Improving Access and Storage for the University of Washington Bird Collections

在S·罗威尔博士的指导下，华盛顿大学伯克博物馆获得了一笔赠款，以改善鸟类研究收藏品的存储和获取。这笔赠款专门用于提高人们的可及性，并改善伯克博物馆收藏的三件非凡藏品的储存条件：1)世界上最大的鸟类展翅收藏，2)独特的海鸟皮收藏，3)世界第12大鸟类骨骼收藏。伯克收藏的25,000只展开的翅膀是独一无二的，支持了几个否则不可能进行的研究。然而，在过去的15年里，它的快速增长导致了过度拥挤的存储条件，必须进行补救，以确保标本的寿命。同样，许多海鸟皮和许多骨骼收藏需要重新安置，以确保收藏的长期安全。这笔赠款将资助20个新案例，以重新安置和扩大翅膀、海鸟皮和骨骼收藏。此外，许多较老的骨骼标本将被移到档案质量盒中，并使用计算机生成的标签重新标记。后者将要求对骨骼收集中的所有数据进行数字化和校对。数字数据库现在包含了大约9000条骨架记录，这些记录是从旧的博物馆目录和分类账中输入的，但没有与原始标本标签进行校对。赠款中包括完成骨骼标本数据数字化的资金，这将使伯克学会做好准备，使鸟类学收藏中的所有数据，包括遗传资源数据，都可以通过互联网获得。这将极大地增加正式科学研究和各级非正规教育对藏书的利用。此外，这将为该收藏品参与目前提议的一个项目做好准备，该项目将对北美收藏品中的所有鸟类标本进行地理参考。这笔赠款的更广泛影响是多方面的，因为用户群体很广泛。最重要的是加强对收藏品的照顾和获取，这些藏品为国内和国际研究人员、教育工作者和艺术家社区服务，以及华盛顿大学充满活力的本科生和高级培训计划-世界一流的研究型大学之一。由于保存下来的标本是我们关于过去种群和灭绝血统的新数据的唯一来源，改善它们长期护理的项目对社会有许多潜在的好处。例子比比皆是，从发现DDT导致猛禽蛋壳变薄，到记录现在支离破碎的东部草原鸡种群中丢失的基因多样性。除了原创研究，我们的收藏还服务于多样化的用户群体，包括州和联邦机构、保护团体、野生动物艺术家和雕塑家，以及越来越多的K-12教育推广计划。

A grant has been awarded to the University of Washington Burke Museum under the direction of Dr. S. Rohwer to improve storage and access to the research collection of birds. The grant is specifically targeted at increasing accessibility and upgrading storage conditions for three remarkable collections held by the Burke Museum: 1) the largest collection of avian spread wings in the world, 2) a unique collection of seabird skins and, 3) the 12th largest avian skeleton collection in the world. The collection of 25,000 spread wings at the Burke is unique and has supported several lines of research that would have otherwise been impossible. However, its rapid growth over the past 15 years has led to over-crowded storage conditions, which must be remedied to ensure longevity of the specimens. Similarly, many of the seabird skins and much of the skeleton collection needs re-housing to ensure the long-term safety of the collections. This grant will fund twenty new cases to re-house and expand the wing, seabird skin, and skeleton collections. In addition, many of the older skeleton specimens will be moved to archival quality boxes and re-labeled using computer-generated labels. The latter will require that all of the data from the skeleton collection be digitized and proofed. The digital database now contains about 9,000 skeleton records that were entered from old museum catalogs and ledgers, but have not been proofed to the original specimen labels. Included in the grant are funds to complete the digitization of skeleton specimen data, which will poise the Burke to make all data in the ornithology collection, including genetic resource data, available over the Internet. This will dramatically increase access to the collection for both formal scientific research and informal education at all levels. Additionally, this will prepare the collection for participation in a currently proposed project to geo-reference all avian specimens in North American collections.The broader impact of this grant is multifold, because the community of users is broad. Of greatest importance is the enhanced care of and access to collections that serve a national and international community of researchers, educators, and artists, as well as a vibrant program of undergraduate and advanced training at the University of Washington - one of the world's premier research universities. Because preserved specimens are our sole source of new data about past populations and extinct lineages, projects that improve their long-term care have many potential benefits to society. Examples abound, ranging from discovering that DDT caused eggshell thinning in raptors to documenting lost genetic diversity in the now fragmented eastern populations of Prairie Chickens. Beyond original research, our collections serve a diverse community of users, including state and federal agencies, conservation groups, wildlife artists and sculptors, and a growing program of K-12 educational outreach.