Enhanced Housing, Level of Curation, and Accessibility for Two Major Invertebrate Paleontology Collections: The Paleontological Research Institution and Cornell University

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9709308 Taylor The collections presently housed by the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) contain more than two and a half million specimens; they are among the largest and scientifically most important invertebrate paleontology collections in the United States. These collections, however, had been allowed to deteriorate and had been essentially inaccessible to the research and educational communities for many years. In 1992, a major reorganization and renovation effort was begun that continued after 1994 with NSF support. The chief results of this effort to date have been the resuscitation of the PRI collection and the transfer to PRI of the invertebrate fossil and Recent mollusk collections of Cornell University (CU). Condition of and accessibility to these collections has now significandy improved and use accordingly has greafiy increased. This award will support the next phase of this process of renewal. Two-thirds of the CU collection is stored in temporary trailers in the back yard of the Institution; these will be rehoused in new, permanent storage facilities in order to make them useful once again to the scientific community. PRI's type and figured collection and the microfossil collection will also be rehoused and curated in preparation for computerization. During the spring of 1997, the Institution will be constructing approximately 4,000 square feet of new collections space as cost-sharing with the NSF on this project.