if you are interested in collaborating with Notes from Nature or are just interested in learning more about public participation projects for digitizing collections. Gil Nelson PhD, Director Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) Immediate Past President, Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA) Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu [FM_logo_horizontal_CMYK] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Outlook-FM_logo_ho.png Type: image/png Size: 10269 bytes Desc: Outlook-FM_logo_ho.png URL: From gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu Thu Mar 12 14:24:26 2026 From: gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu (Nelson,Gil) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:24:26 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Webinar next week Message-ID: IDigBio is exceedingly pleased to announce that Victoria Tran will join us next week to deliver her excellent presentation on the general principles and best practices of photography for specimen imaging. Imaging is among the most technical aspects of digitization and impacts virtually all collection types. Victoria's webinar will provide significant detail about cameras and the imaging process. You are likely to come away from her presentation with a much better understanding of your camera's controls and settings that will help you ensure the capture of high quality images for your specimens. March 17, 2026: Imaging 101: General Principles of Photography & Best Practices (2:00-4:00pm ET) Speaker: Victoria Tran (Yale Peabody Museum) Abstract: This webinar will begin with an overview of how to best take photographs for photogrammetry. We will be discussing the fundamentals of photography, focusing on how to capture high-quality images that can be used for 3D reconstruction. It will cover camera considerations, going over factors such as sensor size, resolution, and starting lenses. We will also explain key concepts such as the exposure triangle, depth of field, and motion control to help create sharp, consistent images. We will then explore the process and best practices of photogrammetry in greater depth, covering the method of structure from motion, image overlap requirements, scaling, and color calibration. We will be assessing the factors that make certain imaging subjects more challenging to image and discuss strategies for addressing them. Finally, we will compare different imaging setups, some being more accessible than others, and conclude with an overview of the automated imaging system currently being used at the Yale Peabody Museum, known as COPIS. Register here: https://www.idigbio.org/content/webinar-series-importance-sustaining-biodiversity-specimen-collections-digitization-absence For past recordings and upcoming events, visit the series Wiki page: https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Sustaining_Collections_Digitization_Beyond_NSF_Funding:_A_Webinar_Series Best, Gil Gil Nelson PhD, Director Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) Immediate Past President, Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA) Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu [FM_logo_horizontal_CMYK] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Outlook-FM_logo_ho.png Type: image/png Size: 10269 bytes Desc: Outlook-FM_logo_ho.png URL: From rkhawkins at ou.edu Fri Mar 13 09:47:53 2026 From: rkhawkins at ou.edu (Hawkins, Rebecca K.) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:47:53 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Job Posting - Curator/Archivist I (Integrated Pest Management) Message-ID: Link: https://ou.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=260296&tz=GMT-06%3A00&tzname=America%2FChicago Curator/Archivist (Integrated Pest Management) - Job Number: 260296 Organization: Okla Museum of Natural History Job Location: Oklahoma-Norman-Norman Campus Schedule: Full-time Work Schedule: M - F, hours may vary, flexible work schedule with some occurring in the evenings and on weekends Work Type: Onsite Salary Range: Targeted salary: $18.72 hourly, based on experience Benefits Provided: Yes Required Attachments: Resume, Cover Letter Job Description Provides technical assistance for the museum's 12 collections, including the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, monitoring of museum's collections environments, and management of the dermestid facility for research-quality skeletal preparations; provides direct support to collection management staff in the management and maintenance of the collections by assisting with digitization, archiving and inventorying, database management, and all other aspects of collections management. Supports and assists the museum's security, special events, exhibits, registration and other front of the house departments, including, but not limited to, serving as a dock guard, handling incoming and outgoing deliveries, setting up and tearing down for special events, and assisting with public events and visitor services operations. Duties included: * Operation and maintenance of Isolation and Treatment Facility, including inspecting all incoming material to prevent pest introductions. * Operating and management of the Dermestid Facility to produce research-quality skeletal preparations. * Monitor and identify museum pests, posting reports and taking appropriate actions to prevent infestations. * Environmental monitoring of museum collections and exhibit areas. * Maintenance of department-related records and databases. * Provides IPM training to museum staff and volunteers. * Assisting collection management staff with digitization, archiving and inventorying, database management and other collections management related duties. * Assisting security department with dock-related guard duties assisting other museum departments as needed, including special events, exhibits, registration, education and visitor services. * Performing various duties as needed to successfully fulfill the function of the position. Job Requirements Required Education: Bachelor's degree Equivalency/Substitution: Will accept 48 months of museum-related work experience in lieu of the Bachelor's degree. Skills: * Demonstrated knowledge of acceptable museum practices and standards for collection care, collection management, documentation, conservation, and registration methods for natural history museum collections, Integrated Pest Management, and Dermestid Facilities. * Ability to work independently and in a team environment. * Must be proficient in MS Word and Excel * Must be detail oriented for accuracy of data and information. * Must be highly organized and able to handle multiple projects. * Must be able to communicate well and build rapport with students, faculty and staff. * Must be able to complete work within deadlines. * Must have strong initiative to solve problems. * Must be able to work independently and with interdepartmental teams and initiatives. * Must have good presentation (oral and written communication) skills. * Must use established occupational health and safety practices. Working Conditions: * Physical: * Required to be mobile, agile, bend, stoop, squat, climb, lift (15-44 pounds) and carry. * Ability to engage in repetitive motions. * Able to read handwritten documents. * Environmental: * Frequent exposure to safety hazards from chemicals and onerous odors. Certifications: None Departmental Preferences: * MA or Master's degree in biology, zoology, anthropology, museum studies or museum science, or other museum-related discipline * Experience using FileMaker Pro or other database management software * 12-24 months of Integrated Pest Management, Dermestid Facility, or collection management experience * Prior supervisory experience Supervision: * May supervise students and/or volunteers Special Instructions: If you are selected as a final candidate for this position, you will be subject to The University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Tuberculosis Testing policy. To view the policy, visit https://hr.ou.edu/Policies-Handbooks/TB-Testing. Why You Belong at the University of Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma values our community's unique talents, perspectives, and experiences. At OU, we aspire to harness our innovation, creativity, and collaboration for the advancement of people everywhere. You Belong Here! Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: The University, in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic information, gender identity/expression (consistent with applicable law), age (40 or older), religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, housing, financial aid, and educational services. Hiring contingent upon a Background Check?: Yes Special Indications: None Job Posting: Mar 5, 2026 Rebecca K. Hawkins Curatorial Associate | Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History The University of Oklahoma 2401 Chautauqua Ave | Norman, OK 73072 https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From crawfordaj at gmail.com Sat Mar 14 18:16:37 2026 From: crawfordaj at gmail.com (Andrew J. Crawford) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2026 17:16:37 -0500 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Role of curator in overlapping projects based on NH material? Message-ID: Dear colleagues, I wonder if there is a standard practice for curators in the following situation, or if anyone would have advice on how to respond. The Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle here at Uniandes, Bogot?, Colombia, is a small natural history collection, but we happen to have the biggest collection of one particular aquatic snake species, with about 250 specimens. A nice paper on reproductive phenology was already published on this collection: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222933.2020.1829724 thus many specimens have already been partially dissected. A PhD student from the US visited the collection last year, wrote me months ago asking about the possibility of examining gut content of this sizable series of specimens, and I just received their written proposal last week formally requesting access in June when she comes. Just days later I get another written request, from a professor at a nearby university who proposes to have an undergrad student do this same project, co-advised by one of the experts who helped develop this collection 10 years ago, and they would like to start right away. What is my role as curator of the reptile collection? Would I follow "first come first serve", so whoever arrives first can execute the project, so group 2? Or whoever sent their request first gets priority, and thus holding the material for 3 months, so group 1? Or, third, should I try to negotiate between the two parties and encourage some kind of collaboration? I somewhat know both parties involved (it's a small world), but I just want to do what's fair and/or 'standard' in such cases, if there are any expectations or guidelines from our community? Best wishes, -Andrew Andrew J. Crawford Department of Biological Sciences, Edif. Ip-208 Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle (ANDES) Universidad de los Andes, Bogot?, Colombia Tel. +57 1 339-4949 x3270 Email: aj.crawford244 at uniandes.edu.co @crawfordaj.bsky.social? IG: @craw.crawdad -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shoobs.1 at osu.edu Sat Mar 14 19:00:25 2026 From: shoobs.1 at osu.edu (Shoobs, Nate) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2026 23:00:25 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Role of curator in overlapping projects based on NH material? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ??????I have followed a first-come-first-served approach for situations like this the few times they've arisen. I usually inform the second party that another party has already proposed to conduct the same project or work on the same group of specimens. I do this as a courtesy to help people avoid investing resources in projects where they may get scooped by the earlier researcher. I also inform the first researcher that another party is interested in the same material, so they are aware of the interest in the material in the research community. ???? ?I realize this practice varies a lot between institutions, but I always try to preserve the anonymity of parties making research inquiries/visits to the collection I curate, unless they give me explicit permission to reveal their identity to others. I may mention to external parties like mutual colleagues in general terms that "[person] was visiting/recently requested a loan/etc.", but the specifics of a researcher's project and the specific material they access are kept confidential to people outside of the museum. This comes up frequently when researchers request specimens on loan which are currently on loan to other researchers. I do not reveal the person who has the specimen on loan to the second researcher, only that the specimen is on loan to another party. ??????Regarding the matter at hand, though: I would argue that the fact that the second researcher is local and helped develop the collection is totally immaterial to the question of who should have access. Once someone donates specimens to a public institution they should have no special claim over them, at least, not in a way that should be allowed to interfere with others' research on what are supposed to be publicly accessible specimens. I've been scooped before by people using specimens I collected and intended to publish on, and while it stings a bit, I think it's good for science in the long run to not allow individual people to be too possessive of material held by collections. ??????I don't know if your first researcher is going to do destructive sampling that would preclude the second researcher from performing the same analysis. If they aren't, then I would let both parties study the same material in the order that they requested access. I have not had a situation where two parties have requested to do the same exact destructive analysis on the same material (at least, not in a way that made it impossible to allow both requests), but I think that is a case where there is a curatorial judgment call that needs to be made for good stewardship of the collection. I think in a case like that, it would entirely depend on the rarity of the material and the confidence I had that the requesting party would have a good chance of producing data of value from the destructive sampling. The collection I run has some specimens of extinct species that are one-of-a-kind. I could see denying a request from a first year grad student with no relevant experience to destructively sample one of those specimens and later permitting an experienced researcher who had a good track record with the method to do what the grad student wanted to do. But if it were not a rare or special specimen, I would follow first-come-first-served regardless of experience level. I also typically require that people doing destructive sampling hand over raw data from the destructive sampling as a condition of permission to sample. These data are typically kept confidential for 5 years from the date of the sampling and then added to our database. Best, Nate From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Andrew J. Crawford Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 6:17?PM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Role of curator in overlapping projects based on NH material? This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. Report Suspicious Dear colleagues, I wonder if there is a standard practice for curators in the following situation, or if anyone would have advice on how to respond. The Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle here at Uniandes, Bogot?, Colombia, is a small natural history collection, but we happen to have the biggest collection of one particular aquatic snake species, with about 250 specimens. A nice paper on reproductive phenology was already published on this collection: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222933.2020.1829724 thus many specimens have already been partially dissected. A PhD student from the US visited the collection last year, wrote me months ago asking about the possibility of examining gut content of this sizable series of specimens, and I just received their written proposal last week formally requesting access in June when she comes. Just days later I get another written request, from a professor at a nearby university who proposes to have an undergrad student do this same project, co-advised by one of the experts who helped develop this collection 10 years ago, and they would like to start right away. What is my role as curator of the reptile collection? Would I follow "first come first serve", so whoever arrives first can execute the project, so group 2? Or whoever sent their request first gets priority, and thus holding the material for 3 months, so group 1? Or, third, should I try to negotiate between the two parties and encourage some kind of collaboration? I somewhat know both parties involved (it's a small world), but I just want to do what's fair and/or 'standard' in such cases, if there are any expectations or guidelines from our community? Best wishes, -Andrew Andrew J. Crawford Department of Biological Sciences, Edif. Ip-208 Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle (ANDES) Universidad de los Andes, Bogot?, Colombia Tel. +57 1 339-4949 x3270 Email: aj.crawford244 at uniandes.edu.co @crawfordaj.bsky.social? IG: @craw.crawdad [https://fisicaexpdemostrativos.uniandes.edu.co/Images/logo_uniandes.jpg] [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4w4DERMcvy8bGsTY9CBbPvQCsfpAZZg4A_BlWw5q6OevHLF5WVpWQXXvtzEowN11nxYhLtURldD7xBu] [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4zpp_wN17mvWHqT1BMLpJLzBb1PNPNu-iiKQ5q-kCnz6jHL-R2EuRYAQHoYdiLkwWU8ALiBVJHfjixW] [https://www.sanger.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/earthbiogenomelogo-800x353.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shoobs.1 at osu.edu Sat Mar 14 19:09:22 2026 From: shoobs.1 at osu.edu (Shoobs, Nate) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2026 23:09:22 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Role of curator in overlapping projects based on NH material? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Oh, I should add that in one of the cases I actually asked both requesting parties if they wanted to be introduced to the one another and they did end up collaborating (at least they said they were going to!) I think that's the best outcome! -N From: Shoobs, Nate Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 7:00?PM To: Andrew J. Crawford , nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Role of curator in overlapping projects based on NH material? ??????I have followed a first-come-first-served approach for situations like this the few times they've arisen. I usually inform the second party that another party has already proposed to conduct the same project or work on the same group of specimens. I do this as a courtesy to help people avoid investing resources in projects where they may get scooped by the earlier researcher. I also inform the first researcher that another party is interested in the same material, so they are aware of the interest in the material in the research community. ???? ?I realize this practice varies a lot between institutions, but I always try to preserve the anonymity of parties making research inquiries/visits to the collection I curate, unless they give me explicit permission to reveal their identity to others. I may mention to external parties like mutual colleagues in general terms that "[person] was visiting/recently requested a loan/etc.", but the specifics of a researcher's project and the specific material they access are kept confidential to people outside of the museum. This comes up frequently when researchers request specimens on loan which are currently on loan to other researchers. I do not reveal the person who has the specimen on loan to the second researcher, only that the specimen is on loan to another party. ??????Regarding the matter at hand, though: I would argue that the fact that the second researcher is local and helped develop the collection is totally immaterial to the question of who should have access. Once someone donates specimens to a public institution they should have no special claim over them, at least, not in a way that should be allowed to interfere with others' research on what are supposed to be publicly accessible specimens. I've been scooped before by people using specimens I collected and intended to publish on, and while it stings a bit, I think it's good for science in the long run to not allow individual people to be too possessive of material held by collections. ??????I don't know if your first researcher is going to do destructive sampling that would preclude the second researcher from performing the same analysis. If they aren't, then I would let both parties study the same material in the order that they requested access. I have not had a situation where two parties have requested to do the same exact destructive analysis on the same material (at least, not in a way that made it impossible to allow both requests), but I think that is a case where there is a curatorial judgment call that needs to be made for good stewardship of the collection. I think in a case like that, it would entirely depend on the rarity of the material and the confidence I had that the requesting party would have a good chance of producing data of value from the destructive sampling. The collection I run has some specimens of extinct species that are one-of-a-kind. I could see denying a request from a first year grad student with no relevant experience to destructively sample one of those specimens and later permitting an experienced researcher who had a good track record with the method to do what the grad student wanted to do. But if it were not a rare or special specimen, I would follow first-come-first-served regardless of experience level. I also typically require that people doing destructive sampling hand over raw data from the destructive sampling as a condition of permission to sample. These data are typically kept confidential for 5 years from the date of the sampling and then added to our database. Best, Nate From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Andrew J. Crawford Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 6:17?PM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Role of curator in overlapping projects based on NH material? This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. Report Suspicious Dear colleagues, I wonder if there is a standard practice for curators in the following situation, or if anyone would have advice on how to respond. The Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle here at Uniandes, Bogot?, Colombia, is a small natural history collection, but we happen to have the biggest collection of one particular aquatic snake species, with about 250 specimens. A nice paper on reproductive phenology was already published on this collection: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222933.2020.1829724 thus many specimens have already been partially dissected. A PhD student from the US visited the collection last year, wrote me months ago asking about the possibility of examining gut content of this sizable series of specimens, and I just received their written proposal last week formally requesting access in June when she comes. Just days later I get another written request, from a professor at a nearby university who proposes to have an undergrad student do this same project, co-advised by one of the experts who helped develop this collection 10 years ago, and they would like to start right away. What is my role as curator of the reptile collection? Would I follow "first come first serve", so whoever arrives first can execute the project, so group 2? Or whoever sent their request first gets priority, and thus holding the material for 3 months, so group 1? Or, third, should I try to negotiate between the two parties and encourage some kind of collaboration? I somewhat know both parties involved (it's a small world), but I just want to do what's fair and/or 'standard' in such cases, if there are any expectations or guidelines from our community? Best wishes, -Andrew Andrew J. Crawford Department of Biological Sciences, Edif. Ip-208 Museo de Historia Natural C.J. Marinkelle (ANDES) Universidad de los Andes, Bogot?, Colombia Tel. +57 1 339-4949 x3270 Email: aj.crawford244 at uniandes.edu.co @crawfordaj.bsky.social? IG: @craw.crawdad [https://fisicaexpdemostrativos.uniandes.edu.co/Images/logo_uniandes.jpg] [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4w4DERMcvy8bGsTY9CBbPvQCsfpAZZg4A_BlWw5q6OevHLF5WVpWQXXvtzEowN11nxYhLtURldD7xBu] [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4zpp_wN17mvWHqT1BMLpJLzBb1PNPNu-iiKQ5q-kCnz6jHL-R2EuRYAQHoYdiLkwWU8ALiBVJHfjixW] [https://www.sanger.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/earthbiogenomelogo-800x353.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu Mon Mar 16 14:01:38 2026 From: gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu (Nelson,Gil) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:01:38 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Transitions at iDigBio Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, As you are probably aware, iDigBio is currently pursuing its final year of secure NSF funding with a scheduled termination of 31 August 2026. However, we have requested and been approved for an NSF no-cost-extension (NCE), which we anticipate will allow us to continue into 2027. We wanted to alert you that we are preparing for a transition of iDigBio?s website and wiki. However, there will be no impact to access of iDigBio?s data portal or the several hundred portals of the Symbiota network. Soon, the iDigBio.org URL will land on a simple webpage with minimal links, including our Zoom events hub, our existing data portal, an archive of our legacy website on the Wayback machine, and a new GBIF hosted portal that will become the future face of iDigBio. Additional details about the transition will be forthcoming via listservs and social media. We are making this transition to comply with web accessibility standards as required by our institution and with recognition that the iDigBio project is winding down. The legacy iDigBio website has been archived on the Internet Archive?s Wayback Machine and will be available in perpetuity though performance may be slow (http://web.archive.org/web/idigbio.org). Our website will remain in its current state (https://www.idigbio.org/) until 24 April, after which it will be transitioned to the minimal single-page format. Likewise, links to iDigBio.org URLs from outside websites will no longer be functional after 24 April. Since many of the digitization and data mobilization resources available through the iDigBio website and wiki have been contributed in whole or in part by our users and collaborators, and may be more difficult to access from the archive than they are presently, we encourage you to visit iDigBio.org at your earliest convenience to download and preserve on your hardware any resources you may have found helpful to your digitization activities. Thanks for your patience and support! Best Gil Gil Nelson PhD, Director Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) Immediate Past President, Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA) Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu [FM_logo_horizontal_CMYK] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 10353 bytes Desc: image.png URL: From maru.digi at gmail.com Mon Mar 16 16:54:53 2026 From: maru.digi at gmail.com (Mariana Di Giacomo) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:54:53 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Feedback on storage solution of large and irregular sized glass slides In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Hannco, Great solution. It looks lovely and it saves lots of money, space, and weight. My conservator brain is asking two questions: - what material are the levels? I know you said it's 3D printed, but I'm wondering about longevity and off gassing - what foam/adhesive combo are you using? Thanks for sharing the idea! Best, Mariana *Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD* *Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum* Member at Large; Associate Editor (Collection Forum), SPNHC El lun, 2 mar 2026 a las 9:50, Hannco Bakker () escribi?: > Dear colleagues, > > My name is Hannco Bakker and I am collection manager for various > invertebrate groups here at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. And I would like > to share a perhaps simple solution on large and irregular sized glass > slides. It would be great to receive your feedback or thoughts about this. > > Perhaps you may have similar challenges with glass slides of a wide range > of sizes. Often historical, self-made glass slides. Or in some cases makers > may have extended the glass slides with labels that may give it an > increased length. > Labels can be fragile again, detaching or folding are not an option. > Context should remain preserved. > > [image: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg] > [image: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg] > > Some of you may use these glass slide cabinets with their plastic trays. > Perfect for two standard sizes of slides. However, self-made or larger > slides will not fit. Here in Naturalis these slides were stored in shelves > of 5 cm in height, wasting a lot of space. > > There are some high quality, but expensive options such as special made > cabinets by Bruynzeel or other manufacturers. Cabinets with steel made very > thin drawers, saving a lot of space. But not every museum has a large > budget. Or sometimes it is a problem of weight, as these cabinets weigh > maybe a couple 100kg or more. Together with the slides, the weight may > become a problem as well. > > Therefore we have looked into developing something of our own. It should > meet requirements such as: > - Museum grade quality; > - practical friendly; > - modular; > - cheap(er); > - easy to get/use materials; > - not dependent on one manufacturer. > And perhaps some others that I may have forgotten to mention. > > We've come to the following solution. > > - We kept our wooden cabinets, as we have the blueprints, any > woodworker could make them. > - 3d printed levels on the sides, to hold the trays. We have plenty of > 3d printers and the file is open access for anyone to use, if the trays > appear too thick the holders can be adjusted as well. > - Cardboard trays with holes, so you could lift the slide up from > underneath. Acid free, low waste. > - Foam with double sided tape to make it modular for all sorts of > sizes. > > We've received all the last bits and pieces from suppliers and I am > testing it now. It feels very satisfying to have these slides stored in a > more proper way now. > > [image: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg] > [image: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg][image: > 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg] > > It is not 'perfect', but very easy and user friendly. It has a home-made > feeling, but with a touch of quality and proper selection of materials. It > may solve a smaller housing problem, but may save a lot of space. > > I am looking forward to your thoughts on this solution. And we are happy > to share our details. > > With kind regards, > Hannco (Piet A.J.) Bakker > Senior Collections Manager Invertebrates > > > > > > > > > +31717519334 - > hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl > Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden > Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 148701 bytes Desc: not available URL: From hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl Tue Mar 17 08:15:18 2026 From: hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl (Hannco Bakker) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:15:18 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Feedback on storage solution of large and irregular sized glass slides In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello Mariana, Thank you for your feedback and questions! Much appreciated. For the 3d printed holders we used Ultrafuse PLA PRO1 Natural White as material. The foam is polyethyleen LD33 foam, the glue I have no details on, but I could get them. They are from our general supplier for museum grade storage solutions, called Janssen, Wijsmuller & Beuns. I hope this information helps you! Kind regards, Hannco Op ma 16 mrt 2026 om 21:55 schreef Mariana Di Giacomo : > Hi Hannco, > > Great solution. It looks lovely and it saves lots of money, space, and > weight. > My conservator brain is asking two questions: > - what material are the levels? I know you said it's 3D printed, but I'm > wondering about longevity and off gassing > - what foam/adhesive combo are you using? > > Thanks for sharing the idea! > Best, > Mariana > > *Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD* > *Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum* > Member at Large; Associate Editor (Collection Forum), SPNHC > > > > > El lun, 2 mar 2026 a las 9:50, Hannco Bakker () > escribi?: > >> Dear colleagues, >> >> My name is Hannco Bakker and I am collection manager for various >> invertebrate groups here at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. And I would like >> to share a perhaps simple solution on large and irregular sized glass >> slides. It would be great to receive your feedback or thoughts about this. >> >> Perhaps you may have similar challenges with glass slides of a wide range >> of sizes. Often historical, self-made glass slides. Or in some cases makers >> may have extended the glass slides with labels that may give it an >> increased length. >> Labels can be fragile again, detaching or folding are not an option. >> Context should remain preserved. >> >> [image: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg] >> [image: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg] >> >> Some of you may use these glass slide cabinets with their plastic trays. >> Perfect for two standard sizes of slides. However, self-made or larger >> slides will not fit. Here in Naturalis these slides were stored in shelves >> of 5 cm in height, wasting a lot of space. >> >> There are some high quality, but expensive options such as special made >> cabinets by Bruynzeel or other manufacturers. Cabinets with steel made very >> thin drawers, saving a lot of space. But not every museum has a large >> budget. Or sometimes it is a problem of weight, as these cabinets weigh >> maybe a couple 100kg or more. Together with the slides, the weight may >> become a problem as well. >> >> Therefore we have looked into developing something of our own. It should >> meet requirements such as: >> - Museum grade quality; >> - practical friendly; >> - modular; >> - cheap(er); >> - easy to get/use materials; >> - not dependent on one manufacturer. >> And perhaps some others that I may have forgotten to mention. >> >> We've come to the following solution. >> >> - We kept our wooden cabinets, as we have the blueprints, any >> woodworker could make them. >> - 3d printed levels on the sides, to hold the trays. We have plenty >> of 3d printers and the file is open access for anyone to use, if the trays >> appear too thick the holders can be adjusted as well. >> - Cardboard trays with holes, so you could lift the slide up from >> underneath. Acid free, low waste. >> - Foam with double sided tape to make it modular for all sorts of >> sizes. >> >> We've received all the last bits and pieces from suppliers and I am >> testing it now. It feels very satisfying to have these slides stored in a >> more proper way now. >> >> [image: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg] >> [image: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg][image: >> 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg] >> >> It is not 'perfect', but very easy and user friendly. It has a home-made >> feeling, but with a touch of quality and proper selection of materials. It >> may solve a smaller housing problem, but may save a lot of space. >> >> I am looking forward to your thoughts on this solution. And we are happy >> to share our details. >> >> With kind regards, >> Hannco (Piet A.J.) Bakker >> Senior Collections Manager Invertebrates >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> +31717519334 - >> hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl >> Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden >> Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> > -- Met vriendelijke groet, Hannco Bakker Senior Collectiebeheerder +31717519334 - hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 309606 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 210859 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 275999 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 128790 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 148701 bytes Desc: not available URL: From arountre at umich.edu Tue Mar 17 09:42:04 2026 From: arountre at umich.edu (Adam Rountrey) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:42:04 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Feedback on storage solution of large and irregular sized glass slides In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Hannco, Thanks for sharing this method! We've also been trying to rehouse non-standard slides in our collections, which are often stored with the original specimens in standard drawers. We are 3D printing standalone slide holders using a parameterized CAD model that allows us to input slide dimensions and automatically generate an updated design. We did some searching in publications and the Oddy test database and decided that non-pigmented PETG filament offers a good balance of printability and long-term safety/stability in the collections. -Adam On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 8:22?AM Hannco Bakker wrote: > Hello Mariana, > > Thank you for your feedback and questions! Much appreciated. > > For the 3d printed holders we used Ultrafuse PLA PRO1 Natural White > > as material. > The foam is polyethyleen LD33 foam, the glue I have no details on, but I > could get them. They are from our general supplier for museum grade storage > solutions, called Janssen, Wijsmuller & Beuns. > > I hope this information helps you! > > Kind regards, > Hannco > > > Op ma 16 mrt 2026 om 21:55 schreef Mariana Di Giacomo >: > >> Hi Hannco, >> >> Great solution. It looks lovely and it saves lots of money, space, and >> weight. >> My conservator brain is asking two questions: >> - what material are the levels? I know you said it's 3D printed, but I'm >> wondering about longevity and off gassing >> - what foam/adhesive combo are you using? >> >> Thanks for sharing the idea! >> Best, >> Mariana >> >> *Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD* >> *Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum* >> Member at Large; Associate Editor (Collection Forum), SPNHC >> >> >> >> >> El lun, 2 mar 2026 a las 9:50, Hannco Bakker () >> escribi?: >> >>> Dear colleagues, >>> >>> My name is Hannco Bakker and I am collection manager for various >>> invertebrate groups here at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. And I would like >>> to share a perhaps simple solution on large and irregular sized glass >>> slides. It would be great to receive your feedback or thoughts about this. >>> >>> Perhaps you may have similar challenges with glass slides of a wide >>> range of sizes. Often historical, self-made glass slides. Or in some cases >>> makers may have extended the glass slides with labels that may give it an >>> increased length. >>> Labels can be fragile again, detaching or folding are not an option. >>> Context should remain preserved. >>> >>> [image: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg] >>> [image: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg] >>> >>> Some of you may use these glass slide cabinets with their plastic trays. >>> Perfect for two standard sizes of slides. However, self-made or larger >>> slides will not fit. Here in Naturalis these slides were stored in shelves >>> of 5 cm in height, wasting a lot of space. >>> >>> There are some high quality, but expensive options such as special made >>> cabinets by Bruynzeel or other manufacturers. Cabinets with steel made very >>> thin drawers, saving a lot of space. But not every museum has a large >>> budget. Or sometimes it is a problem of weight, as these cabinets weigh >>> maybe a couple 100kg or more. Together with the slides, the weight may >>> become a problem as well. >>> >>> Therefore we have looked into developing something of our own. It should >>> meet requirements such as: >>> - Museum grade quality; >>> - practical friendly; >>> - modular; >>> - cheap(er); >>> - easy to get/use materials; >>> - not dependent on one manufacturer. >>> And perhaps some others that I may have forgotten to mention. >>> >>> We've come to the following solution. >>> >>> - We kept our wooden cabinets, as we have the blueprints, any >>> woodworker could make them. >>> - 3d printed levels on the sides, to hold the trays. We have plenty >>> of 3d printers and the file is open access for anyone to use, if the trays >>> appear too thick the holders can be adjusted as well. >>> - Cardboard trays with holes, so you could lift the slide up from >>> underneath. Acid free, low waste. >>> - Foam with double sided tape to make it modular for all sorts of >>> sizes. >>> >>> We've received all the last bits and pieces from suppliers and I am >>> testing it now. It feels very satisfying to have these slides stored in a >>> more proper way now. >>> >>> [image: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg] >>> [image: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg][image: >>> 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg] >>> >>> It is not 'perfect', but very easy and user friendly. It has a home-made >>> feeling, but with a touch of quality and proper selection of materials. It >>> may solve a smaller housing problem, but may save a lot of space. >>> >>> I am looking forward to your thoughts on this solution. And we are happy >>> to share our details. >>> >>> With kind regards, >>> Hannco (Piet A.J.) Bakker >>> Senior Collections Manager Invertebrates >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> +31717519334 - >>> hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl >>> Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden >>> Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Nhcoll-l mailing list >>> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >>> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >>> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >>> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >>> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >>> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >>> >> > > -- > Met vriendelijke groet, > > Hannco Bakker > Senior Collectiebeheerder > > > > > > > > > +31717519334 - > hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl > Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden > Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 309606 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 210859 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 275999 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 128790 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 148701 bytes Desc: not available URL: From gregory.watkins-colwell at yale.edu Wed Mar 18 12:16:43 2026 From: gregory.watkins-colwell at yale.edu (Watkins-Colwell, Gregory) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2026 16:16:43 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] ZooMu Cyberinfrastructure webinar Message-ID: <717940C1-1A4D-4131-9E4D-9F25F8437F8F@yale.edu> ? ZooMu in Action: Practical Pathways to Make Your Biorepository Findable and Usable Do you manage biological collections and data? Heard terms like ?GBIF? or ?metadata standards? but not sure how to actually start using them? Join this 1-hour webinar hosted by the ZooMu Cyberinfrastructure Working Group on April 9 at 12 PM EDT to see the practical steps zoos are taking to make their collections more accessible, findable, and impactful for research and conservation. The ZooMu Network helps zoos, aquariums, and museums make collections findable, usable, and connected (zoomunetwork.org). All are welcome to join?register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PWyul_0MS9uK06fL2RSPlA#/registration **************** Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell Sr. Collection Manager, Herpetology and Ichthyology Division of Vertebrate Zoology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7789-9806 YALE PEABODY MUSEUM Main Office: 203-432-3791; West Campus: 203-737-7568; Fax 203-432-9277 Package shipping address: Greg Watkins-Colwell Division of Vertebrate Zoology YALE PEABODY MUSEUM 170?210 Whitney Avenue New Haven, CT 06511 USA 203-432-3791 ****************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From maru.digi at gmail.com Wed Mar 18 13:54:03 2026 From: maru.digi at gmail.com (Mariana Di Giacomo) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:54:03 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Feedback on storage solution of large and irregular sized glass slides In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Hannco, Thanks for sharing the info. The foam is great but knowing the adhesive could be really helpful too. As Adam points out, the Oddy Test database is a great place to go look for potential materials to use, so I always recommend people stop by there when thinking of ideas for projects. Best of luck with the new system, Mariana *Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD* *Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum* Member at Large; Associate Editor (Collection Forum), SPNHC El mar, 17 mar 2026 a las 9:42, Adam Rountrey () escribi?: > Hi Hannco, > Thanks for sharing this method! We've also been trying to rehouse > non-standard slides in our collections, which are often stored with the > original specimens in standard drawers. We are 3D printing standalone > slide holders using a parameterized CAD model that allows us to input slide > dimensions and automatically generate an updated design. We did some > searching in publications and the Oddy test database > and > decided that non-pigmented PETG filament offers a good balance of > printability and long-term safety/stability in the collections. > -Adam > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 8:22?AM Hannco Bakker > wrote: > >> Hello Mariana, >> >> Thank you for your feedback and questions! Much appreciated. >> >> For the 3d printed holders we used Ultrafuse PLA PRO1 Natural White >> >> as material. >> The foam is polyethyleen LD33 foam, the glue I have no details on, but I >> could get them. They are from our general supplier for museum grade storage >> solutions, called Janssen, Wijsmuller & Beuns. >> >> I hope this information helps you! >> >> Kind regards, >> Hannco >> >> >> Op ma 16 mrt 2026 om 21:55 schreef Mariana Di Giacomo < >> maru.digi at gmail.com>: >> >>> Hi Hannco, >>> >>> Great solution. It looks lovely and it saves lots of money, space, and >>> weight. >>> My conservator brain is asking two questions: >>> - what material are the levels? I know you said it's 3D printed, but I'm >>> wondering about longevity and off gassing >>> - what foam/adhesive combo are you using? >>> >>> Thanks for sharing the idea! >>> Best, >>> Mariana >>> >>> *Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD* >>> *Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum* >>> Member at Large; Associate Editor (Collection Forum), SPNHC >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> El lun, 2 mar 2026 a las 9:50, Hannco Bakker (< >>> hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl>) escribi?: >>> >>>> Dear colleagues, >>>> >>>> My name is Hannco Bakker and I am collection manager for various >>>> invertebrate groups here at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. And I would like >>>> to share a perhaps simple solution on large and irregular sized glass >>>> slides. It would be great to receive your feedback or thoughts about this. >>>> >>>> Perhaps you may have similar challenges with glass slides of a wide >>>> range of sizes. Often historical, self-made glass slides. Or in some cases >>>> makers may have extended the glass slides with labels that may give it an >>>> increased length. >>>> Labels can be fragile again, detaching or folding are not an option. >>>> Context should remain preserved. >>>> >>>> [image: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg] >>>> [image: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg] >>>> >>>> Some of you may use these glass slide cabinets with their plastic >>>> trays. Perfect for two standard sizes of slides. However, self-made or >>>> larger slides will not fit. Here in Naturalis these slides were stored in >>>> shelves of 5 cm in height, wasting a lot of space. >>>> >>>> There are some high quality, but expensive options such as special made >>>> cabinets by Bruynzeel or other manufacturers. Cabinets with steel made very >>>> thin drawers, saving a lot of space. But not every museum has a large >>>> budget. Or sometimes it is a problem of weight, as these cabinets weigh >>>> maybe a couple 100kg or more. Together with the slides, the weight may >>>> become a problem as well. >>>> >>>> Therefore we have looked into developing something of our own. It >>>> should meet requirements such as: >>>> - Museum grade quality; >>>> - practical friendly; >>>> - modular; >>>> - cheap(er); >>>> - easy to get/use materials; >>>> - not dependent on one manufacturer. >>>> And perhaps some others that I may have forgotten to mention. >>>> >>>> We've come to the following solution. >>>> >>>> - We kept our wooden cabinets, as we have the blueprints, any >>>> woodworker could make them. >>>> - 3d printed levels on the sides, to hold the trays. We have plenty >>>> of 3d printers and the file is open access for anyone to use, if the trays >>>> appear too thick the holders can be adjusted as well. >>>> - Cardboard trays with holes, so you could lift the slide up from >>>> underneath. Acid free, low waste. >>>> - Foam with double sided tape to make it modular for all sorts of >>>> sizes. >>>> >>>> We've received all the last bits and pieces from suppliers and I am >>>> testing it now. It feels very satisfying to have these slides stored in a >>>> more proper way now. >>>> >>>> [image: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg] >>>> [image: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg][image: >>>> 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg] >>>> >>>> It is not 'perfect', but very easy and user friendly. It has a >>>> home-made feeling, but with a touch of quality and proper selection of >>>> materials. It may solve a smaller housing problem, but may save a lot of >>>> space. >>>> >>>> I am looking forward to your thoughts on this solution. And we are >>>> happy to share our details. >>>> >>>> With kind regards, >>>> Hannco (Piet A.J.) Bakker >>>> Senior Collections Manager Invertebrates >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> +31717519334 - >>>> hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl >>>> Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden >>>> Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Nhcoll-l mailing list >>>> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >>>> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >>>> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >>>> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >>>> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >>>> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >>>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >>>> >>> >> >> -- >> Met vriendelijke groet, >> >> Hannco Bakker >> Senior Collectiebeheerder >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> +31717519334 - >> hannco.bakker at naturalis.nl - www.naturalis.nl >> Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden >> Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 3be0919b-1255-4040-9d96-30ebd4b5dc13.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 309606 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 35c6a091-9569-488a-8470-865e0b7ec818.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 210859 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 277b8ffb-ddeb-4bd8-95ca-61c1083b8fab.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 275999 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 0d63bd25-8a7d-49af-8d43-98669cd6059e.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 128790 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 73472e0e-37d5-455e-9c6f-bac68b8730d3.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 148701 bytes Desc: not available URL: From amast at fsu.edu Fri Mar 20 08:14:40 2026 From: amast at fsu.edu (Austin Mast) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:14:40 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Registration Open until April 3 for Spring 2026 Strategic Planning for Herbaria Course Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, iDigBio and the Society of Herbarium Curators are pleased to announce an 8-week "Strategic Planning for Herbaria? online course! Take this opportunity to introduce new purpose and excitement into your organization. Prepare to relate your herbarium?s compelling vision to stakeholders and discuss long-term goals and strategies with administrators. The ?Strategic Planning for Herbaria? online course will meet 8 times on Fridays from 10:00?11:00 AM Eastern Time between April 17 and June 5, 2026 (see the summary syllabus for exact dates). We anticipate that the course will require approximately 5 hours of work per week, including the 1 hour in-class. The goal is to produce a short (5?10 pages) strategic plan for each represented herbarium. Each plan will address vision, mission, values, stakeholders, strategies, goals, objectives, evaluation, and sustainability, among other things. The process is at least as valuable as the product, and you might find that the exercises benefit your herbarium in unexpected ways. Course participation will be capped to ensure adequate opportunities to participate in discussions. We are looking for creative, committed participants who can help us to continue building momentum for this as an annual event. If multiple individuals from a herbarium are interested in participating in the course, we ask that ONE formally apply and the others participate in the out-of-class exercises and brainstorming sessions. There is no charge for participation in the course. We invite anyone affiliated with a herbarium from anywhere in the world to apply to participate, but we do note that the course is taught in English. Please note that the course is focused on strategic planning and NOT on teaching collecting, curation, or data mobilization skills. Class meetings will be recorded to benefit class participants who wish to review content asynchronously. A summary syllabus for the course is available here . To apply, please complete this short Google Form by April 3, 2026. Admission decisions will be made shortly thereafter. Admissions are based on a mix of considerations, including variety of career stages and herbaria, urgency for the herbarium, the herbarium?s concrete plans to leverage the strategic planning in the near future (e.g., for funding), and sustained interest in the class as evidenced by application again this year after an unsuccessful application in the previous year. While this course offering is focused specifically on herbaria, we plan to continue offering a version of the course with a scope broadened to include all types of biodiversity collections later this year. If you are interested in this topic but are involved in, e.g., an insect, fossil, or fish collection, please watch for that opportunity to be announced this fall. With best regards, Austin Mast (Director of iDigBio?s Digitization, Workforce Development, and Participatory Science Domain) and David Jennings (iDigBio?s Project Manager) Austin Mast ? Professor ? Department of Biological Science ? 319 Stadium Drive ? Florida State University ? Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295 ? U.S.A. ? (850) 645-1500 ? Director ? Institute for Digital Information & Scientific Communication ? College of Communication and Information ? Florida State University -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: smime.p7s Type: application/pkcs7-signature Size: 1451 bytes Desc: not available URL: From gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu Fri Mar 20 13:55:01 2026 From: gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu (Nelson,Gil) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 17:55:01 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] The Digitization Academy: iDigBio's final webinar for March! Message-ID: Don?t Forget: iDigBio?s final Webinar in March is coming up next week! Please register below. Don?t forget to join us for our final webinar in March, featuring Kalina Jakymec with a presentation focusing on iDigBio?s Digitization Academy and the online digitization training it offers. See date and time below. Register here: https://www.idigbio.org/content/webinar-series-importance-sustaining-biodiversity-specimen-collections-digitization-absence For past recordings and upcoming events, visit the series Wiki page: https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Sustaining_Collections_Digitization_Beyond_NSF_Funding:_A_Webinar_Series March 24, 2026: The Digitization Academy: Staying Up-to-date with Best Practices for Specimen Digitization (2:00-3:00pm ET) Speaker: Kalina Jakymec (Florida State University, iDigBio) Abstract: This webinar will introduce professional development opportunities offered by the Digitization Academy to support and sustain digitization. Courses include Introduction to Biodiversity Specimen Digitization (available in English and Spanish), Digital Imaging for Biodiversity Collections, and Public Participation in Digitization of Biodiversity Collections. These online offerings deliver structured content and feature insights from experts in the field, providing critical training needed to advance and sustain digitization efforts. Gil Nelson PhD, Director Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) Immediate Past President, Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA) Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu [FM_logo_horizontal_CMYK] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Outlook-FM_logo_ho.png Type: image/png Size: 10269 bytes Desc: Outlook-FM_logo_ho.png URL: From MDean at cincymuseum.org Fri Mar 20 14:06:57 2026 From: MDean at cincymuseum.org (Makayla Dean) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 18:06:57 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Disposing of Bird Teaching Specimens Message-ID: Hi all, We've recently culled about 1/3 of our ornithology teaching specimens because they were in exceptionally poor condition: heads smashed, wings/tails/feet ripped off, exceptionally poor preparation, etc. We have duplicates of the culled species in our teaching collection and none of the specimens have any type of data associated with them; they were prepared for outreach and teaching. We've gone through all of the institutional processes and paperwork to remove these specimens from the collection, but now we're stuck with what to actually do with them. To the best of our knowledge, the specimens were not prepared with any harmful compounds, such as arsenic, mercury, or lead. The species are not CITES or ESA listed, but are all protected under the MBTA. We think the specimens are in too poor condition to be useful to any other educational institute, so we are looking for ways to dispose of the specimens. Does anyone have any advice on disposing of these specimens that isn't just tossing them into a dumpster? Best, Makayla Makayla Dean | they/them Manager, Zoology Collections & DNA Lab Cincinnati Museum Center 1301 Western Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45203 MDean at cincymuseum C: (513) 549-6251 O: (513) 287-7000 ext 7307 cincymuseum.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From neotieno at gmail.com Fri Mar 20 14:48:59 2026 From: neotieno at gmail.com (Nickson Otieno) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 21:48:59 +0300 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Disposing of Bird Teaching Specimens In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello Makayla, Depending on what species and how well/widely studied they are, you might consider donating them a lab/institute with a strong focus on studies related to stable isotope analysis or barcoding using ancient DNA . They might find those specimens very valuable especially given the increasingly stringent rues regarding permits for specimens collection and material transfer worldwide. Nickson Otieno National Museums of Kenya On Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 9:07?PM Makayla Dean wrote: > Hi all, > > We've recently culled about 1/3 of our ornithology teaching specimens > because they were in exceptionally poor condition: heads smashed, > wings/tails/feet ripped off, exceptionally poor preparation, etc. We have > duplicates of the culled species in our teaching collection and none of the > specimens have any type of data associated with them; they were prepared > for outreach and teaching. We've gone through all of the institutional > processes and paperwork to remove these specimens from the collection, but > now we're stuck with what to actually do with them. To the best of our > knowledge, the specimens were not prepared with any harmful compounds, such > as arsenic, mercury, or lead. The species are not CITES or ESA listed, but > are all protected under the MBTA. > > We think the specimens are in too poor condition to be useful to any other > educational institute, so we are looking for ways to dispose of the > specimens. Does anyone have any advice on disposing of these specimens that > isn't just tossing them into a dumpster? > > Best, > Makayla > > *Makayla Dean | *they/them > > Manager, Zoology Collections & DNA Lab > > Cincinnati Museum Center > > 1301 Western Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45203 > MDean at cincymuseum > C: (513) 549-6251 > > O: (513) 287-7000 ext 7307 > > cincymuseum.org > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cearly at smm.org Fri Mar 20 15:09:28 2026 From: cearly at smm.org (Catherine Early (she/her)) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 14:09:28 -0500 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Disposing of Bird Teaching Specimens In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Another great use of them is the Non-Eagle Feather Repository ! They are interested in feathers of most North American birds as long as the quills are not cut. Best, Catherine Catherine M. Early, PhD *she/her/hers* Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology cearly at smm.org https://catherineearly.wixsite.com/home The Science Museum of Minnesota is where the next generation of thinkers gets their spark. Be part of that . We envision a world where everyone has the power to use science to make lives better, and we are committed to using STEM as a tool to advocate for justice and equity. On Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 1:49?PM Nickson Otieno wrote: > Hello Makayla, > Depending on what species and how well/widely studied they are, you might > consider donating them a lab/institute with a strong focus on studies > related to stable isotope analysis or barcoding using ancient DNA . They > might find those specimens very valuable especially given the increasingly > stringent rues regarding permits for specimens collection and material > transfer worldwide. > Nickson Otieno > National Museums of Kenya > > On Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 9:07?PM Makayla Dean > wrote: > >> Hi all, >> >> We've recently culled about 1/3 of our ornithology teaching specimens >> because they were in exceptionally poor condition: heads smashed, >> wings/tails/feet ripped off, exceptionally poor preparation, etc. We have >> duplicates of the culled species in our teaching collection and none of the >> specimens have any type of data associated with them; they were prepared >> for outreach and teaching. We've gone through all of the institutional >> processes and paperwork to remove these specimens from the collection, but >> now we're stuck with what to actually do with them. To the best of our >> knowledge, the specimens were not prepared with any harmful compounds, such >> as arsenic, mercury, or lead. The species are not CITES or ESA listed, but >> are all protected under the MBTA. >> >> We think the specimens are in too poor condition to be useful to any >> other educational institute, so we are looking for ways to dispose of the >> specimens. Does anyone have any advice on disposing of these specimens that >> isn't just tossing them into a dumpster? >> >> Best, >> Makayla >> >> *Makayla Dean | *they/them >> >> Manager, Zoology Collections & DNA Lab >> >> Cincinnati Museum Center >> >> 1301 Western Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45203 >> MDean at cincymuseum >> C: (513) 549-6251 >> >> O: (513) 287-7000 ext 7307 >> >> cincymuseum.org >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidpshorthouse at gmail.com Sat Mar 21 12:36:11 2026 From: davidpshorthouse at gmail.com (Shorthouse, David) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2026 12:36:11 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Call for manuscripts: Open Digital Curation of Collections-based Biodiversity Data Message-ID: Folks, Rod Page, Andrea Thomer, and I are guest editing a topical collection in the Biodiversity Data Journal entitled, "Beyond Digitization: Open Digital Curation of Collections-based Biodiversity Data". More details here: https://bdj.pensoft.net/news/1127 with a submission deadline September 1, 2026. We hope this aligns well with the topics in the upcoming SPNHC symposia sessions and authors consider submitting a manuscript. Thanks for considering this, David P. Shorthouse -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From battermann at snsb.de Mon Mar 23 05:51:17 2026 From: battermann at snsb.de (Battermann, Nora) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:51:17 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Tool for annual reporting Message-ID: <82dcd90aaaf94f40975a3b6620e24b57@snsb.de> Dear colleagues, we are currently in the process of reorganizing our annual reporting procedures and would greatly appreciate learning how this is handled in your institutions. Our goal is to establish a system for in- and output that allows for a structured and efficient collection and reporting of data. In particular, the system should be able to cover the following aspects: ? Numerical data from collections (e.g. progress in digitization, collection growth, type specimens, loans) ? Written reports from departments (e.g. research and collection development of sections, museum activities) ? Figures related to third-party funding, fellowships, grants, etc. ? Publications produced by departments within the reporting year We would be very interested to hear how you approach this in your institutions: ? Which tools or systems do your institutions use? ? How is the workflow organized? ? What has proven particularly effective (or challenging)? Any insights, examples, or recommendations would be highly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance and best regards, Nora -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jrussack at calacademy.org Mon Mar 23 12:45:02 2026 From: jrussack at calacademy.org (Joe Russack) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:45:02 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Tool for annual reporting In-Reply-To: <82dcd90aaaf94f40975a3b6620e24b57@snsb.de-alert> References: <82dcd90aaaf94f40975a3b6620e24b57@snsb.de-alert> Message-ID: <23E3C332-7FD8-4205-8564-4B64AA46D458@calacademy.org> Hi Nora, We had the same challenge with publications, so we built a tool for tracking them. It pulls data from OpenAlex using a ROR ID and generates CSV reports. it works reasonably well. You can find it here . OpenAlex is free with good coverage, and automated ingestion minimizes manual data entry. The main challenge is author disambiguation; institutional affiliations are sometimes missing in the source data, so we supplement with explicit ORCID searches. OpenAlex isn?t perfect - we see overmerges with authors who have similar names, and other data quality problems, but the tool handles about 90% of the rote work in assembling our pub lists. -Joe > On Mar 23, 2026, at 2:51?AM, Battermann, Nora wrote: > > Dear colleagues, > > we are currently in the process of reorganizing our annual reporting procedures and would greatly appreciate learning how this is handled in your institutions. > > Our goal is to establish a system for in- and output that allows for a structured and efficient collection and reporting of data. > > In particular, the system should be able to cover the following aspects: > ? Numerical data from collections (e.g. progress in digitization, collection growth, type specimens, loans) > ? Written reports from departments (e.g. research and collection development of sections, museum activities) > ? Figures related to third-party funding, fellowships, grants, etc. > ? Publications produced by departments within the reporting year > > We would be very interested to hear how you approach this in your institutions: > ? Which tools or systems do your institutions use? > ? How is the workflow organized? > ? What has proven particularly effective (or challenging)? > > Any insights, examples, or recommendations would be highly appreciated. > Thank you very much in advance and best regards, > Nora > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://www.google.com/url?q=https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjU2OTNiNzNjMWUyZjRlYjY1YzE2ODA0ZmVlMGM4OTY4Ojc6YTFhNDowODRkNzJlNDk4OTExOTg4MTZjZjcwYmQxZDhhMDBiNjRjYzdiZWY0YjkwN2UwNjAwNDU4MWEyZWJjMDhlZTNjOnA6VDpO&source=gmail-imap&ust=1774864304000000&usg=AOvVaw1tNQjiUY5Kp6zsD47hNuAz > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See https://www.google.com/url?q=https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjU2OTNiNzNjMWUyZjRlYjY1YzE2ODA0ZmVlMGM4OTY4Ojc6YWM3MTowN2NkMzBjMTJjNGZhN2YxMmJkNWVjNTZmNjY0Yjg4YTUzZmUyMjRmYzcxYzYxZmQwOTIzOTgwZThkMjJjMTgyOnA6VDpO&source=gmail-imap&ust=1774864304000000&usg=AOvVaw2zyvIfLYfib-mta_7-7e0b for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. Joe Russack Director of Scientific Computing California Academy of Sciences T 415.238.2529 jrussack at calacademy.org 55 Music Concourse Drive Golden Gate Park San Francisco, CA 94118 www.calacademy.org Facebook | Twitter | Instagram We regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. Learn more at calacademy.org . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mtaylor at andover.edu Tue Mar 24 09:53:15 2026 From: mtaylor at andover.edu (Marla L Taylor) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:53:15 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Indigenous Collections Care Webinar Series - April 7th (Relationship Building & Consultation) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Please join us for the third session of the Rethinking Collections Stewardship Speaker Series - April 7th at 2pm Central - for a conversation on relationship building and consultation. Register here Recordings will be made available via the ICC webpage at the conclusion of the series. [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e400d2ac86b96559d288dd636/images/dc9af8a2-ba64-4ae9-b36f-aeb4361916f9.png] [https://mcusercontent.com/e400d2ac86b96559d288dd636/images/b8b30a09-2c7f-8ae7-9a5d-36f50b9a3a72.png] Indigenous Collections Care (ICC) Speaker Series In partnership with the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) at the School for Advanced Research and Gilcrease Museum, we present the Indigenous Collections Care (ICC) Speaker Series, a four-part webinar series examining Indigenous-centered approaches to museum collections stewardship. Developed in advance of the forthcoming Indigenous Collections Care Guide, the series brings together leading practitioners to explore consultation, conservation, access, and relationship-building through Indigenous knowledge and values-reflecting our ongoing leadership in this work across the museum field. Museum professionals and colleagues across the field are invited to register or learn more about the series. Register Webinar Schedule Relationship Building & Consultation Apr 7 | 2:00 - 3:30 PM Central Featuring: Laura Elliff Cruz, Chance Ward, Marti Only A Chief Use & Access of Collections May 5 | 2:00 - 3:30 PM Central Featuring: Amanda Lancaster, Sarah O'Donnell, Ed Jolie, RaeLynn Butler [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/dark-facebook-48.png] [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/dark-twitter-48.png] [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/dark-instagram-48.png] [https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/dark-youtube-48.png] Copyright ? 2019 Gilcrease Museum, All rights reserved. Our address is: 800 S Tucker Drive Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. View this email in your browser. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ICC Speaker Series Flyer.png Type: image/png Size: 688184 bytes Desc: ICC Speaker Series Flyer.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ICC Series Panel 3.png Type: image/png Size: 1202240 bytes Desc: ICC Series Panel 3.png URL: From gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu Tue Mar 24 10:18:29 2026 From: gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu (Nelson,Gil) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:18:29 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Webinar Reminder! Message-ID: Don?t Forget: iDigBio?s final March Webinar in March is coming up today! Please register below. Don?t forget to join us for our final webinar in March, featuring Kalina Jakymec with a presentation focusing on iDigBio?s Digitization Academy and the online digitization training it offers. See date and time below. Register here: https://www.idigbio.org/content/webinar-series-importance-sustaining-biodiversity-specimen-collections-digitization-absence For past recordings and upcoming events, visit the series Wiki page: https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Sustaining_Collections_Digitization_Beyond_NSF_Funding:_A_Webinar_Series March 24, 2026: The Digitization Academy: Staying Up-to-date with Best Practices for Specimen Digitization (2:00-3:00pm ET) Speaker: Kalina Jakymec (Florida State University, iDigBio) Abstract: This webinar will introduce professional development opportunities offered by the Digitization Academy to support and sustain digitization. Courses include Introduction to Biodiversity Specimen Digitization (available in English and Spanish), Digital Imaging for Biodiversity Collections, and Public Participation in Digitization of Biodiversity Collections. These online offerings deliver structured content and feature insights from experts in the field, providing critical training needed to advance and sustain digitization efforts. Gil Nelson PhD, Director Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio) Immediate Past President, Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA) Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida gnelson at floridamuseum.ufl.edu [FM_logo_horizontal_CMYK] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 10353 bytes Desc: image.png URL: From dboyd10 at lsu.edu Tue Mar 24 10:44:01 2026 From: dboyd10 at lsu.edu (David Boyd) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:44:01 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies Message-ID: Dear NHColl community, What, if any, extraordinary considerations do you take into account for tissue loans to private, for-profit companies? Our loan terms prohibit commercial use of tissues and sequence data derived therefrom. We receive requests from the biotechnology sector that are not directly commercial but that may produce profitable methodologies or technologies for use in industry. For example, projects aimed at species conservation and habitat restoration, goals that align broadly with our museum's mission. Do you grant requests of this nature? If so, do you alter the terms of your institution's typical loan agreements to do so, and in what ways? Thank you for any advice you care to share, Dave David A. Boyd, MSc Collections Manager, Ichthyology and Herpetology Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science 119 Foster Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225) 681-0456 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shoobs.1 at osu.edu Tue Mar 24 11:03:19 2026 From: shoobs.1 at osu.edu (Shoobs, Nate) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:03:19 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We've had some bad luck retrieving prior loans made to several environmental consulting firms. Usually these are "honest mistakes" in losing track of specimens or data, but still, the general sense of the importance of keeping track of museum material is not always there in the private sector. And the nature of the corporate world means things like specimens often get forgotten about when offices get moved. We now only loan specimens with data to non-profit institutions and government offices. We have however continued to make small loans of uncatalogued / duplicate material with little-to-no data to firms, as usually this is sufficient for what they want. And our collections are nevertheless open to anyone in the world if they want to study in-person. The demographic that uses the collection the most is (by far) private sector consultants studying material of species they might encounter in their environmental surveys. RE tissues, I've never had a request from a for-profit company, but I typically require that the results of any destructive sampling be shared with the collection as a condition of the loan, and the data are kept embargoed for 5 years to allow people the opportunity to publish. I would not personally consider giving destructive sampling permission to a for-profit company if I had any suspicion they would be commercializing the results of their study of the specimens. -Nate -- [The Ohio State University] Nathaniel F. Shoobs Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology Museum of Biological Diversity, 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu/collections/invertebrates From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of David Boyd Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 10:44?AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. Report Suspicious Dear NHColl community, What, if any, extraordinary considerations do you take into account for tissue loans to private, for-profit companies? Our loan terms prohibit commercial use of tissues and sequence data derived therefrom. We receive requests from the biotechnology sector that are not directly commercial but that may produce profitable methodologies or technologies for use in industry. For example, projects aimed at species conservation and habitat restoration, goals that align broadly with our museum?s mission. Do you grant requests of this nature? If so, do you alter the terms of your institution?s typical loan agreements to do so, and in what ways? Thank you for any advice you care to share, Dave David A. Boyd, MSc Collections Manager, Ichthyology and Herpetology Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science 119 Foster Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225) 681-0456 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001[44].png Type: image/png Size: 3607 bytes Desc: image001[44].png URL: From prc44 at drexel.edu Tue Mar 24 11:16:27 2026 From: prc44 at drexel.edu (Callomon,Paul) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:16:27 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I?ve never had such a request, but there are two things I?d bear in mind: * In compiling our soon-to-be-published book, we checked every identification and distribution record against the literature (5,000 entries!) At first we also proofed against GBIF, but soon stopped because it was too often at odds with the literature and littered with clearly erroneous records. We deduced that this was largely due to misidentifications in collections and popular literature. Given that, I wouldn?t in turn vouch for the accuracy of the identifications in our own collection of specimens in many groups where ?species? are plentiful but reliable systematic work is sparse. Would we somehow be liable if someone spent a million bucks on developing some genetic code, only to find we had sent them the wrong species? * At least in the USA, it is legal to copyright gene sequences. That alone should give one pause when dealing with commercial entities. Paul Callomon Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates ________________________________ Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia callomon at ansp.org Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170 Report Suspicious Dear NHColl community, What, if any, extraordinary considerations do you take into account for tissue loans to private, for-profit companies? Our loan terms prohibit commercial use of tissues and sequence data derived therefrom. We receive requests from the biotechnology sector that are not directly commercial but that may produce profitable methodologies or technologies for use in industry. For example, projects aimed at species conservation and habitat restoration, goals that align broadly with our museum?s mission. Do you grant requests of this nature? If so, do you alter the terms of your institution?s typical loan agreements to do so, and in what ways? Thank you for any advice you care to share, Dave David A. Boyd, MSc Collections Manager, Ichthyology and Herpetology Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science 119 Foster Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225) 681-0456 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From katrina.derieg at mso.umt.edu Tue Mar 24 12:08:50 2026 From: katrina.derieg at mso.umt.edu (Derieg, Katrina) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:08:50 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Message-ID: Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Tue Mar 24 12:20:49 2026 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:20:49 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi David Yes, we have entertained requests like this in the past as it does fall within our mission. In most cases we request that they cover shipping costs and in some have requested some compensation for use of tissues given that these projects are typically well funded and can afford to recoup some of our costs or contribute to OUR mission. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of David Boyd Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 9:44 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies Dear NHColl community, What, if any, extraordinary considerations do you take into account for tissue loans to private, for-profit companies? Our loan terms prohibit commercial use of tissues and sequence data derived therefrom. We receive requests from the biotechnology sector that are not directly commercial but that may produce profitable methodologies or technologies for use in industry. For example, projects aimed at species conservation and habitat restoration, goals that align broadly with our museum?s mission. Do you grant requests of this nature? If so, do you alter the terms of your institution?s typical loan agreements to do so, and in what ways? Thank you for any advice you care to share, Dave David A. Boyd, MSc Collections Manager, Ichthyology and Herpetology Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science 119 Foster Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225) 681-0456 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Tue Mar 24 12:28:24 2026 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:28:24 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Katrina I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX (https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available that you may consider given your budget. I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. Hope that helps Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Derieg, Katrina Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM To: Natural History Collections Listserv Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From prc44 at drexel.edu Tue Mar 24 12:51:21 2026 From: prc44 at drexel.edu (Callomon,Paul) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:51:21 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We have used multiple generations of Hewlett-Packard laser office printers (currently the HP3015), printing labels onto laundry tag paper and cutting them by hand. The oldest of those labels in our 70-80% ethanol jars is now 30 years or so, with no deterioration at all. I heard that bigger office printers like these use more heat to bond the toner powder than faster, smaller printers, and the ink certainly grips well. Paul Callomon Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates ________________________________ Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia callomon at ansp.org Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170 From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Derieg, Katrina Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 12:09 PM To: Natural History Collections Listserv Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? External. Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mhowe at bgs.ac.uk Tue Mar 24 13:07:51 2026 From: mhowe at bgs.ac.uk (Michael Howe - BGS) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:07:51 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear NHCollers, In a somewhat analogous situation, we occasionally loan microfossil slides to commercial companies (generally service companies in the hydrocarbons sector). Many of these companies have a higher staff turnover than museums and university departments, and they move premises more often. They are also more likely to be taken over or shut down than museums and university departments. We therefore lend for much shorter periods than for academic loans (typically three months rather than 12 months). We also charge full cost recovery, including loan administration, condition surveys and overheads, as well as carriage & packing. Regards, Mike Dr Mike Howe Principal Curator Working days: Tuesdays - Thursdays Phone: 0115 9363105 Email: mhowe at bgs.ac.uk Web: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/staff/profiles/3858.html GIH030 - British Geological Survey Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of David Boyd Sent: 24 March 2026 14:44 To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies You don't often get email from dboyd10 at lsu.edu. Learn why this is important Dear NHColl community, What, if any, extraordinary considerations do you take into account for tissue loans to private, for-profit companies? Our loan terms prohibit commercial use of tissues and sequence data derived therefrom. We receive requests from the biotechnology sector that are not directly commercial but that may produce profitable methodologies or technologies for use in industry. For example, projects aimed at species conservation and habitat restoration, goals that align broadly with our museum's mission. Do you grant requests of this nature? If so, do you alter the terms of your institution's typical loan agreements to do so, and in what ways? Thank you for any advice you care to share, Dave David A. Boyd, MSc Collections Manager, Ichthyology and Herpetology Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science 119 Foster Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225) 681-0456 This email and any attachments are intended solely for the use of the named recipients. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this email or any of its attachments and should notify the sender immediately and delete this email from your system. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has taken every reasonable precaution to minimise risk of this email or any attachments containing viruses or malware but the recipient should carry out its own virus and malware checks before opening the attachments. UKRI does not accept any liability for any losses or damages which the recipient may sustain due to presence of any viruses. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wernedc at auburn.edu Tue Mar 24 13:45:37 2026 From: wernedc at auburn.edu (David Werneke) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:45:37 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We have an IPX office on campus that handles intellectual property agreement, MTAs, and other aspects of university and commercial interactions. They don't really care about our interinstitutional exchanges at the museum, but commercial requests they would want to look over before any material changed hands. It actually came up in a meeting I had with them a few months ago on an unrelated topic. It may not be relevant at your institution, but it might be something to look into. David C. Werneke Fish Collection Manager Auburn University Museum of Natural History 101 Rouse Life Sciences Auburn University, AL 36849-5407 334-444-7126 ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of David Boyd Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 9:44 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Loans to private companies Dear NHColl community, What, if any, extraordinary considerations do you take into account for tissue loans to private, for-profit companies? Our loan terms prohibit commercial use of tissues and sequence data derived therefrom. We receive requests from the biotechnology sector that are not directly commercial but that may produce profitable methodologies or technologies for use in industry. For example, projects aimed at species conservation and habitat restoration, goals that align broadly with our museum?s mission. Do you grant requests of this nature? If so, do you alter the terms of your institution?s typical loan agreements to do so, and in what ways? Thank you for any advice you care to share, Dave David A. Boyd, MSc Collections Manager, Ichthyology and Herpetology Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science 119 Foster Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225) 681-0456 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il Tue Mar 24 13:18:34 2026 From: gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il (Gali Beiner) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:18:34 +0200 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Katrina, I agree with Andy, laser printers are usually best avoided as far as fluid collections are involved. In our collections, there are examples of "alphabet soup" created by laser-printed labels where letters detached from the substrate. There actually is precious little published info out there in terms of labels for use in fluids. I authored a publication on this subject. Here is a link for your convenience: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355103566_Labels_for_Eternity_Testing_Printed_Labels_for_use_in_Wet_Collections In our case, we opted for a high quality inkjet printer on acid free, OBA free paper. Best wishes, Gali Gali Beiner (ACR) Conservator, Palaeontology Lab National Natural History Collections The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Berman Building, Edmond J. Safra campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904, Israel Fax. 972-2-6585785 *gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il * *https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en * ?????? ??? ??, 24 ???? 2026, 18:09, ??? Derieg, Katrina ?< katrina.derieg at mso.umt.edu>: > Hi NHC community, > I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small > fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume > of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For > reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. > > A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I > was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it > difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for > the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem > there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal > printer, mostly because of cost. > > Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN > If > so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the > desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to > print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal > jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop > thermal printers? With what kind of media? > > I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. > > Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with > special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, > as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid > tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far > from ideal. > > I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, > but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear > from the community on what works for you folks. > > Thanks in advance!! > -Katrina > > *KATRINA DERIEG **(she/her)* > > *Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator* > > *Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM)* > https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ > > *Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406 > -243-4743* > *Office: Health Science 211* > > *katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | > umzm at mso.umt.edu * > > *University of Montana* > > *Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds > | Mammals > | Eggs & > Nests | > Parasites * > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ridabrams at berkeley.edu Tue Mar 24 15:49:25 2026 From: ridabrams at berkeley.edu (Rebecca Abrams) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:49:25 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Archival ink pad for fluid collection labels Message-ID: Hi all, I'm looking for advice on which ink pad to buy to start stamping our fluid collection tags with. Right now we are writing them by hand with Micron pens and I'd like to move to something more efficient. We mainly store in 100% ethanol. Thanks, Rebecca Abrams MA, M.Ed Collections Manager- Fishes Museum of Vertebrate Zoology 3101 Valley Life Science Building University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shoobs.1 at osu.edu Tue Mar 24 16:07:43 2026 From: shoobs.1 at osu.edu (Shoobs, Nate) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:07:43 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I don't have experience with smaller thermal printing units, but as this is a perennial topic on this list, I want to share my somewhat unusual perspective on the old "thermal vs paper" debate. In our case, it was cheaper to invest in a thermal printer than to use paper. A few years ago I was struggling to print labels that held up well in ethanol using a laser printer and 100% cotton rag paper. I ended up breaking down the costs of purchasing a new inkjet or impact printer and ink, and also, critically, the labor costs of having students cut labels from 8.5x11 sheets. I found that the label cutting labor was by far? the most expensive part of printing labels for us. Time spent cutting labels is time lost, and when it's a curator's time, it's especially expensive. An underappreciated aspect of thermal printers is that they can print one label at a time and cut it automatically if equipped with a cutting attachment. If you pick a thermal media width that matches the final desired width of your labels, you don't need to manually cut any labels at all. Undergrads take time to learn to be quick and accurate with paper cutters. If they're clumsy, the time cost per label can double because they have to reprint. I can cut a sheet of 10 old-style OSUM labels in just under a minute, but the fastest student I had when I was printing paper labels took 2 minutes, and many took ~5 minutes. For comparison, we can now print 10 labels in 2.5 seconds on the CAB Squix. Effectively, thermal printers eliminate the labor and opportunity cost of printing and preparing archival labels. Our projected cost of printing using an Epson EcoTank inkjet printer on acid-free archival paper (Perma-Dur), including the labor time was about $0.121 USD per label, assuming labor and printer ink costs would not rise at all over 10 years (and they will). Our projected 10-year cost for the CAB Squix MT 4 (inclusive of Alpha systems media + ribbon, the printer itself, and one printhead rated for 1.5 million inches of label) is $0.086 USD per label (less than a dime). If you exclude the hefty initial cost of the printer and just consider consumables like media and the printhead, it's even cheaper. Our calculations may not hold for people who print labels at different sizes, but we print a 2.7"x2.7" square for dry specimens and 2.7x1.3" rectangle for wets in vials. Because of this, we print ALL of our labels, including dry lot labels, using our thermal printer. It's by far my favorite piece of equipment in our collection/lab, and is worth its weight in gold as far as I'm concerned. I've printed over 5000 labels since purchasing it. -Nate -- [The Ohio State University] Nathaniel F. Shoobs Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology Museum of Biological Diversity, 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu/collections/invertebrates From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Gali Beiner Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 3:19?PM To: Derieg, Katrina Cc: Natural History Collections Listserv Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. Report Suspicious Dear Katrina, I agree with Andy, laser printers are usually best avoided as far as fluid collections are involved. In our collections, there are examples of "alphabet soup" created by laser-printed labels where letters detached from the substrate. There actually is precious little published info out there in terms of labels for use in fluids. I authored a publication on this subject. Here is a link for your convenience: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355103566_Labels_for_Eternity_Testing_Printed_Labels_for_use_in_Wet_Collections In our case, we opted for a high quality inkjet printer on acid free, OBA free paper. Best wishes, Gali [https://docs.google.com/a/mail.huji.ac.il/uc?id=0B5B3I3QnN7dsSzNkbGlLNDNGWG8&export=download]Gali Beiner (ACR) Conservator, Palaeontology Lab National Natural History Collections The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Berman Building, Edmond J. Safra campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904, Israel Fax. 972-2-6585785 gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en ?????? ??? ??, 24 ???? 2026, 18:09, ??? Derieg, Katrina ?>: Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001[55].png Type: image/png Size: 3607 bytes Desc: image001[55].png URL: From d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de Tue Mar 24 16:36:55 2026 From: d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 21:36:55 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Loans to private companies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7cfd40c1-6627-4543-a968-ca60707c6576@leibniz-lib.de> Hi Dave, chiming in to what others and you in part already said, it depends on the purpose - and eventually on the permit conditions that might cover specific usages or specifically exclude any commercial/applied use as can be the case in specimens regulated under Nagoya permits. We once had a request for lamprey tissues from a specific location which were used by an commercial biomonitoring company to tailor target primers for eDNA monitoring for these lampreys. We requested the sequence information for these specific samples, which added to already existing molecular data for specimens from the same lot. Specimens in this lot were used in different other projects as COI barcoding references. By using the same specimens / specimens from the same lot/location, we added value to these specimens as reference organisms for different monitoring approaches - and to our collection as reference collection for biomonitoring (the source of the tissues ad to be acknowledged). Maybe a useful addition to what others said already. With best wishes Dirk Am 24.03.2026 um 15:44 schrieb David Boyd: Dear NHColl community, What, if any, extraordinary considerations do you take into account for tissue loans to private, for-profit companies? Our loan terms prohibit commercial use of tissues and sequence data derived therefrom. We receive requests from the biotechnology sector that are not directly commercial but that may produce profitable methodologies or technologies for use in industry. For example, projects aimed at species conservation and habitat restoration, goals that align broadly with our museum?s mission. Do you grant requests of this nature? If so, do you alter the terms of your institution?s typical loan agreements to do so, and in what ways? Thank you for any advice you care to share, Dave David A. Boyd, MSc Collections Manager, Ichthyology and Herpetology Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science 119 Foster Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225) 681-0456 _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shoobs.1 at osu.edu Wed Mar 25 12:57:11 2026 From: shoobs.1 at osu.edu (Shoobs, Nate) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:57:11 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Transferring a worm to new fixative Message-ID: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de Wed Mar 25 13:07:32 2026 From: d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:07:32 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Hi Nate, 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling skin. Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. With best wishes Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shoobs.1 at osu.edu Wed Mar 25 13:13:03 2026 From: shoobs.1 at osu.edu (Shoobs, Nate) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:13:03 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Definitely seems like a water-based solution to me, it?s not oily at all, and doesn?t make ethanol-based ink run (it passes the sharpie paper strip test) I think density and concentration difference for sure, because I could see the little swirly rivulets of fluid swirling around the portion of the specimen I dipped. When I say peeling, it was the outermost layer of epidermis starting to peel off in little pieces. I had the tail end of it in formalin for ~ 5 minutes. At first I was thinking this might just be an earthworm specific thing. I really don?t know much about annelid preservation, but hopefully someone on-list does. -N - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Dirk Neumann Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 1:07:32 PM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative Hi Nate, 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring Hi Nate, 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling skin. Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. With best wishes Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From simmons.johne at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 13:12:52 2026 From: simmons.johne at gmail.com (John E Simmons) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:12:52 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. John E. Simmons US Fulbright Senior Scholar Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica *and* Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University *and* Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann wrote: > Hi Nate, > > 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. > Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? > > Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess > it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move > it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling > skin. > > Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. > > With best wishes > Dirk > > > > Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: > > Hey all, > We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm ( > *Megalascides*) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, > but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors > leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and > appreciate. > > I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I > can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% > formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% > formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). > The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like > formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired > in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure > Victorian fixatives. > > Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is > less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the > transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and > has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case > is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I > can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). > > -Nate > - > *Nathaniel F. Shoobs, *Curator of Mollusks > College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal > Biology, The Ohio State University > Museum of Biological Diversity > 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 > 614-688-1342 (Office) > mbd.osu.edu > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing listNhcoll-l at mailman.yale.eduhttps://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > -- > > ****** > > > > *Dirk Neumann* > > Collection Manager, Hamburg > > > > Postal address: > > *Museum of Nature Hamburg* > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > > of Biodiversity Change > > Dirk Neumann > > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > > 20146 Hamburg > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > > *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * > > www.leibniz-lib.de > > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu Wed Mar 25 13:32:30 2026 From: cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu (Opitz, Cindy E) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:32:30 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [External] Re: [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Given the acrid smell, could it be a picric acid solution? Is there a test for that? Cindy Opitz Director of Research Collections Museum of Natural History and Old Capitol Museum Instructor, Museum Studies Certificate Program The University of Iowa 11 Macbride Hall, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Office: 319.335.0481 cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu mnh.uiowa.edu, oldcap.uiowa.edu [The University of Iowa Logo] From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of John E Simmons Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 12:13 PM To: Dirk Neumann Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [External] Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. John E. Simmons US Fulbright Senior Scholar Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica and Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University and Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann > wrote: Hi Nate, 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling skin. Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. With best wishes Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 1161 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: From simmons.johne at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 13:44:06 2026 From: simmons.johne at gmail.com (John E Simmons) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:44:06 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [External] Re: [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Interesting idea. Picric acid usually colors the alcohol bright yellow, but I have seen some old containers of specimens in Bouin's Solution that were more orange than yellow. I had not thought of that... Does anyone know of a test for picric acid? John E. Simmons US Fulbright Senior Scholar Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica *and* Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University *and* Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:32?PM Opitz, Cindy E wrote: > Given the acrid smell, could it be a picric acid solution? Is there a test > for that? > > > > *Cindy Opitz* > Director of Research Collections > > Museum of Natural History and Old Capitol Museum > > Instructor, Museum Studies Certificate Program > > The University of Iowa > 11 Macbride Hall, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 > Office: 319.335.0481 > > cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu > *mnh.uiowa.edu, oldcap.uiowa.edu > * > > [image: The University of Iowa Logo] > > > > > > > > *From:* Nhcoll-l *On Behalf Of *John > E Simmons > *Sent:* Wednesday, March 25, 2026 12:13 PM > *To:* Dirk Neumann > *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > *Subject:* [External] Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new > fixative > > > > Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for > isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde > > > > Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable > method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate > alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. > > > John E. Simmons > > US Fulbright Senior Scholar > Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica > *and* > Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn > State University > > *and* > > Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia > Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima > > > > > > On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann > wrote: > > Hi Nate, > > > > 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. > Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? > > > > Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess > it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move > it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling > skin. > > > > Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. > > > > With best wishes > > Dirk > > > > > > > > Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: > > Hey all, > > We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm ( > *Megalascides*) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, > but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors > leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and > appreciate. > > > > I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I > can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% > formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% > formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). > The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like > formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired > in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure > Victorian fixatives. > > > > Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is > less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the > transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and > has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case > is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I > can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). > > > > -Nate > > - > *Nathaniel F. Shoobs, *Curator of Mollusks > > College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal > Biology, The Ohio State University > Museum of Biological Diversity > > 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 > 614-688-1342 (Office) > mbd.osu.edu > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Nhcoll-l mailing list > > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > > > _______________________________________________ > > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > > -- > > ****** > > > > *Dirk Neumann* > > Collection Manager, Hamburg > > > > Postal address: > > *Museum of Nature Hamburg* > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > > of Biodiversity Change > > Dirk Neumann > > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > > 20146 Hamburg > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > > *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * > > www.leibniz-lib.de > > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 1161 bytes Desc: not available URL: From couteaufin at btinternet.com Wed Mar 25 13:59:34 2026 From: couteaufin at btinternet.com (Simon Moore) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:59:34 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: <85AD4CDD-1037-46B9-AB50-2B403343E4EE@btinternet.com> I think that addition of mono and disaccharides will turn it from yellow to red. Orange colour in preservative solutions might be Helly?s or Zenker?s fluids but used in histology. With all good wishes, Simon Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian. www.natural-history-conservation.com > On 25 Mar 2026, at 17:12, John E Simmons wrote: > > Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde > > Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. > > John E. Simmons > US Fulbright Senior Scholar > Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica > and > Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University > and > Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima > > > On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann wrote: > Hi Nate, > > 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? > > Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling skin. > > Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. > > With best wishes > Dirk > > > > Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: >> Hey all, >> We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. >> >> I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. >> >> Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). >> >> -Nate >> - >> Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks >> College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University >> Museum of Biological Diversity >> 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 >> 614-688-1342 (Office) >> mbd.osu.edu >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> > > -- > **** > Dirk Neumann > Collection Manager, Hamburg > > Postal address: > Museum of Nature Hamburg > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > of Biodiversity Change > Dirk Neumann > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > 20146 Hamburg > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de > www.leibniz-lib.de > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. From d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de Wed Mar 25 14:16:42 2026 From: d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:16:42 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Hi John, any idea for oil? What jumped also to my mind was a highly concentrated sugar solution (because of density and 'peeling'), but this would not explain the formaldehyde-like smell. With best wishes Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 18:12 schrieb John E Simmons: Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. John E. Simmons US Fulbright Senior Scholar Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica and Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University and Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann > wrote: Hi Nate, 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling skin. Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. With best wishes Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de Wed Mar 25 14:20:11 2026 From: d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:20:11 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [External] Re: [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: <2d2b82d0-b21e-4b8a-ab26-72d359ad6ea2@leibniz-lib.de> should have a really low pH plus the vivid yellow stain. But still should not give that peeling if dipped into formalin, because Bouin and formalin have a lot in common. Am 25.03.2026 um 18:44 schrieb John E Simmons: Interesting idea. Picric acid usually colors the alcohol bright yellow, but I have seen some old containers of specimens in Bouin's Solution that were more orange than yellow. I had not thought of that... Does anyone know of a test for picric acid? John E. Simmons US Fulbright Senior Scholar Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica and Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University and Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:32?PM Opitz, Cindy E > wrote: Given the acrid smell, could it be a picric acid solution? Is there a test for that? Cindy Opitz Director of Research Collections Museum of Natural History and Old Capitol Museum Instructor, Museum Studies Certificate Program The University of Iowa 11 Macbride Hall, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 Office: 319.335.0481 cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu mnh.uiowa.edu, oldcap.uiowa.edu [The University of Iowa Logo] From: Nhcoll-l > On Behalf Of John E Simmons Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 12:13 PM To: Dirk Neumann > Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: [External] Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. John E. Simmons US Fulbright Senior Scholar Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica and Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University and Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann > wrote: Hi Nate, 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling skin. Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. With best wishes Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 1161 bytes Desc: not available URL: From prc44 at drexel.edu Wed Mar 25 14:21:30 2026 From: prc44 at drexel.edu (Callomon,Paul) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:21:30 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Take a small sample of the fluid in a pipette and drop a few drops into a beaker of water. How does it behave? If it floats, that should mean that dissolved fats are there. If it swirls slowly but does not disperse, there?s likely some oil (like glycerin or paraffin) involved. If it disperses and does not turn the water around it milky, that narrows things down to things like ethanol, glycol etc. Paul Callomon Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates ________________________________ Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia callomon at ansp.org Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170 From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Dirk Neumann Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 2:17 PM To: John E Simmons Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative External. Hi John, any idea for oil? What jumped also to my mind was a highly concentrated sugar solution (because of density and 'peeling'), but this would not explain the formaldehyde-like smell. With best wishes Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 18:12 schrieb John E Simmons: Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. John E. Simmons US Fulbright Senior Scholar Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica and Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University and Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann > wrote: Hi Nate, 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling skin. Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. With best wishes Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From couteaufin at btinternet.com Wed Mar 25 14:36:38 2026 From: couteaufin at btinternet.com (Simon Moore) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:36:38 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: <894e34db-fe21-4738-b12b-57e2e952f5fd@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Some black paper under or behind the beaker also helps to enhance any milkiness, especially if the fat content is low. With all good wishes, Simon Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian. www.natural-history-conservation.com > On 25 Mar 2026, at 18:21, Callomon,Paul wrote: > > Take a small sample of the fluid in a pipette and drop a few drops into a beaker of water. How does it behave? If it floats, that should mean that dissolved fats are there. If it swirls slowly but does not disperse, there?s likely some oil (like glycerin or paraffin) involved. If it disperses and does not turn the water around it milky, that narrows things down to things like ethanol, glycol etc. > Paul Callomon > Collection Manager, Malacology and General InvertebratesAcademy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia > callomon at ansp.org Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170 > From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Dirk Neumann > Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 2:17 PM > To: John E Simmons > Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative > External. > Hi John, > any idea for oil? What jumped also to my mind was a highly concentrated sugar solution (because of density and 'peeling'), but this would not explain the formaldehyde-like smell. > With best wishes > Dirk > Am 25.03.2026 um 18:12 schrieb John E Simmons: > Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde > Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. > > John E. Simmons > US Fulbright Senior Scholar > Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica > and > Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University > and > Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima > On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann wrote: > Hi Nate, > 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? > Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling skin. > Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. > With best wishes > Dirk > Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: > Hey all, > We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. > I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. > Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). > -Nate > - > Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks > College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University > Museum of Biological Diversity > 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 > 614-688-1342 (Office) > mbd.osu.edu > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -- **** > Dirk Neumann > Collection Manager, Hamburg > Postal address: > Museum of Nature Hamburg > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > of Biodiversity Change > Dirk Neumann > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > 20146 Hamburg > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de > www.leibniz-lib.de > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -- **** > Dirk Neumann > Collection Manager, Hamburg > Postal address: > Museum of Nature Hamburg > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > of Biodiversity Change > Dirk Neumann > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > 20146 Hamburg > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de > www.leibniz-lib.de > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. From ajvandam at alcomon.com Wed Mar 25 15:32:37 2026 From: ajvandam at alcomon.com (ajvandam at alcomon.com) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 20:32:37 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [External] Re: [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: <2d2b82d0-b21e-4b8a-ab26-72d359ad6ea2@leibniz-lib.de> References: <2d2b82d0-b21e-4b8a-ab26-72d359ad6ea2@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From simmons.johne at gmail.com Wed Mar 25 16:50:27 2026 From: simmons.johne at gmail.com (John E Simmons) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:50:27 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [External] Re: [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: <2d2b82d0-b21e-4b8a-ab26-72d359ad6ea2@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: AI is helpful in stating that the color of the Bouin's solution before specimens are added is yellow (a very bright yellow), but adding the specimen may change the color, as it has in this container of Bouin's solution: [image: image.png] John E. Simmons US Fulbright Senior Scholar Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica *and* Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn State University *and* Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 3:32?PM ajvandam at alcomon.com wrote: > This AI generated text when searching terms ?Bouin? and ?worms? might be > of interest: > > Bouin?s fluid is an excellent fixative for histological studies of worms, > particularly for soft-bodied invertebrates like helminths, annelids, and > nematodes, due to its ability to penetrate dense tissues well and preserve > cellular detail > . It is a yellow-colored compound mixture composed of saturated picric > acid, formaldehyde, and acetic acid, which works well for maintaining > structural integrity during paraffin embedding. > > Kind regards, Dries > > Andries J. van Dam > > Verstuurd vanaf mijn iPhone > > Op 25 mrt 2026 om 19:20 heeft Dirk Neumann het > volgende geschreven: > > ? > should have a really low pH plus the vivid yellow stain. But still should > not give that peeling if dipped into formalin, because Bouin and formalin > have a lot in common. > > > Am 25.03.2026 um 18:44 schrieb John E Simmons: > > Interesting idea. Picric acid usually colors the alcohol bright yellow, > but I have seen some old containers of specimens in Bouin's Solution that > were more orange than yellow. I had not thought of that... Does anyone know > of a test for picric acid? > > John E. Simmons > US Fulbright Senior Scholar > Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica > *and* > Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn > State University > *and* > Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia > Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima > > > On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:32?PM Opitz, Cindy E > wrote: > >> Given the acrid smell, could it be a picric acid solution? Is there a >> test for that? >> >> >> >> *Cindy Opitz* >> Director of Research Collections >> >> Museum of Natural History and Old Capitol Museum >> >> Instructor, Museum Studies Certificate Program >> >> The University of Iowa >> 11 Macbride Hall, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 >> Office: 319.335.0481 >> >> cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu >> *mnh.uiowa.edu, oldcap.uiowa.edu >> * >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* Nhcoll-l *On Behalf Of *John >> E Simmons >> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 25, 2026 12:13 PM >> *To:* Dirk Neumann >> *Cc:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> *Subject:* [External] Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Transferring a worm to new >> fixative >> >> >> >> Try using the salting out method to see if it tests positive for >> isopropyl, ethanol, or formaldehyde >> >> >> >> Finkelde, I., and R.R. Waller. 2020. Salting out: A simple and reliable >> method to distinguish between common fluid preservatives and estimate >> alcohol concentration. Collection Forum 34(1): 11-31. >> >> >> John E. Simmons >> >> US Fulbright Senior Scholar >> Writer and Museum Consultant, Museologica >> *and* >> Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, Penn >> State University >> >> *and* >> >> Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitolog?a, Museo de Historia >> Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima >> >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 1:07?PM Dirk Neumann >> wrote: >> >> Hi Nate, >> >> >> >> 'skin started peeling' sounds odd and might point to density differences. >> Can you tell if this is a water-based or alcohol-based preservative? >> >> >> >> Could also be an oil-based preservative with very high density. But guess >> it is worth figuring out in what the specimen sits before starting to move >> it into something else, if there is such a strong reaction like peeling >> skin. >> >> >> >> Not much, but perhaps a useful thought. >> >> >> >> With best wishes >> >> Dirk >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Am 25.03.2026 um 17:57 schrieb Shoobs, Nate: >> >> Hey all, >> >> We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm ( >> *Megalascides*) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, >> but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors >> leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and >> appreciate. >> >> >> >> I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I >> can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% >> formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% >> formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). >> The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like >> formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired >> in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure >> Victorian fixatives. >> >> >> >> Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is >> less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the >> transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and >> has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case >> is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I >> can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). >> >> >> >> -Nate >> >> - >> *Nathaniel F. Shoobs, *Curator of Mollusks >> >> College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal >> Biology, The Ohio State University >> Museum of Biological Diversity >> >> 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 >> 614-688-1342 (Office) >> mbd.osu.edu >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> >> >> >> -- >> >> ****** >> >> >> >> *Dirk Neumann* >> >> Collection Manager, Hamburg >> >> >> >> Postal address: >> >> *Museum of Nature Hamburg* >> Leibniz Institute for the Analysis >> >> of Biodiversity Change >> >> Dirk Neumann >> >> Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 >> >> 20146 Hamburg >> +49 40 238 317 ? 628 >> >> *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * >> >> www.leibniz-lib.de >> >> >> >> -- >> Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels >> Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany >> >> Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; >> Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian >> Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) >> Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn >> Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst >> >> >> >> -- >> Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels >> Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany >> >> Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; >> Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian >> Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) >> Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn >> Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> >> > -- > > ****** > > > > *Dirk Neumann* > > Collection Manager, Hamburg > > > > Postal address: > > *Museum of Nature Hamburg* > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > > of Biodiversity Change > > Dirk Neumann > > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > > 20146 Hamburg > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > > *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * > > www.leibniz-lib.de > > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 604767 bytes Desc: not available URL: From wpoly at calacademy.org Wed Mar 25 17:38:56 2026 From: wpoly at calacademy.org (William Poly) Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:38:56 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Nate, AFA (alcohol, formalin, acetic acid) is another possible solution as it is used for worms, and the combination of odors could make it difficult to identify by smell. Bill On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 12:57?PM Shoobs, Nate wrote: > Hey all, > We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm ( > *Megalascides*) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, > but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors > leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and > appreciate. > > I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I > can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% > formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% > formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). > The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like > formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired > in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure > Victorian fixatives. > > Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is > less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the > transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and > has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case > is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I > can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). > > -Nate > - > *Nathaniel F. Shoobs, *Curator of Mollusks > College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal > Biology, The Ohio State University > Museum of Biological Diversity > 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 > 614-688-1342 (Office) > mbd.osu.edu > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > > https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NGRhZTozMGU0MDhiOTc3NDZjMTM5MWZkYWRiODE4ZDIzNmJmZjVkY2ZmMWJkZmJhNzNkZWFkMjQwOGVmZTg2YTVlNTllOnA6VDpO > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See > https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NzdhODpkNjAwZDhiNWQ2YzI3MjkyNzI3NWNhMjdjMmUwZTViZjhjN2MxNGI0MzUyNDFkMGIyMWIzNmE2OGI3MWJiMDcwOnA6VDpO > for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From info at naturhistorische-konservierung.de Thu Mar 26 02:32:29 2026 From: info at naturhistorische-konservierung.de (Fabian Neisskenwirth) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 07:32:29 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, just as a safety advice. Please do not smell preservation fluids. This practice is very dangerous and unprofessional. There are many simple methods to test physical properties and if there is an aldehyde content in the fluid. The density alone of the fluid can give already a lot of information. All the best, Am 25.03.26 um 22:38 schrieb William Poly: > Hi Nate, > > AFA (alcohol, formalin, acetic acid) is another possible solution as > it is used for worms, and the combination of odors could make it > difficult to identify by smell. > > Bill > > > On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 12:57?PM Shoobs, Nate wrote: > > Hey all, > We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm > (/Megalascides/) with no data in our collection. It's in nice > condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange > (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the > specimen hard to see and appreciate. > > I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, > but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought > it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal > in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible > reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely > not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have > Schiff's reagent on hand.?The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s > early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure > Victorian fixatives. > > Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative > that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary > purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the > specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the > only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not > ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out > what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). > > -Nate > - > *Nathaniel F. Shoobs, *Curator of Mollusks > College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and > Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University > Museum of Biological Diversity > 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 > 614-688-1342 (Office) > mbd.osu.edu > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NGRhZTozMGU0MDhiOTc3NDZjMTM5MWZkYWRiODE4ZDIzNmJmZjVkY2ZmMWJkZmJhNzNkZWFkMjQwOGVmZTg2YTVlNTllOnA6VDpO > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See > https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NzdhODpkNjAwZDhiNWQ2YzI3MjkyNzI3NWNhMjdjMmUwZTViZjhjN2MxNGI0MzUyNDFkMGIyMWIzNmE2OGI3MWJiMDcwOnA6VDpO > for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. Seehttp://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- *Fabian Neisskenwirth* Restaurator/Pr?parator Waterfohrstr. 20 DE-45139 Essen Tel: +49 (0) 1573 2778729 www.naturhistorische-konservierung.de -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Logo.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 47337 bytes Desc: not available URL: From d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de Thu Mar 26 02:40:01 2026 From: d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 07:40:01 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0d3e1f0b-bb1e-4806-bed5-27f4ff285609@leibniz-lib.de> .... but this would still be a alcohol-water-based solution. Maybe I my assumptions are wrong, but 'peeling' would either require shrinkage or swelling of the body mass to peel-off the outer cuticula layer (which I suppose is what was happening here). Maybe it was a swelling of the cuticula itself, but usually the glycoproteins of the cuticle are known for its rigidity and protection, which would speak against the cuticle absorbing water and starting to swell. Personally, I would not be surprised if osmotic pressure shift was the cause of what Nate observed in the 'peeling', thus the transfer into a different fluid should happen very slowly and gradually. It might be worth trying to drip the proposed new holding fluid very gradually (few drips or millilitres per day, spread over several hours and in dependence of the total volume of the current storage container) to allow a very slow transition. Two more cents that might be useful Dirk Am 25.03.2026 um 22:38 schrieb William Poly: Hi Nate, AFA (alcohol, formalin, acetic acid) is another possible solution as it is used for worms, and the combination of odors could make it difficult to identify by smell. Bill On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 12:57?PM Shoobs, Nate > wrote: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NGRhZTozMGU0MDhiOTc3NDZjMTM5MWZkYWRiODE4ZDIzNmJmZjVkY2ZmMWJkZmJhNzNkZWFkMjQwOGVmZTg2YTVlNTllOnA6VDpO _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NzdhODpkNjAwZDhiNWQ2YzI3MjkyNzI3NWNhMjdjMmUwZTViZjhjN2MxNGI0MzUyNDFkMGIyMWIzNmE2OGI3MWJiMDcwOnA6VDpO for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Joachim.Haendel at zns.uni-halle.de Thu Mar 26 05:55:44 2026 From: Joachim.Haendel at zns.uni-halle.de (=?UTF-8?Q?Hans-Joachim=20H=C3=A4ndel?=) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:55:44 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <69C502A0020000B3000E04BC@gwia0.itz.uni-halle.de> Dear all, Oligochaeta are often preserved in a mixture of formalin and alcohol. The mixing ratio can vary (depending on the preparer?s personal experience or the advice of their teachers). Typically, a mixture of 90% alcohol and 35% formalin is used in a ratio of 9:1. If the ratio of the new solution does not match the original, osmotic differences arise, leading to the problem described here. btw: Fabian is absolutely right. Although the old methods can largely be ruled out here, there is often something of an alchemy involved in the preservation of ?worms?. Particularly with Oligochaeta, Schaudinn?s fixing mixture was often used (1 part sublimate solution / 1 part 95% alcohol). Fritz Schaudinn first published the formula in 1895, and later published it frequently in various modifications. This toxic agent is still in use in microscopy today, All the best, Joachim -- Joachim Haendel Center of Natural Science Collections of the Martin Luther University (ZNS) - Zoological Collection - Domplatz 4 D-06099 Halle (Saale) Germany Phone: +49 345 - 55 26 447 Email: joachim.haendel at zns.uni-halle.de >>> Am 26.03.2026 um 07:34, Fabian Neisskenwirth schrieb: Dear all, just as a safety advice. Please do not smell preservation fluids. This practice is very dangerous and unprofessional. There are many simple methods to test physical properties and if there is an aldehyde content in the fluid. The density alone of the fluid can give already a lot of information. All the best, Am 25.03.26 um 22:38 schrieb William Poly: > Hi Nate, > > AFA (alcohol, formalin, acetic acid) is another possible solution as it is used for worms, and the combination of odors could > make it difficult to identify by smell. > > Bill > > > On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 12:57?PM Shoobs, Nate wrote: > > Hey all, > > We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice > > condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes > > the specimen hard to see and appreciate. > > > > I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially > > thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty > > immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like > > formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out > > many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. > > > > Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary > > purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the > > only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure > > out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). > > > > -Nate > > - > > Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks > > > > College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University > > Museum of Biological Diversity > > 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 > > 614-688-1342 (Office) > > mbd.osu.edu > > [https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://mbd.osu.edu/___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6YjJjZTo5ODU1ZWM2ZjJiYTAwMGIwMDY3YWU5YTQ2NjFiNjNhZDc4YzljYTE2MTdiOGM0MzE0NDExMTc5ZDc3Mjg1M2JmOmg6VDpO] > > _______________________________________________ > > Nhcoll-l mailing list > > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu [Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu] > > https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NGRhZTozMGU0MDhiOTc3NDZjMTM5MWZkYWRiODE4ZDIzNmJmZjVkY2ZmMWJkZmJhNzNkZWFkMjQwOGVmZTg2YTVlNTllOnA6VDpO > > [https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NGRhZTozMGU0MDhiOTc3NDZjMTM5MWZkYWRiODE4ZDIzNmJmZjVkY2ZmMWJkZmJhNzNkZWFkMjQwOGVmZTg2YTVlNTllOnA6VDpO] > > > > _______________________________________________ > > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > > society. See > > https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NzdhODpkNjAwZDhiNWQ2YzI3MjkyNzI3NWNhMjdjMmUwZTViZjhjN2MxNGI0MzUyNDFkMGIyMWIzNmE2OGI3MWJiMDcwOnA6VDpO > > [https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NzdhODpkNjAwZDhiNWQ2YzI3MjkyNzI3NWNhMjdjMmUwZTViZjhjN2MxNGI0MzUyNDFkMGIyMWIzNmE2OGI3MWJiMDcwOnA6VDpO] > > for membership information. > > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.eduNhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-lhttps://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.orghttp://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- Fabian Neisskenwirth Restaurator/Pr?parator Waterfohrstr. 20 DE-45139 Essen Tel: +49 (0) 1573 2778729 www.naturhistorische-konservierung.de [http://www.naturhistorische-konservierung.de] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: part1ch7znDwzjezPkUFfnaturhistorischekonservierungde.jpeg Type: image/jpeg Size: 47337 bytes Desc: not available URL: From shoobs.1 at osu.edu Thu Mar 26 11:44:16 2026 From: shoobs.1 at osu.edu (Shoobs, Nate) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:44:16 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Transferring a worm to new fixative In-Reply-To: <69C502A0020000B3000E04BC@gwia0.itz.uni-halle.de> References: <69C502A0020000B3000E04BC@gwia0.itz.uni-halle.de> Message-ID: I'm thinking Bouin's and AFA are definitely possibilities, I think. Looks like the pH range for stock Bouins is 0.5-3.5 and the pH of stock AFA solution are around 3.0-4.6. So there's some overlap, but could rule out one or the other. To Dirk's point about osmotic pressures, I do not think the specimen was swelling or shrinking appreciably. It honestly looked to me more like the way soft tissue specimens look when first fixed in high percentage ETOH -- it looked like the surface of the specimen was getting "fixed", and tissues which were previously supple and translucent were becoming opaque and less flexible. Also, to Fabian's point, I was not (and do not condone) trying to identify preservatives by smell intentionally. After the initial jar opening when I realizing the fluid wasn't ethanol, my little transfer experiment happened in our hood. I'll investigate further next week, but for now at least the specimen is staying in its original fluid! Best, Nate -- [The Ohio State University] Nathaniel F. Shoobs Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology Museum of Biological Diversity, 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu/collections/invertebrates From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Hans-Joachim H?ndel Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 5:57?AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu , info at naturhistorische-konservierung.de Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Transferring a worm to new fixative This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. Report Suspicious Dear all, Oligochaeta are often preserved in a mixture of formalin and alcohol. The mixing ratio can vary (depending on the preparer?s personal experience or the advice of their teachers). Typically, a mixture of 90% alcohol and 35% formalin is used in a ratio of 9:1. If the ratio of the new solution does not match the original, osmotic differences arise, leading to the problem described here. btw: Fabian is absolutely right. Although the old methods can largely be ruled out here, there is often something of an alchemy involved in the preservation of ?worms?. Particularly with Oligochaeta, Schaudinn?s fixing mixture was often used (1 part sublimate solution / 1 part 95% alcohol). Fritz Schaudinn first published the formula in 1895, and later published it frequently in various modifications. This toxic agent is still in use in microscopy today, All the best, Joachim -- Joachim Haendel Center of Natural Science Collections of the Martin Luther University (ZNS) - Zoological Collection - Domplatz 4 D-06099 Halle (Saale) Germany Phone: +49 345 - 55 26 447 Email: joachim.haendel at zns.uni-halle.de >>> Am 26.03.2026 um 07:34, Fabian Neisskenwirth schrieb: Dear all, just as a safety advice. Please do not smell preservation fluids. This practice is very dangerous and unprofessional. There are many simple methods to test physical properties and if there is an aldehyde content in the fluid. The density alone of the fluid can give already a lot of information. All the best, Am 25.03.26 um 22:38 schrieb William Poly: Hi Nate, AFA (alcohol, formalin, acetic acid) is another possible solution as it is used for worms, and the combination of odors could make it difficult to identify by smell. Bill On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 12:57?PM Shoobs, Nate > wrote: Hey all, We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm (Megalascides) with no data in our collection. It's in nice condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the specimen hard to see and appreciate. I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine, but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure Victorian fixatives. Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it). -Nate - Nathaniel F. Shoobs, Curator of Mollusks College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 614-688-1342 (Office) mbd.osu.edu _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NGRhZTozMGU0MDhiOTc3NDZjMTM5MWZkYWRiODE4ZDIzNmJmZjVkY2ZmMWJkZmJhNzNkZWFkMjQwOGVmZTg2YTVlNTllOnA6VDpO _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NzdhODpkNjAwZDhiNWQ2YzI3MjkyNzI3NWNhMjdjMmUwZTViZjhjN2MxNGI0MzUyNDFkMGIyMWIzNmE2OGI3MWJiMDcwOnA6VDpO for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- Fabian Neisskenwirth Restaurator/Pr?parator Waterfohrstr. 20 DE-45139 Essen Tel: +49 (0) 1573 2778729 www.naturhistorische-konservierung.de [Image] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: part1ch7znDwzjezPkUFfnaturhistorischekonservierungde.jpeg Type: image/jpeg Size: 47337 bytes Desc: part1ch7znDwzjezPkUFfnaturhistorischekonservierungde.jpeg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001[67].png Type: image/png Size: 3607 bytes Desc: image001[67].png URL: From ianicus.za at gmail.com Thu Mar 26 18:16:37 2026 From: ianicus.za at gmail.com (Ian Engelbrecht) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:16:37 +0200 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi folks, Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. Ian On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles wrote: > Hi Katrina > > I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a > lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending > the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure > if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop > versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX ( > https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) > as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find > is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are > traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect > that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why > you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. > > There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available > that you may consider given your budget. > > I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had > much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. > > Hope that helps > > Andy > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > Andy Bentley > > Ichthyology > Collection Manager > > University > of Kansas > Biodiversity Institute > > Dyche Hall > *1345 Jayhawk Boulevard > * > *Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 > * > *USA > * > > Tel: *(785) 864-3863 <%28785%29%20864-3863>* > Fax: *(785) 864-5335 <%28785%29%20864-5335>* > Email: *abentley at ku.edu * > > ORCID: *https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 > * > > *http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu > * > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of Derieg, > Katrina > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM > *To:* Natural History Collections Listserv > *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? > > Hi NHC community, > I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small > fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume > of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For > reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. > > A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I > was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it > difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for > the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem > there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal > printer, mostly because of cost. > > Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN > If > so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the > desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to > print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal > jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop > thermal printers? With what kind of media? > > I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. > > Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with > special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, > as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid > tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far > from ideal. > > I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, > but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear > from the community on what works for you folks. > > Thanks in advance!! > -Katrina > > *KATRINA DERIEG **(she/her)* > > *Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator* > > *Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM)* > https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ > > *Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406 > -243-4743* > *Office: Health Science 211* > > *katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | > umzm at mso.umt.edu * > > *University of Montana* > > *Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds > | Mammals > | Eggs & > Nests | > Parasites * > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abentley at ku.edu Fri Mar 27 09:30:02 2026 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:30:02 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Ian I could not find what the composition of Teslin paper is online but it appears similar to the spun bound polyester medium we use in our thermal printers. I would always guard against laser or inkjet printing as they are not permanent and in some cases require further heat treatment to make them stand up to immersion in alcohol for long periods. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Ian Engelbrecht Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:16 PM To: Bentley, Andrew Charles Cc: Derieg, Katrina ; Natural History Collections Listserv Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi folks, Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. Ian On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles > wrote: Hi Katrina I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX (https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available that you may consider given your budget. I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. Hope that helps Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Derieg, Katrina > Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM To: Natural History Collections Listserv > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From couteaufin at btinternet.com Fri Mar 27 09:45:45 2026 From: couteaufin at btinternet.com (Simon Moore) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:45:45 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ianicus.za at gmail.com Fri Mar 27 11:33:19 2026 From: ianicus.za at gmail.com (Ian Engelbrecht) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 17:33:19 +0200 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: As I understand it Teslin's claim is that no further treatment is necessary, even with laser printing, which is know is problematic with paper printing. I do have inkjet printed samples on Teslin as well as several other papers, which have been standing in ethanol for about five years now. Please check back with me in 2119 ? On Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 3:45?PM Simon Moore wrote: > I did hear that someone had used the rather homespun remedy of running a > hot iron over the labels to heat seal the lettering down > > With all good wishes, Simon Moore. > Sent from my iPhone > > > On 27 Mar 2026, at 13:30, Bentley, Andrew Charles wrote: > > ? > Ian > > I could not find what the composition of Teslin paper is online but it > appears similar to the spun bound polyester medium we use in our thermal > printers. I would always guard against laser or inkjet printing as they > are not permanent and in some cases require further heat treatment to make > them stand up to immersion in alcohol for long periods. > > Andy > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > Andy Bentley > Ichthyology Collection Manager > University of Kansas > Biodiversity Institute > > Dyche Hall > *1345 Jayhawk Boulevard* > *Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561* > *USA* > > Tel: *(785) 864-3863 <%28785%29%20864-3863>* > Fax: *(785) 864-5335 <%28785%29%20864-5335>* > Email: *abentley at ku.edu * > > ORCID: *https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 > * > > *http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu > * > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Ian Engelbrecht > *Sent:* Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:16 PM > *To:* Bentley, Andrew Charles > *Cc:* Derieg, Katrina ; Natural History > Collections Listserv > *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? > > Hi folks, > > Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can > just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers > here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less > frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new > medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. > > Ian > > On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles > wrote: > > Hi Katrina > > I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a > lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending > the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure > if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop > versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX ( > https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) > as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find > is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are > traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect > that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why > you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. > > There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available > that you may consider given your budget. > > I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had > much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. > > Hope that helps > > Andy > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > Andy Bentley > > Ichthyology > Collection Manager > > University > of Kansas > Biodiversity Institute > > Dyche Hall > *1345 Jayhawk Boulevard > * > *Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 > * > *USA > * > > Tel: *(785) 864-3863 <%28785%29%20864-3863>* > Fax: *(785) 864-5335 <%28785%29%20864-5335>* > Email: *abentley at ku.edu * > > ORCID: *https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 > * > > *http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu > * > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of Derieg, > Katrina > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM > *To:* Natural History Collections Listserv > *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? > > Hi NHC community, > I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small > fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume > of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For > reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. > > A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I > was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it > difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for > the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem > there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal > printer, mostly because of cost. > > Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN > If > so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the > desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to > print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal > jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop > thermal printers? With what kind of media? > > I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. > > Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with > special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, > as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid > tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far > from ideal. > > I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, > but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear > from the community on what works for you folks. > > Thanks in advance!! > -Katrina > > *KATRINA DERIEG **(she/her)* > > *Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator* > > *Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM)* > https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ > > *Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406 > -243-4743* > *Office: Health Science 211* > > *katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | > umzm at mso.umt.edu * > > *University of Montana* > > *Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds > | Mammals > | Eggs & > Nests | > Parasites * > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgrinter at calacademy.org Fri Mar 27 13:20:32 2026 From: cgrinter at calacademy.org (Chris Grinter) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:20:32 -0700 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Many entomology collections have used very affordable inkjet printers in ethanol for decades now. Here at CAS Ento we print on 32lb acid-free 100% cotton rag paper with monochrome Epson inkjet pigment based ink. Essentially is as good as writing a label with a pigma pen, labels are durable and dirt-cheap to produce. The new "ecotank" printers must be avoided since these are dye based inks and are not archival. I haven't found a current replacement but Epson has stopped producing their monochrome printers in favor of more complex color printers that waste color ink even when printing in black and white (it's a scam). I know others at USNM have had good luck with Brother laser printers on acid free paper. I have tests running and as long as the toner is adhered to the page it should be stable long-term. Older printers that require any level of "trick" of ironing or microwaving means they should not be trusted. I have a large aquatic insect collection printed on microwaved/ironed labels and all of the letters come right off if you handle the label. I've had personal experience with poor quality thermal printing, especially at the small fonts required for ento/arachnology collections. The intermec plastic labels when exposed to even a brief amount of UV light degraded, producing a white byproduct that coated the vials and made lettering hard to read. Longer exposure to sunlight peeled the labels apart entirely, leaving me to believe none of those plastic labels are archival. Chris Christopher C. Grinter Senior Collection Manager of Entomology Secretary, The Lepidopterists? Society Subject Editor: Lepidoptera, The Pacific Coast Entomological Society California Academy of Sciences 55 Music Concourse Dr San Francisco, CA 94118 T 415.379.5320 CAS in the news - $10M for digitization Learn more at calacademy.org On Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 8:39?AM Ian Engelbrecht wrote: > As I understand it Teslin's claim is that no further treatment is > necessary, even with laser printing, which is know is problematic with > paper printing. I do have inkjet printed samples on Teslin as well as > several other papers, which have been standing in ethanol for about five > years now. Please check back with me in 2119 ? > > On Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 3:45?PM Simon Moore > wrote: > >> I did hear that someone had used the rather homespun remedy of running a >> hot iron over the labels to heat seal the lettering down >> >> With all good wishes, Simon Moore. >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> >> On 27 Mar 2026, at 13:30, Bentley, Andrew Charles >> wrote: >> >> ? >> Ian >> >> I could not find what the composition of Teslin paper is online but it >> appears similar to the spun bound polyester medium we use in our thermal >> printers. I would always guard against laser or inkjet printing as they >> are not permanent and in some cases require further heat treatment to make >> them stand up to immersion in alcohol for long periods. >> >> Andy >> >> A : A : A : >> }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> >> V V V >> Andy Bentley >> Ichthyology Collection Manager >> University of Kansas >> Biodiversity Institute >> >> Dyche Hall >> *1345 Jayhawk Boulevard* >> *Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561* >> *USA* >> >> Tel: *(785) 864-3863 <%28785%29%20864-3863>* >> Fax: *(785) 864-5335 <%28785%29%20864-5335>* >> Email: *abentley at ku.edu * >> >> ORCID: *https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 >> * >> >> *http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu >> * >> >> A : A : A : >> }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> >> V V V >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Ian Engelbrecht >> *Sent:* Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:16 PM >> *To:* Bentley, Andrew Charles >> *Cc:* Derieg, Katrina ; Natural History >> Collections Listserv >> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? >> >> Hi folks, >> >> Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can >> just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers >> here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less >> frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new >> medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. >> >> Ian >> >> On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles >> wrote: >> >> Hi Katrina >> >> I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a >> lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending >> the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure >> if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop >> versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX ( >> https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers >> ) >> as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find >> is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are >> traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect >> that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why >> you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. >> >> There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available >> that you may consider given your budget. >> >> I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never >> had much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. >> >> Hope that helps >> >> Andy >> >> A : A : A : >> }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> >> V V V >> Andy Bentley >> >> Ichthyology >> Collection Manager >> >> University >> of Kansas >> Biodiversity Institute >> >> Dyche Hall >> *1345 Jayhawk Boulevard >> * >> *Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 >> * >> *USA >> * >> >> Tel: *(785) 864-3863 <%28785%29%20864-3863>* >> Fax: *(785) 864-5335 <%28785%29%20864-5335>* >> Email: *abentley at ku.edu * >> >> ORCID: *https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 >> * >> >> *http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu >> * >> >> A : A : A : >> }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> >> V V V >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of >> Derieg, Katrina >> *Sent:* Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM >> *To:* Natural History Collections Listserv >> *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? >> >> Hi NHC community, >> I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small >> fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume >> of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For >> reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. >> >> A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I >> was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it >> difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for >> the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem >> there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal >> printer, mostly because of cost. >> >> Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN >> If >> so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the >> desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to >> print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal >> jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop >> thermal printers? With what kind of media? >> >> I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. >> >> Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with >> special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, >> as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid >> tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far >> from ideal. >> >> I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid >> collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just >> like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. >> >> Thanks in advance!! >> -Katrina >> >> *KATRINA DERIEG **(she/her)* >> >> *Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator* >> >> *Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM)* >> https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ >> >> >> *Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406 >> -243-4743* >> *Office: Health Science 211* >> >> *katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | >> umzm at mso.umt.edu * >> >> *University of Montana* >> >> *Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds >> | >> Mammals >> | >> Eggs & Nests >> | >> Parasites >> * >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org >> >> for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Nhcoll-l mailing list >> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu >> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of >> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose >> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of >> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to >> society. See http://www.spnhc.org >> >> for membership information. >> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. >> >> _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > > https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjJlN2MwZTE5N2ExMDY3MDJjNjQzZTI5OWFkNTA1MGUyOjc6MzJiZjo2NTkwMDkzNDJkYWQwYWQ1Y2ZkMThkZWYyZGNkMTMzMjdlZmU5ZGQ1MzI0MjhlODBiOGU4OTVkMjg3ZGFmOThlOnA6VDpO > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See > https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjJlN2MwZTE5N2ExMDY3MDJjNjQzZTI5OWFkNTA1MGUyOjc6Y2I1Mzo0ZGQ0Mzg3NGVjNjBiY2JlOGY5NmRjZTU3YzQzNGVkOWJmMGMwMjM1ZGE4YjdmZjg3NDBhOWQ2MDkzZTViMmYzOnA6VDpO > for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de Fri Mar 27 13:31:50 2026 From: d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de (Dirk Neumann) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:31:50 +0100 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <24c7646c-c314-42a3-9a3b-f2ffd6a7556d@leibniz-lib.de> Yes, ironing of labels was done in serval German collections, especially for early Xerox-printed labels (which in principle is the same as laser printing). High quality pigmented ink that is heated boiled and shot into the paper can give very durable results. Below an example were I tried to rub the information from a ink jet printed label (HP 600, label was printed around 2019). The paper is transparent paper (100g/cm2) [cid:part1.dnBjB4Lk.jCoRzfDz at leibniz-lib.de] Thermal transfer labels usually are very rigid and durable; depending on the imprinting and storage medium (e.g. denatured alcohol), the denaturant may affect the adhesion of the ribbon or the integrity of the HDPE [cid:part2.ZpLce3HG.NoIeh0sV at leibniz-lib.de] With best wishes Dirk Am 27.03.2026 um 14:45 schrieb Simon Moore: I did hear that someone had used the rather homespun remedy of running a hot iron over the labels to heat seal the lettering down With all good wishes, Simon Moore. Sent from my iPhone On 27 Mar 2026, at 13:30, Bentley, Andrew Charles wrote: ? Ian I could not find what the composition of Teslin paper is online but it appears similar to the spun bound polyester medium we use in our thermal printers. I would always guard against laser or inkjet printing as they are not permanent and in some cases require further heat treatment to make them stand up to immersion in alcohol for long periods. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Ian Engelbrecht Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:16 PM To: Bentley, Andrew Charles Cc: Derieg, Katrina ; Natural History Collections Listserv Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi folks, Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. Ian On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles > wrote: Hi Katrina I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX (https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available that you may consider given your budget. I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. Hope that helps Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Derieg, Katrina > Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM To: Natural History Collections Listserv > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: AzGQwxEQ7YnZz0fz.png Type: image/png Size: 58161 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: RCUjTHfrrqAx018j.png Type: image/png Size: 300479 bytes Desc: not available URL: From katrina.derieg at mso.umt.edu Fri Mar 27 14:27:15 2026 From: katrina.derieg at mso.umt.edu (Derieg, Katrina) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:27:15 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: <24c7646c-c314-42a3-9a3b-f2ffd6a7556d@leibniz-lib.de> References: <24c7646c-c314-42a3-9a3b-f2ffd6a7556d@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Hi Folks, Thanks for your thoughts. Sounds like sticking with the industry standard (thermal printing) is the way to go, so to come back to one of my questions: any thoughts on the smaller desktop printers? Andy sent along the CAB SQUIX recommendation for an affordable industrial printer, which I'll definitely consider. Just curious if anyone has had luck with the little ones. I'm not in a hurry to purchase since we aren't fluid-fixing many new specimens, just trying to weigh all of my options. Thanks! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l on behalf of Dirk Neumann Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 11:31 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? Yes, ironing of labels was done in serval German collections, especially for early Xerox-printed labels (which in principle is the same as laser printing). High quality pigmented ink that is heated boiled and shot into the paper can give very durable results. Below an example were I tried to rub the information from a ink jet printed label (HP 600, label was printed around 2019). The paper is transparent paper (100g/cm2) [cid:part1.dnBjB4Lk.jCoRzfDz at leibniz-lib.de] Thermal transfer labels usually are very rigid and durable; depending on the imprinting and storage medium (e.g. denatured alcohol), the denaturant may affect the adhesion of the ribbon or the integrity of the HDPE [cid:part2.ZpLce3HG.NoIeh0sV at leibniz-lib.de] With best wishes Dirk Am 27.03.2026 um 14:45 schrieb Simon Moore: I did hear that someone had used the rather homespun remedy of running a hot iron over the labels to heat seal the lettering down With all good wishes, Simon Moore. Sent from my iPhone On 27 Mar 2026, at 13:30, Bentley, Andrew Charles wrote: ? Ian I could not find what the composition of Teslin paper is online but it appears similar to the spun bound polyester medium we use in our thermal printers. I would always guard against laser or inkjet printing as they are not permanent and in some cases require further heat treatment to make them stand up to immersion in alcohol for long periods. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Ian Engelbrecht Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:16 PM To: Bentley, Andrew Charles Cc: Derieg, Katrina ; Natural History Collections Listserv Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi folks, Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. Ian On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles > wrote: Hi Katrina I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX (https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available that you may consider given your budget. I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. Hope that helps Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Derieg, Katrina > Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM To: Natural History Collections Listserv > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: AzGQwxEQ7YnZz0fz.png Type: image/png Size: 58161 bytes Desc: AzGQwxEQ7YnZz0fz.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: RCUjTHfrrqAx018j.png Type: image/png Size: 300479 bytes Desc: RCUjTHfrrqAx018j.png URL: From juan at eiminc.com Fri Mar 27 15:04:13 2026 From: juan at eiminc.com (Juan Munoz) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 19:04:13 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: <24c7646c-c314-42a3-9a3b-f2ffd6a7556d@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Hi Katrina, As long as the desktop model is from a commercial-grade manufacturer, they will be more than adequate. Different thermal ribbons have different chemistries, therefore different melting points (where the ink is heated and released from the carrier). Our most robust full resin ribbon has a melting point of 166?-168?C. A general purpose resin ribbon has a typical melting point of 110?C. Commercial-grade desktop thermal printers can all output the amount of heat required for durable resin ribbons. I?d shy away from the consumer level printers at your local brick and mortar. Regards, Juan Munoz Director of Technical Solutions | Electronic Imaging Materials, Inc. barcode-labels.com | 20 Forge St. | Keene, NH 03431 | 603.283.9638 [cid:image001.png at 01DCBDF9.F9087660] From: Nhcoll-l On Behalf Of Derieg, Katrina Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 2:27 PM To: Dirk Neumann ; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? Hi Folks, Thanks for your thoughts. Sounds like sticking with the industry standard (thermal printing) is the way to go, so to come back to one of my questions: any thoughts on the smaller desktop printers? Andy sent along the CAB SQUIX recommendation for an affordable industrial printer, which I'll definitely consider. Just curious if anyone has had luck with the little ones. I'm not in a hurry to purchase since we aren't fluid-fixing many new specimens, just trying to weigh all of my options. Thanks! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Dirk Neumann > Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 11:31 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? Yes, ironing of labels was done in serval German collections, especially for early Xerox-printed labels (which in principle is the same as laser printing). High quality pigmented ink that is heated boiled and shot into the paper can give very durable results. Below an example were I tried to rub the information from a ink jet printed label (HP 600, label was printed around 2019). The paper is transparent paper (100g/cm2) [cid:image002.png at 01DCBDF9.F9087660] Thermal transfer labels usually are very rigid and durable; depending on the imprinting and storage medium (e.g. denatured alcohol), the denaturant may affect the adhesion of the ribbon or the integrity of the HDPE [cid:image003.png at 01DCBDF9.F9087660] With best wishes Dirk Am 27.03.2026 um 14:45 schrieb Simon Moore: I did hear that someone had used the rather homespun remedy of running a hot iron over the labels to heat seal the lettering down With all good wishes, Simon Moore. Sent from my iPhone On 27 Mar 2026, at 13:30, Bentley, Andrew Charles wrote: ? Ian I could not find what the composition of Teslin paper is online but it appears similar to the spun bound polyester medium we use in our thermal printers. I would always guard against laser or inkjet printing as they are not permanent and in some cases require further heat treatment to make them stand up to immersion in alcohol for long periods. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Ian Engelbrecht Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:16 PM To: Bentley, Andrew Charles Cc: Derieg, Katrina ; Natural History Collections Listserv Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi folks, Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. Ian On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles > wrote: Hi Katrina I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX (https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available that you may consider given your budget. I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. Hope that helps Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Derieg, Katrina > Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM To: Natural History Collections Listserv > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 76870 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 58161 bytes Desc: image002.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 300479 bytes Desc: image003.png URL: From garretjolma at gmail.com Fri Mar 27 22:42:52 2026 From: garretjolma at gmail.com (Garret Jolma) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 22:42:52 -0400 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: <24c7646c-c314-42a3-9a3b-f2ffd6a7556d@leibniz-lib.de> Message-ID: Hi Katrina, We just upgraded our thermal printer to a Cab SQUIX (the 4/300M model, if I remember), and have had good luck with it so far. It struggles to print extra small font sizes (alas), but I'm sure with enough tampering of settings that wouldn't be an issue. For printing normal size labels, it has been a great machine. Cheers, -Garret Garret Jolma (he/him) Museum Assistant, Entomology Yale Peabody Museum garret.jolma at yale.edu On Fri, Mar 27, 2026, 2:27?PM Derieg, Katrina wrote: > Hi Folks, > Thanks for your thoughts. Sounds like sticking with the industry standard > (thermal printing) is the way to go, so to come back to one of my > questions: any thoughts on the smaller desktop printers? Andy sent along > the CAB SQUIX recommendation for an affordable industrial printer, which > I'll definitely consider. Just curious if anyone has had luck with the > little ones. I'm not in a hurry to purchase since we aren't fluid-fixing > many new specimens, just trying to weigh all of my options. > > Thanks! > -Katrina > > *KATRINA DERIEG **(she/her)* > > *Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator* > > *Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM)* > https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ > > *Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406 > -243-4743* > *Office: Health Science 211* > > *katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | > umzm at mso.umt.edu * > > *University of Montana* > > *Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: **Birds* > * | * > *Mammals* > * | **Eggs > & Nests* * | > **Parasites* > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of Dirk > Neumann > *Sent:* Friday, March 27, 2026 11:31 AM > *To:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? > > Yes, ironing of labels was done in serval German collections, especially > for early Xerox-printed labels (which in principle is the same as laser > printing). > > High quality pigmented ink that is heated boiled and shot into the paper > can give very durable results. Below an example were I tried to rub the > information from a ink jet printed label (HP 600, label was printed around > 2019). The paper is transparent paper (100g/cm2) > > > Thermal transfer labels usually are very rigid and durable; depending on > the imprinting and storage medium (e.g. denatured alcohol), the denaturant > may affect the adhesion of the ribbon or the integrity of the HDPE > > > With best wishes > Dirk > > > > Am 27.03.2026 um 14:45 schrieb Simon Moore: > > I did hear that someone had used the rather homespun remedy of running a > hot iron over the labels to heat seal the lettering down > > With all good wishes, Simon Moore. > Sent from my iPhone > > > On 27 Mar 2026, at 13:30, Bentley, Andrew Charles > wrote: > > ? > Ian > > I could not find what the composition of Teslin paper is online but it > appears similar to the spun bound polyester medium we use in our thermal > printers. I would always guard against laser or inkjet printing as they > are not permanent and in some cases require further heat treatment to make > them stand up to immersion in alcohol for long periods. > > Andy > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > Andy Bentley > Ichthyology Collection Manager > University of Kansas > > Biodiversity > Institute > > > > Dyche Hall > *1345 Jayhawk Boulevard > * > *Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 > * > *USA > * > > Tel: *(785) 864-3863 <%28785%29%20864-3863>* > Fax: *(785) 864-5335 <%28785%29%20864-5335>* > Email: *abentley at ku.edu * > > ORCID: *https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 > * > > *http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu > * > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Ian Engelbrecht > *Sent:* Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:16 PM > *To:* Bentley, Andrew Charles > *Cc:* Derieg, Katrina > ; Natural History Collections Listserv > > *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? > > Hi folks, > > Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can > just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers > here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less > frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new > medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. > > Ian > > On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles > wrote: > > Hi Katrina > > I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a > lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending > the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure > if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop > versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX ( > https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) > as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find > is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are > traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect > that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why > you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. > > There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available > that you may consider given your budget. > > I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had > much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. > > Hope that helps > > Andy > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > Andy Bentley > Ichthyology Collection Manager > University of Kansas > Biodiversity Institute > > Dyche Hall > *1345 Jayhawk Boulevard > * > > *Lawrence, > KS, 66045-7561 > * > *USA > * > > > Tel: *(785) 864-3863 <%28785%29%20864-3863>* > Fax: *(785) 864-5335 <%28785%29%20864-5335>* > Email: *abentley at ku.edu * > > ORCID: *https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 > * > > *http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu > * > > A : A : A : > }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> > V V V > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Nhcoll-l on behalf of Derieg, > Katrina > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM > *To:* Natural History Collections Listserv > *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? > > Hi NHC community, > I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small > fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume > of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For > reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. > > A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I > was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it > difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for > the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem > there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal > printer, mostly because of cost. > > Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN > If > so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the > desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to > print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal > jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop > thermal printers? With what kind of media? > > I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. > > Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with > special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, > as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid > tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far > from ideal. > > I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, > but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear > from the community on what works for you folks. > > Thanks in advance!! > -Katrina > > *KATRINA DERIEG **(she/her)* > > *Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator* > > *Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM)* > https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ > > *Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406 > -243-4743* > *Office: Health Science 211* > > *katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | > umzm at mso.umt.edu * > > *University of Montana* > > *Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds > | Mammals > | Eggs & > Nests | > Parasites * > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing listNhcoll-l at mailman.yale.eduhttps://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > > > -- > > ****** > > > > *Dirk Neumann* > > Collection Manager, Hamburg > > > > Postal address: > > *Museum of Nature Hamburg* > Leibniz Institute for the Analysis > > of Biodiversity Change > > Dirk Neumann > > Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 > > > 20146 > > Hamburg > > +49 40 238 317 ? 628 > > *d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de * > > www.leibniz-lib.de > > > > -- > > Stiftung > Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > > Postanschrift: > Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 > > in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst > > > -- > Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels > Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany > > > Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; > Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian > Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) > Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 > > in Bonn > Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst > _______________________________________________ > Nhcoll-l mailing list > Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l > > _______________________________________________ > NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of > Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose > mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of > natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to > society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. > Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: AzGQwxEQ7YnZz0fz.png Type: image/png Size: 58161 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: RCUjTHfrrqAx018j.png Type: image/png Size: 300479 bytes Desc: not available URL: From abentley at ku.edu Sat Mar 28 16:28:32 2026 From: abentley at ku.edu (Bentley, Andrew Charles) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2026 20:28:32 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7A8C667A-5837-46C0-8553-DFA922E905E2@ku.edu> For that reason I typically recommend purchasing the 400 or 600 dpi version if you are going to printing anything under 6 point font. Andy Sent from my iPad On Mar 27, 2026, at 9:49 PM, Garret Jolma wrote: ? Hi Katrina, We just upgraded our thermal printer to a Cab SQUIX (the 4/300M model, if I remember), and have had good luck with it so far. It struggles to print extra small font sizes (alas), but I'm sure with enough tampering of settings that wouldn't be an issue. For printing normal size labels, it has been a great machine. Cheers, -Garret Garret Jolma (he/him) Museum Assistant, Entomology Yale Peabody Museum garret.jolma at yale.edu On Fri, Mar 27, 2026, 2:27?PM Derieg, Katrina > wrote: Hi Folks, Thanks for your thoughts. Sounds like sticking with the industry standard (thermal printing) is the way to go, so to come back to one of my questions: any thoughts on the smaller desktop printers? Andy sent along the CAB SQUIX recommendation for an affordable industrial printer, which I'll definitely consider. Just curious if anyone has had luck with the little ones. I'm not in a hurry to purchase since we aren't fluid-fixing many new specimens, just trying to weigh all of my options. Thanks! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Dirk Neumann > Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 11:31 AM To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu > Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Desktop thermal printers? Yes, ironing of labels was done in serval German collections, especially for early Xerox-printed labels (which in principle is the same as laser printing). High quality pigmented ink that is heated boiled and shot into the paper can give very durable results. Below an example were I tried to rub the information from a ink jet printed label (HP 600, label was printed around 2019). The paper is transparent paper (100g/cm2) Thermal transfer labels usually are very rigid and durable; depending on the imprinting and storage medium (e.g. denatured alcohol), the denaturant may affect the adhesion of the ribbon or the integrity of the HDPE With best wishes Dirk Am 27.03.2026 um 14:45 schrieb Simon Moore: I did hear that someone had used the rather homespun remedy of running a hot iron over the labels to heat seal the lettering down With all good wishes, Simon Moore. Sent from my iPhone On 27 Mar 2026, at 13:30, Bentley, Andrew Charles wrote: ? Ian I could not find what the composition of Teslin paper is online but it appears similar to the spun bound polyester medium we use in our thermal printers. I would always guard against laser or inkjet printing as they are not permanent and in some cases require further heat treatment to make them stand up to immersion in alcohol for long periods. Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Ian Engelbrecht Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:16 PM To: Bentley, Andrew Charles Cc: Derieg, Katrina ; Natural History Collections Listserv Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi folks, Has anyone tried printing on Teslin paper for wet collections? You can just use a regular laser printer, and a few of the wet collection managers here in South Africa swear by it. For a smaller collection with less frequent printing it might be a good option, but the question with any new medium is whether it lasts for decades/centuries. Ian On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 18:28, Bentley, Andrew Charles > wrote: Hi Katrina I do not have any experience using desktop thermal printers but do have a lot of experience using commercial ones and can highly recommend spending the extra cash to get one of these that will serve you well. I am not sure if some of the brands that make these commercial printers make desktop versions, but you may want to try CAB SQUIX (https://codesource.com/collections/cab-squix-thermal-transfer-printers) as they make a very good commercial version. One issue that you will find is that these smaller printers will not accept the rolls of media we are traditionally purchasing for museum use as they are too large. I suspect that they are also not designed for the heavier polyester media hence why you were having issues with rollers in your previous version. There do appear to be second-hand commercial thermal printers available that you may consider given your budget. I would stay away from laser printed labels if possible. I have never had much luck with longevity of laser printed labels. Hope that helps Andy A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V Andy Bentley Ichthyology Collection Manager University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561 USA Tel: (785) 864-3863 Fax: (785) 864-5335 Email: abentley at ku.edu ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu A : A : A : }<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<(((_?>.,.,.,.}<)))_?> V V V ________________________________ From: Nhcoll-l > on behalf of Derieg, Katrina > Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 11:08 AM To: Natural History Collections Listserv > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Desktop thermal printers? Hi NHC community, I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going forward. A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial thermal printer, mostly because of cost. Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media? I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer. Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I know that is far from ideal. I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks. Thanks in advance!! -Katrina KATRINA DERIEG (she/her) Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/ Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743 Office: Health Science 211 katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu University of Montana Search the UMZM collections on Arctos: Birds | Mammals | Eggs & Nests | Parasites _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -- **** Dirk Neumann Collection Manager, Hamburg Postal address: Museum of Nature Hamburg Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change Dirk Neumann Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3 20146 Hamburg +49 40 238 317 ? 628 d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de www.leibniz-lib.de -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst -- Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversit?tswandels Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany Stiftung des ?ffentlichen Rechts; Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Gr?ter (Kaufm. Gesch?ftsf?hrer) Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. _______________________________________________ Nhcoll-l mailing list Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l _______________________________________________ NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information. Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From prc44 at drexel.edu Tue Mar 31 09:06:10 2026 From: prc44 at drexel.edu (Callomon,Paul) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:06:10 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] FW: Science Director & Curator National Shell Museum & Aquarium In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium (BMNSM&A) on Sanibel Island, Florida, USA, seeks qualified applicants for the position of Science Director and Curator. The incumbent will oversee the care and management of the Museum's mollusk collection, lead the institution's work in research and publication, and help shape the Museum's public engagement and impact through exhibits and educational programs. Read more about the requirements, qualifications, contact, and mode of application here: https://shellmuseum.org/careers-internships/ ________________________________________________ Jos? H. Leal, Ph.D. | Science Director & Curator (he/him) www.ShellMuseum.org Short Bio in Museum Story Editor, The Nautilus 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road Sanibel, FL 33957 USA (239)395-2233 (239)347-5116 (direct) CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication is confidential, may be privileged and is meant only for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender ASAP and delete this message from your system. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kj23v at fsu.edu Tue Mar 31 11:37:39 2026 From: kj23v at fsu.edu (Kalina Jakymec) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:37:39 +0000 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] New and Upcoming Courses from iDigBio's Digitization Academy Message-ID: <59F980E4-9489-4725-935F-2FA8CBF4B77B@fsu.edu> Hello! The Digitization Academy is pleased to announce our upcoming schedule of free, online courses offered in 2026 on topics related to creating digital data about biodiversity. We are especially excited to announce a new course, AI in Biodiversity Collections, scheduled for launch in late summer 2026. This new offering reflects an increasing interest in the intersection of artificial intelligence and biodiversity collections and an important opportunity to explore emerging developments. Please see below for details, and visit digitizationacademy.org/catalog for more information. Digital Imaging for Biodiversity Collections Monday?Thursday, July 13?16 *AI in Biodiversity Collections Mondays and Wednesdays, August 10?September 2 Introduction to Biodiversity Specimen Digitization Mondays and Wednesdays, October 5?28 Introducci?n a la Digitalizaci?n de Espec?menes de Biodiversidad Tuesdays and Thursdays, October 6?29 Public Participation in Digitization of Biodiversity Collections Monday?Thursday, December 14-17 Applications for all courses will open about 8 weeks prior to each offering. Please consider sharing this announcement with others who might benefit! Best regards, Kalina Kalina Jakymec iDigBio Workforce Development Manager Florida State University digitizationacademy.org | idigbio.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dlpaul at illinois.edu Tue Mar 31 13:08:32 2026 From: dlpaul at illinois.edu (Deborah Paul) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:08:32 -0500 Subject: [Nhcoll-l] You're Invited to TaxonWorks Together 2026 - (online, free) Registration is Open! Message-ID: <900f46cb-4d19-452a-9581-04d92d488710@illinois.edu> Greetings SPNHC Peeps, Please join us for TaxonWorks Together 2026 from May 19 - 21. It?s online and free and Registration is Open ! Our topics will range from those involving TaxonWorks directly (how can we improve), to grand-challenges facing our collective communities (e.g. data quality, semantics and standards, sustaining communities, software engineering, agency, and of course AI) so that we can "Describe Life" and better understand and care for our natural resources, ourselves, our data, and our collections. To see the complete Agenda and Register: https://together.taxonworks.org/ * Our Community Drives the Evolution of TaxonWorks: hear from those managing mammal, insect, research, and teaching collections in TaxonWorks * Does It Do That? Should It? An Unconference on TaxonWorks * Syncing Taxonomy at a Global Scale Across System Aggregators * Taxon Pages Update, see and learn more about new capabilities and features * Workshop - Taxa and their names: Experience, hands-on, SFG tools involved in curating the nomenclature of our Earth?s species * GBIF Hosted Community Portals Lightning Intro and Roundtable: how can software developers across platforms work in synergy * Our Community Drives the Evolution of TaxonWorks: hear from those managing mammal, insect, research, and teaching collections in TaxonWorks * Processes as a central challenge to Biodiversity Informatics - A Perspective from the Crayfish Community. Hear about collaborations between collections and state agencies. * Genomes, eDNA, Barcodes: Should TaxonWorks Engage DNA, if so, How and When? * Ento-Bento: Customizing and Facilitating TaxonWorks Training in Collaboration There?s more, but that?s for you to discover on the website. See you there! Questions welcome here. In anticipation, Debbie, for the Species File Group and TaxonWorks Together 2026 yes, there's cross-posting please also share widely, thanks! -- - Deborah Paul, Biodiversity Informatics Community Liaison - Species File Group (INHS), University of Illinois -- Natural History Collections and Museomics NHCM Editor-in-Chiefhttps://nhcm.pensoft.net -- Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) Past Chair 2021-2022 -- Florida State University Courtesy Appointment -- Species File Group and Eventshttps://speciesfilegroup.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: