Dear List,

I am certain there is someone--probably many people!--out there who can
help me as I begin to oversee the cataloguing of our natural history
collections here at Sweet Briar College.  Following the "Guidelines for
the Care of Natural History Collections" published by the Society for
the Preservation of Natural History Collections, the biology department
is providing the scientific expertise and I am providing my collections
managment knowledge, including use of the PastPerfect database.  The
specimens (mostly birds and small mammals) will be identified by the
professors in the biology department, and the cataloguing itself carried
out by two student workers who will be trained in cataloguing
techniques.  But there are several questions that I have as I prepare to
move forward on this project.

1) I know that sometimes specimens have been preserved with potentially
harmful materials, like arsenic.  Is wearing rubber gloves when handling
these an adequate precaution?  There is no record of how they were prepared.

2) They are stored flat in cabinets on metal trays.  I was going to line
each tray with a Mylar barrier.  What else might I need to do from a
preservation perspective?

3)  I was planning on labeling them with acid-free tags on which the
numbers had been written with archival pens.  The string would be
secured to a leg of the specimen.  Is this okay?

4)  The professors maintain that "no one wants to look at a dead animal"
in the collections management record, and want to add watercolor images
instead of the specimens as they were painted by National Geographic
artist Walter Webber (it is his collection that we have).

And a related question I am posing on behalf of my herpetologist
colleague, who has a number of specimens preserved in alcohol-filled
jars: He wants to suspend a tag with information about the specimen in
the jar itself, and wonders what sort of marking implement will be
impervious to the alcohol.  Does anyone have any ideas?  I may be
betraying my lack of scientific background as I wonder why he can't mark
the outside of the jar instead.

Many, many thanks to all in advance for any guidance you can offer on
any and all of the above queries.

All best,
Christian Carr

--
Christian Carr
Acting Director
Sweet Briar Museum
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Arts Management
Sweet Briar College
434.381.6246 (phone)
434.381.6132 (fax)

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