CSBR: Natural History: Compactorized Shelving for the Wet Collections of the Auburn University Museum of Natural History

生物研究收藏是了解地球变化的重要资源。研究人员使用标本来描述新物种，了解分类群之间的关系，探索环境，保护我们的自然资源以及培养下一代生物学家。奥本大学自然历史博物馆的藏品涵盖了植物和动物，尤其是来自墨西哥湾沿岸地区的丰富藏品，以及来自世界其他地区的重要藏品。奥本大学在2013年为他们的藏品完成了一个新的、最先进的设施。自从搬到新设施以来，藏品有了显著的增长，不仅在标本数量方面，而且在博物馆能够为州和地区的人们提供的服务方面。博物馆吸收了该地区其他大学单位的藏品和其他机构的孤儿藏品，给可用空间带来了压力。储存在酒精中的收集物（鱼类、两栖动物、爬行动物和无脊椎动物）以特别快的速度增长，由于需要适当储存易燃液体的安全措施，酒精储存面积有限。该项目将提供紧凑的架子，这将大大增加酒精收藏的空间。将无脊椎动物标本从目前不适合储存在乙醇中的区域移到压实机中，也将允许干燥标本（特别是昆虫）的生长，这也接近容量。该项目将展示管理藏品的复杂性，并作为向研究生和高年级本科生讲授博物馆策展技术的机会，并进一步吸引学生协助该项目。威尔中心的开放日活动计划为该地区服务不足的儿童提供项目。社会媒体将被用来让公众了解这个项目和这些藏品所代表的资源。这些藏品的数字化将完成，所有数据将在博物馆网站（aumnh.org）以及iDigBio （idigbio.org）等数据聚合器上提供。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

Biological Research Collections are important resources for understanding our changing planet. Researchers use specimens to describe new species, understand the relationships between taxa, explore the environment, and conserve our natural resources as well as to train the next generations of biologists. Collections in the Auburn University Museum of Natural History span plants and animals, with particularly strong holdings from the very diverse Gulf of Mexico coast region, and important collections from the rest of the world. Auburn University completed a new, state-of-the-art facility for their collections in 2013. Since moving to the new facility, the collections have seen remarkable growth, not just in terms of the number of specimens, but in the outreach that the museum is able to perform for people in the state and region. The museum absorbed collections from other university units and orphaned collections from other institutions in the area, putting strain on the space available. The collections stored in alcohol (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates) have grown at a particularly fast rate, and the alcohol storage area is limited because of needed safety measures for the proper storage of flammable liquids. This project will provide compactorized shelving that will dramatically increase the amount of space within the alcohol collections. Moving invertebrate specimens from an area not currently rated for storage in ethanol into the compactors will also allow growth of the dry collections (particularly insects), which are also approaching capacity. This project will demonstrate the complexity of managing collections and as an opportunity to teach a class in museum curation techniques to graduate students and upper level undergraduate students, and to further engage students to assist in the project. Open house events at the Wehle Center are planned to provide programs to underserved children in the area. Social media will be utilized to keep the public apprised of the project and the resources that the collections represent. Digitization of the collections will be completed, and all data will be available on the museum site (aumnh.org) as well as data aggregators such as iDigBio (idigbio.org).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.