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

爱达荷州自然历史博物馆在M。汤普森，以改善博物馆的古脊椎动物（VP）收藏的可访问性和存储。在科学术语中，该集合在新第三纪（2380万至181万年前）的动物中特别强大，并且在Hemphillian，Blancan和晚期Rancholabrean阶段（即，约11,000至900万年前）。这些收藏品是从爱达荷州和邻近的州收集来的。在过去十年中，藏品的增长导致了过度拥挤的储存条件，这反过来又会导致标本的最终变质和丢失。该项目的目标和范围是通过改善存储以容纳多达100，000个标本和批次来经济有效地纠正这些缺陷，促进项目的编目和提高学术访问。为了实现这一目标，IMNH有两个基本选择：扩大其可用空间，或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，并附带全金属柜和抽屉，用于存储标本。随着物品转移到新的储存设施，所有物品都将更新到自然历史收藏品保护协会使用档案质量材料确定的现行收藏标准。该目录将更新，并在IMNH数据库中进行完整输入，以便于查找项目并促进研究/学术活动的收集。此外，IMNH将在项目期间创建一个公共展览，旨在教育博物馆参观者有关策展过程以及VP收藏本身。项目的这些特点将大大增加各级正规科学研究和非正规教育对馆藏的利用，对公众和科学界都具有重要意义。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的照顾。VP系列本身具有很高的兴趣，因为它涵盖了人类到达美洲的时间，并可能揭示当前人类对环境影响的公共辩论。从科学的角度来看，所有物品都是不可替代的，并且可能拥有许多理解过去的关键。该项目不仅将保存这些物品，而且通过加强储存和编目，使学者有更多机会接触这些物品。对由相当大的VP集合所代表的动物和生态的学术研究可能会对戏剧性的环境变化产生重要的见解（例如，冰川和退缩），并可能持有关于全球变暖的重要教训。

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.