Support for Meeting and Workshop on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Salvage in Natural History Collections to be held in May, 2004

在诺里斯博士的指导下，向美国自然历史博物馆提供了一笔赠款，用于支持一次关于自然历史收藏品的应急准备、反应和抢救的特别技术会议和相应的讲习班。总的目标是帮助博物馆工作人员，特别是收藏品工作人员，制定应对可能影响其负责的科学收藏品的任何规模的灾害的战略。技术会议和讲习班是自然历史收藏品保护协会第十九届年会的一部分，该年会由自然历史保护协会主办，将于2004年5月举行。为期一天的“特别技术会议”，邀请演讲者参加，重点是在机构、城市和全国范围内的活动中的准备和反应。在介绍纽约和华盛顿文化机构和应对2001年9月11日事件的人员的经验之后，上午的会议将集中讨论其他国家和国际机构面临自然和人为灾害的案例研究。下午的会议将讨论制定应急计划所需的最佳做法。随之而来的为期一天的讲习班将讨论在对灾后48小时作出反应时遇到的实际问题，这段时间是救援工作的最关键时期。将向参与者提供可用于在其本国机构制定应急准备、反应和救助计划的材料。与技术会议一样，讲习班将针对自然历史收藏的具体需要进行调整。会议的更广泛影响将是提高美国和其他自然历史博物馆工作人员应对影响其藏品的紧急情况的能力。最近发生的事件，如2001年9月11日的恐怖袭击和2003年8月14日至15日的大范围停电，都突显了应急计划在保护博物馆藏品中的文化遗产方面的关键重要性。自然历史收藏构成了生命科学基础的广泛研究的知识基础，包括分类学、分类学、生态学、生物地理学和古生物学。SPNHC第19次会议提供了最好的机会来通知、教育和更新美国和国际上负责保护这些藏品的人的最新情况。NSF提供的资金将通过降低注册成本来帮助增加出席人数，支持强大的专家演讲者计划，并提供基于网络的资源，使这次会议的影响远远超出实际能够参加的人数。

A grant has been awarded to the American Museum of Natural History, under the direction of Dr. Norris, to provide support for a special technical session and accompanying workshop on emergency preparedness, response, and salvage in natural history collections. The overall objective is to help museum personnel, specifically collections staff, develop strategies for dealing with disasters of any scale that may affect the scientific collections in their charge. The technical session and workshop are being held as part of the 19th annual meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), which is being hosted by the AMNH in May 2004. The day-long 'Special Technical Session', featuring invited speakers, focuses on preparedness and response in the context of institution, city and nation-wide events. Following presentations on experiences of New York and Washington cultural institutions and response personnel to the events of September 11, 2001, the morning session will concentrate on case studies from other national and international institutions that have faced natural and man-made disasters. The afternoon session will cover the best practices necessary when developing an emergency plan. The accompanying one-day workshop will deal with the practical issues encountered in responding to the first 48 hours after a disaster; the most critical time period for salvage efforts. Participants will be provided with materials that can be used to develop Emergency Preparedness, Response and Salvage Plans at their home institutions. As with the technical session, the workshop will be tailored to address the specific needs of natural history collections. The broader impact of the meeting will be an improvement in the ability of staff in U.S. and other natural history museums to respond to emergencies affecting their collections. Recent events such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the widespread power failures of 14-15 August 2003 have highlighted the crucial importance of emergency planning in protecting cultural heritage in museum collections. Natural history collections constitute the basis of knowledge for a wide range of studies fundamental to the life sciences, including systematics, taxonomy, ecology, biogeography, and paleontology. The 19th meeting of SPNHC provides the best opportunity to inform, educate, and update those responsible for the care of these collections, both in the U.S.A and internationally. The funds provided by NSF will help to increase attendance by lowering registration costs, support a strong program of expert speakers, and provide web-based resources that will enable the impact of this meeting to extend far beyond the number of people who are actually able to attend.