Managing legacy & newly acquired specimens of a large diverse collection.

Christine A. JohnsonCuratorial Associate

The American Museum of Natural History

Accessioning:

The formal, legal process of accepting an object into the museum

Care for object in perpetuity

• Individual curator efforts

• Large-scale inventories

• Donations, bequests, purchases

Acquisitions:

• Relevance to museum mission and collection• Specimens acquired legally and in compliance with

international law

• Owner legal title to and right to transfer the material

• Other third party interest in specimens

• Encumbrances by legal obligations or constraints

• Donor restrictions

Donations, Bequests, Purchases:

• Relevance to museum mission and collection• Specimens acquired legally and in compliance with

international law

• Owner legal title to and right to transfer the material

• Other third party interest in specimens

• Encumbrances by legal obligations or constraints

• Donor restrictions

• Collection data for specimens known

Donations, Bequests, Purchases:

• How well defined institutional collections policies and mission statement are conveyed and enforced

• Magnitude of the issue – number of new and pre-existing specimens in a collection

Differences between Large & Small Institutions

Central Park Arsenal

Curators are primary source of acquisitions

Registrar’s Office processes accession(s) and assigns number

Associate Dean of Science oversees registrar’s office and enforces proper permitting

Fluid Storage Facility (NSB)

July 1, 1999, Division of Invertebrate Zoology

Pinned Insect Storage Facility

July 1, 1999, Division of Invertebrate Zoology

“Macro-leps” “Shells”

July 1, 1999, Division of Invertebrate Zoology

Slide Collection

CuratorsJames Carpenter, Curator, HymenopteraRobert DeSalle Curator, Molecular SystematicsDavid Grimaldi Curator, Diptera, Amber FossilsLee Herman Curator, ColeopteraEunsoo Kim Assistant Curator, ProtistsSusan Perkins Associate Curator, Molecular Systematics, Malaria ProtistsLorenzo Prendini Associate Curator, Arachnida, MyriapodaEstefania Rodriguez Assistant Curator, Cnidaria, RINMSJerome G. Rozen Curator, HymenopteraMark E. Siddall Curator, AnnelidaWard Wheeler Curator, Molecular Systematics

Emeritus CuratorsWilliam Emerson Curator Emeritus, Division of Invertebrate ZoologyNorman I. Platnick Curator Emeritus, AraneaeRandall T. Schuh George T. Willett Curator Emeritus, Hemiptera, Minor Orders

Richard Gilder Graduate School StudentsBrian FalkPhil BardenIsabelle VeaStephanie LoriaCarli Tribull

RINMS & Mollusca

Library Archives of Accessions & Donations

AMNH Accession #___________AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Accession RecordDEPARTMENT OF___________________Division of__________________Date of Receipt_____________Department File/Accession #__________________________Dept. Catalogue #s_____________________Donor________________________________________________________________________________Address_______________________________________________________________________________Telephone______________________Fax________________________Email________________________Donation to be kept anonymous_______Gift_______Internal Transfer________Bequest_______Purchase________________(Fund & Price)_______________Expedition_______________________(Name)_____________________(Date)______________________Field Trip________________________(Place)______________________(Date)______________________Exchange (Catalog #s & value of specimens given in exchange)____________________________________Attach Copies of Collection Permits and USFWS 3-177 FormsDescription of Material:Higher Taxon Description Geographic Origin Lot # Specimen #Does Department have transaction on file showing legal ownership by owner?Does Department have transfer of ownership record on file giving ownership to AMNH?Explanation to “No” above________________________________________________________________Restrictions ____________________________________________________________________________Significance of Material___________________________________________________________________Value: Less than $1000_____$1000-$5000____More than $5000____Estimated Value________________If more than $5K and at donor request: IRS Form completed____ Sent to Donor_____ CC: Registrar_____Signature of Division Chairman__________________Date___________Registration Signature_________________________Date___________Board Meeting_______________________________Date___________(over $5K)

AMNH Accession #___________AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Accession RecordDEPARTMENT OF___________________Division of__________________Date of Receipt_____________Department File/Accession #__________________________Dept. Catalogue #s_____________________Donor________________________________________________________________________________Address_______________________________________________________________________________Telephone______________________Fax________________________Email________________________Donation to be kept anonymous_______Gift_______Internal Transfer________Bequest_______Purchase________________(Fund & Price)_______________Expedition_______________________(Name)_____________________(Date)______________________Field Trip________________________(Place)______________________(Date)______________________Exchange (Catalog #s & value of specimens given in exchange)____________________________________Attach Copies of Collection Permits and USFWS 3-177 FormsDescription of Material:Higher Taxon Description Geographic Origin Lot # Specimen #Does Department have transaction on file showing legal ownership by owner?Does Department have transfer of ownership record on file giving ownership to AMNH?Explanation to “No” above________________________________________________________________Restrictions ____________________________________________________________________________Significance of Material___________________________________________________________________Value: Less than $1000_____$1000-$5000____More than $5000____Estimated Value________________If more than $5K and at donor request: IRS Form completed____ Sent to Donor_____ CC: Registrar_____Signature of Division Chairman__________________Date___________Registration Signature_________________________Date___________Board Meeting_______________________________Date___________(over $5K)

Bulk material, numbers and taxa unknown

USA: Tennessee: Knoxville, Hotel Room Bed, 10-II-2012Coll. CAJohnson Acc. 666

Accession number association with specimen

Multiple Databases with Disparate Information

Pre-existing confiscated CITES specimens

Issues

Bulk material, numbers & taxa unknown

Identifying accessioned & non-accessioned legacy material

Multiple database with disparate information

Securing appropriate documentation (Specimen transfer forms, permits, proof of legal acquisition, change in CITES status)

Institutional Dissonance (Administration, Chairs, Curators)

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

15400000

15600000

15800000

16000000

16200000

16400000

16600000

16800000

R² = 0.976936780977042

Past Insecta Growth (1992-2007)

Year

Ho

ldin

gs

(T

ota

l N

)

Projected Insecta Growth (2008-2038)

16400000

16600000

16800000

17000000

17200000

17400000

17600000

17800000

18000000

18200000

2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040

Year

Ho

ldin

gs

(To

tal N

)

Past Growth & Projected Growth for Pinned Insect Specimens

Past Growth & Projected Growth for

Pinned Insect Specimens

Year Specimen Growth

Necessary Cabinetry Needs

2008 46894 3 0

2013 233958 14 0

2018 467788 29 +18

2028 935448 57 +50 More space

Thank you.