We want to update all our friends and colleagues on the status of the
collections and collections access at the Museum of Geology, South
Dakota School of Mines. We are excited to report that the State of South
Dakota has funded a new repository for the paleontological/mineralogical
collections at the Museum.  We have waited over 20 years for such a
facility, and believe that the new repository will allow researchers and
students an excellent environment in which to study our collections.  In
the meantime, we have already begun to pack some of our collection for
the move.  Therefore, if you require access to particular specimens,
please let us know so we can facilitate that access.
 
The SDSM collections are open and accessible during normal business
hours with prior notification. We will be moving our collections to the
new, purpose-built building in mid-2010, and we do anticipate some
unavoidable collections access limitations. If you are looking for
information on specimen availability or on visit logistics, the
following address is the best first point of contact. If we know in
advance what your needs are, we can attempt to ensure that those
specimens remain available as long as possible before the packing and
moving. We are continuing to make unpacked specimens available on loan
as well; please let us know as far in advance as possible what you need,
so that we can plan our packing accordingly. 
 
Our Federal repository collections are always available for study
on-site. Off-site use and anything that would involve alteration of the
specimen requires a valid NPS research permit for NPS specimens, and
normal permission from other agencies (e.g. Forest Service and Bureau of
Reclamation). If you need more information about this, please let me
know off-line. 
 
We're enjoying a busy summer so far and hope to see more such activity.
We have a number of ongoing field programs and projects, and are getting
the collections in order as part of the move preparation, so this is an
excellent time for you to contact us with any research needs or
questions you have. Here's hoping everyone is having a good and
productive summer, and that you'll swing by if you're in the area. 
 
Cheers, 
 

Sally Y. Shelton, Collections Manager
Museum of Geology, O'Harra 307
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
501 E. St. Joseph
Rapid City, SD   57701
phone 605.394.2487
email [log in to unmask]

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