Not sure I understand your question. If you mean is there a single source that one could use to learn how to properly manage a natural history collection, the answer is a qualified no. There are a couple of books on the market (e.g., Natural History Curatorship) that would help, but nothing I would consider a truly useful one-volume reference. A colleague (Yaneth Munoz-Saba) and I are writing a book on this topic, and we have been over the literature thoroughly. There are some excellent publications dealing with various issues in natural history collection management. The literature on this subject is growing rapidly. Its just that no one has pulled all the pieces together yet. If you are looking for a single source that describes what natural history collections need, the answer is definitely no. John E. Simmons Collection Manager, Natural History Museum and Coordinator, Historical Administration and Museum Studies Program University of Kansas Dyche Hall 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561 Phone 785-864-4508 FAX 785-864-5335 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: dbingell [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2001 6:28 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Natural History Collections Management Is there a single text that discusses the needs of a Natural History collections? ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).