Compacterization of the IMNH Vertebrate Paleontology Collection to Enhance Access and Research Use

在M. Thompson的指导下，爱达荷州自然历史博物馆（IMNH）获得了一笔赠款，以改善博物馆脊椎动物古生物学（VP）藏品的可访问性和存储。从科学术语上讲，该藏品中有大量来自新近纪（距今2380万至181万年前）的动物，尤其丰富的是亨菲利亚、布兰坎和兰乔拉布里亚晚期（距今约11000万至900万年前）的哺乳动物。这些藏品来自爱达荷州和邻近各州。过去十年中馆藏的增长导致了过度拥挤的储存条件，这反过来又将导致标本的最终恶化和丢失。该项目的目标和范围是通过改善存储以容纳多达100,000个标本和批次，促进项目编目和加强学术访问，以经济有效地纠正这些缺陷。为了实现这一目标，IMNH有两个基本选择：扩大其可用空间，或者更有效地利用现有空间。IMNH计划购买/安装一个紧凑、节省空间的存储架系统，并附带全金属橱柜和抽屉，用于存储标本。当物品被转移到新的存储设施时，所有物品都将更新到由自然历史收藏保存协会确定的当前收藏标准，使用档案质量的材料。该目录将予以更新，并在国际海洋卫生研究所的数据库中作完整的输入，以便于找到项目和促进研究/学术活动的收集。此外，IMNH将在项目期间创建一个公共展览，旨在向博物馆参观者介绍策展过程以及副总统收藏本身。总之，这些项目的特点将大大增加对各级正式科学研究和非正式教育的访问。该项目对公众和科学界都意义重大。对公众来说，它将保护他们自己的遗产和自然世界的历史。策展展览将说明展示、维护和保存博物馆标本所需要的护理。副总统的收藏本身就很有趣，因为它包含了人类到达美洲的时间，并可能阐明当前关于人类对环境影响的公共辩论。从科学的角度来看，所有的物品都是不可替代的，它们可能是了解过去的许多关键。该项目不仅将保存这些物品，还将通过加强储存和编目，增加学者对它们的访问。对大量VP藏品所代表的动物和生态的学术研究可能会对剧烈的环境变化（例如，冰川和退缩）提供重要的见解，并可能为全球变暖提供重要的经验教训。

A grant has been awarded to the Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) under the direction of M. Thompson to improve accessibility and storage of the museum's Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) collection. In scientific terminology, the collection is particularly strong in animals from the Neogene Period (23.8 to 1.81 million years ago), and is especially rich in mammals of the Hemphillian, Blancan, and late Rancholabrean Stages (i.e., ~11,000 to 9,000,000 years ago). The collection was gathered from across Idaho and neighboring states. The growth of the collection in the last ten years has resulted in overcrowded storage conditions, which in turn will lead to eventual deterioration and loss of specimens. It is the goal and scope of this project to cost-effectively correct these deficiencies by improving storage to accommodate up to 100,000 specimens and lots, facilitate cataloging of items and enhance scholarly access.To accomplish this, the IMNH had two basic options: to expand its available space, or to use existing space more efficiently. IMNH plans to purchase/install a system of compact, space-efficient storage racks with accompanying all-metal cabinets and drawers for storing the specimens. As items are transferred into the new storage facilities, all will be updated to current collection standards as identified by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections using archival quality materials. The catalogue will be updated, and a full entry made in IMNH databases for ease of locating items and to promote the collection for research/scholarly activities. Further, IMNH will create a public exhibit for the project's duration, designed to educate museum visitors about the curation process as well as the VP collection itself. Together, these project features will dramatically increase access to the collection for both formal scientific research and informal education at all levels.The project is significant for both the public and the scientific community. For the public, it will preserve their own heritage and the history of the natural world. The curation exhibit will illustrate the care needed to display, maintain and preserve museum specimens. The VP collection itself is of high interest, as it encompasses the time of man's arrival in the Americas, and may shed light on current public debate of human impact on the environment. Scientifically, all items are individually irreplaceable, and may hold many keys to understanding the past. The project will not only conserve the items, but increase their access to scholars through enhanced storage and cataloguing. Scholarly research into the animals and ecologies represented by the sizable VP collection may shed important insights on dramatic environmental changes (e.g., glaciation and retreat), and may hold vital lessons concerning global warming.