Kathy -

The donation without resources is a real nightmare in the natural history
business.  The Association of Systematic Collections in DC monitors the
matter very carefully.  You can contacvt them at 202/835-9050.  In this case,
the issue is that of universities divesting themselves of collections as
faculty retire and research patterns change.  The school then tries to dump
the collections on the local stand-alone natural history museum.

A number of years ago I wrote an analysis of this orphaned collection issue
for Collections Forum, the publication of the Society for the Preservation of
Natural History Collections.  That organization also is concerned with what
happens when collections are transferred.

Mac West
Informal Science, Inc.
Washington, DC
202/362-5823