Behind Closed Doors: New Cabinetry for the Herbarium at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia (PH)

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This project will bring the storage conditions for the plant collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences (PH) up to archival standards. These specimens, representing many of the earliest and historically most significant plant collections of the United States, are currently threatened by environmental instability and pest incursions that result from current storage conditions. The mobile shelving systems installed more than 20 years ago were one of the first such installations and were thus something of a testing ground for several design features. Although designed with the best of intentions, the system has proven to be fundamentally flawed on several counts including absence of doors, storage spaces (cubbies) that are the wrong size for herbarium specimens, and construction materials that are not archival quality. The cabinet system is made of bulky yet permeable wood-composite materials that outgas volatile compounds. In addition to these flaws in the compactor system, the surrounding storage area is not adequately sealed from adjacent areas and has poor control of temperature and humidity. These conditions will be ameliorated by acquisition of new metal herbarium cabinets to be installed on existing, refurbished compactor carriages and by installation of a new HVAC system to control temperature and humidity. Metal cabinets with tightly closing, gasketed doors, will solve several problems including elimination of exposure of specimens to non-archival quality construction materials, correction of cubby dimensions, and buffering of local environmental conditions. Together with climate control, this will permit control of insect infestations and prevent pest movement between cabinets. The Herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia is home to unique resources of scientific and historical importance. Notably, it houses upwards of 44,000 type specimens and half again as many specimens of special historical significance. The collection totals more than 1.3 million specimens, including many of the most historically significant collections of the North American flora. Notable collections from the 18th and 19th centuries include those of B. S. Barton (1766-1815), H. Muhlenberg (1753-1815), T. Nuttall (1786-1859), and nearly all of the surviving specimens collected by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their historic exploration of the western U.S. (1804-06). This project will preserve the current collection and allow for expansion of approximately 10-15%, sufficient to handle anticipated growth over the next 10-15 years. The new cabinets and HVAC system will have the immediate and long-term impact of saving the specimens at PH from further damage and protecting them for the future. Due to the many type specimens and wealth of historical material, these upgrades will benefit the national and international community of botanical and historical scholars, while