Resources

• The American Association of Museum's Code of Professional Ethics covers collecting in museums. 
• The Paleontological Society has their code for fossil collecting available online. 
• Paleontological Resources Preservation Act – Information on the act is available from the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology, GovTrack.us. 
• Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences (AAPS)
• Society of Vertebrate Paleontology – The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology also has a policy statement on its website on the “Assessment and Mitigation of Adverse Impacts to Nonrenewable Paleontological Resources: Standard Guidelines” with extensive information on collecting guidelines for professionals. Also see the society’s documents: “Guidelines from the Ethics and Education Committee for Collecting, Documenting and Curating Fossils; Membership Ethics Statement; Policy Statement on Collecting. 
• The Museum of Natural History in London has made its collection policies and procedures available online. 
• National Museums Scotland has made its collection policies and procedures available.
• National Park Service's Research Permit and Reporting System.
• American Geological Institute (AGI) on permit related legislation. 
• Department of Interior has an assessment of Fossil Management on Federal and Indian Lands. 
• The University of California Museum of Paleontology FAQ web page gives information on collecting for amateurs including tips on equipment and supplies. 
• The Vertebrate Paleontology Department Of The Florida Museum Of Natural History website has information on permits for collecting fossil specimens in Florida as well as locations for collecting.
• Preserving Vertebrate Fossils: Notes From The Laboratory by Gregory Brown (University of Nebraska State Museum Museum Notes Number 87. February 1994)  is a good exploration of some basic issues for amateurs such as collecting, documentation, geology, and preparation with some answers to common questions. 
• The Arkansas Geological Survey website provides information on local fossil collecting. 
• Dinosaur National Park
• John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
• Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

• Burns, Jasper. 1991. Fossil collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States: with localities, collecting tips, and illustrations of more than 450 fossil specimens. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Eldredge, Niles, Gregory Eldredge and Douglas Eldredge. 1989. The Fossil Factory: A Kid's Guide to Digging Up Dinosaurs, Exploring Evolution, and Finding Fossils.  Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc.
• Garcia, Frank A. and Donald S. Miller. 1998. Discovering fossils: how to find and identify remains of the prehistoric past. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books.
• Wolberg, Donald and Patsy Reinard. 1997. Collecting the Natural World: Legal Requirements and Personal Liability for Collecting Plants, Animals, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils, and Artifacts. Tuscon: Geoscience Press, Inc.

• Find the Right Vendor: The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections website has information on preservation quality vendors for storage. 
• View Collections Housing System: The National Park Service's Museum Handbook (NPS)reviews the components of a collections housing system: the facility or space, the equipment, and the containers for individual objects. It contains information on assessing storage needs and planning the space, whether upgrading an existing space or developing a new facility and includes illustrations of various housing techniques.
• Aspects of Collections Housing: The NPS also offers a series of short, focused leaflets known as Conserve-O-Grams. Several discuss aspects of collections housing including cabinets, storage materials, dust covers for open steel shelving, safe materials, and determining storage space and equipment needs.
• Selecting Collections Furniture: The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) has a technical leaflet with information useful when selecting collections furniture.
• Safe Storage Shelving Material: Museums Galleries Scotlandprovides guidelines for selecting safe materials to use in storage shelving, cabinetry and mounts.
• Vendor Links: The American Association of Museums maintains a searchable museum marketplace website with links to hundreds of vendors.

• Museum SOS – a website for disaster preparation and response
• Risk Assessment Of Collections In Exhibitions At The Canadian Museum Of Nature by Garnet Muething, Robert Waller, & Fiona Graham  JAIC 2005, Volume 44, Number 3, Article 7 (pp. 233 to 243)
• The Nonprofit Risk Management Center has an online risk management tutorial and a Resource Center, which offers fact sheets on risk management, liability, and insurance. The Resource Center also provides free technical assistance to nonprofits.

• Museum SOS a website for has extensive information on disaster response and salvage
• FEMA offers Integrating Historic Property & Cultural Resource Considerations into Hazard Mitigation Planning, a how-to guide with tools & resources to develop & implement strategies for historic properties & cultural resources.
• The Minnesota Historical Society offers help developing disaster plans for historic properties that can be adapted to other institutions. Topics include wind, flood, fire, and snow & ice.
• The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners share dPlan, a free online program to help institutions write comprehensive disaster plans. Templates for museums of all sizes to develop a customized plan with checklists; salvage priorities; preventive maintenance schedules; contact information for personnel, insurance, and IT help; and a list of emergency supplies and services are included. 
• NEDCC also offers the following technical leaflets to assist in developing a disaster plan.
  • Disaster Planning is an overview of issues to consider when developing a plan: decreasing risks, identifying resources, and setting priorities. It includes a bibliography and a list of basic supplies and equipment to have on hand.
  • Emergency Management Bibliography is an annotated bibliography of publications on planning, preparedness, and recovery.
  • Worksheet for Outlining a Disaster Plan is for identifying equipment and services needed for disaster preparedness and recovery, setting salvage priorities, and scheduling drills.
  • Introduction to fire detection, alarm, and automatic fire sprinklers 
  • Protection from Loss: Water and Fire Damage, Biological Agents, Theft, and Vandalism 
• The National Archives & Records Administration’ fire safety self-inspection form can be used by museums to identify areas of fire risk.
• The Nonprofit Risk Management Center’s website has a page with information useful (including checklists and a sample plan) in developing an emergency evacuation strategy.
• The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) provides 2 useful fact sheets. One on fire prevention plans, and the second on  emergency exit routes. 
• The Conservation Online website (CoOL) has an article Protecting Your Institution From Wild Fires: Planning Not to Burn and Learning to Recover that offers tips on preventive measures and recovery.

• For more on cataloging download the following procedures from the American Museum of Natural History’s Department of Paleontology:

• Chapter 3: Cataloging of the National Park Service’s Museum Handbook, Part II: Museum Records is available online. 

• Learn more about the collections at the University of California Museum of Paleontology
• You can access examples of the following forms from the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University:

• Buck, Rebecca A. and Jean Allman Gilmore, eds. 1998. The New Museum Registration Methods. Washington DC: American Association of Museums.
• The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) also has an excellent website with extensive information on the steps necessary in planning and implementing a collections database.

• The Museum, Library, and Cultural Properties Council of ASIS International and the Museum Association Security Committee of AAM share Suggested Practices for Museum Security. The document addresses fire protection, burglar alarms, key control, access control, security staffing & training, security officer qualifications, and pre-employment screening for museum employees.
• The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (UK) offers Security in Museums, Archives and Libraries: A Practical Guide with extensive useful information.
• The Northeast Document Conservation Center’s Technical Preservation Leaflet 3.11 is on  Collections Security: Planning and Prevention for Libraries & Archives.

For information on loan policies and procedures download the National Park Service’s (NPS) Museum Handbook which has a chapter on handling, packing, and shipping of specimens.

For more information on proper handling you can download the American Museum of Natural History Department of Paleontology’s General Handling Procedures and their specialized Type Specimen Handling Guidelines.

For guidelines on handling different types of collections visit the Ontario Ministry of Culture website.

You can download or follow links to the following loan policies and procedures below

• Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Policies
  • Procedures and Guidelines for Sampling
  • Sampling Request
  • Sampling Agreement
• American Museum of Natural History
  • Destructive Sampling & Specimen Preparation Guidelines
• Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University

• Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s (SVP) Preparators Materials & Methods
• Preplist - This is a list devoted to the exchange of information, questions, opinions, etc. about preparation of vertebrate fossils
• A technical publication on Adhesives and Consolidants in Geological and Paleontological Conservation: A Wall Chart is available as a two part pdf download on the SPNHC website. 

• The website of the Vertebrate Paleontology Preparation Laboratory at the Yale Peabody Museum gives information on the preparation of some important collections in their collection. 
• National Park Service Conserve-O-Gram series has an article on Vertebrate Skeletons: Preparation and Storage. 
• Information on fossil preparation techniques from The Vertebrate Paleontology Department Of The Florida Museum Of Natural History
• For a good site for school children to learn about fossil preparation go with Flat Stanley on a visit to the University of California Museum of Paleontology and their Paleo Lab.

References

Howie, Francis M.P. 1984.  “Materials used for conserving fossil specimens since 1930: a review”,  Adhesives and consolidants: preprints of the contributions to the Paris Congress, 2-8 September 1984.  pp 92-97.

Footnotes

* Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, et al. Conservation of Fossil, Mineral, and Rock Collections.  The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Professional Development Workshop 2005 October 17-18 Mesa, Arizona.  Prepared and presented by Robert Waller, Gerald Fitzgerald, Chris Collins. p. 5.

** Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, et al. Conservation of Fossil, Mineral, and Rock Collections.  The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Professional Development Workshop 2005 October 17-18 Mesa, Arizona.  Prepared and presented by Robert Waller, Gerald Fitzgerald, Chris Collins. pp. 5-6

• The National Park Service’s (NPS) Handbook Chapter 7: Using Museum Collections in Exhibits has a wealth of useful information. 

• Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
• American Institute for Conservation 
• Conservation Online
• Conserve-O-Gram
• Canadian Conservation Institute Notes 
• The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
• The Natural History Collections Listserv (NHCOLL-L) – A general purpose electronic forum for those with an interest in the care, management, computerization, conservation and use of natural history collections.
• Natural Science Collections Alliance
• Taxonomic Databases Working Group
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility
• USDA Forest Service Minerals and Geology Management
• U.S. Geological Survey
• National Park Service Museum Handbook
• National Park Service Paleontology Program 
• Museum SOS
• Museum Pests
• The Vertebrate Paleontology Department Of The Florida Museum Of Natural History maintains a website with a focus on Florida but also broad enough to touch on every aspect of paleontology, from field collection techniques, to preparation and mounting of the fossils, to casting and moldmaking. There are also references to books and professional papers dealing with paleontology, as well as addresses of vendors who sell supplies, equipment, and chemicals used in collecting and preparing fossils. The site also contains information on local fossil clubs and acquiring a fossil collecting permit to collect on state lands and rivers in Florida.
• The Vertebrate Paleontology Department Of The Florida Museum Of Natural History website has information on permits for collecting fossil specimens in Florida as well as locations for collecting. 
• Information on fossil preparation techniques from The Vertebrate Paleontology Department Of The Florida Museum Of Natural History
• The website of the Vertebrate Paleontology Preparation Laboratory at the Yale Peabody Museum gives information on the preparation of some important collections in their collection. 
• The University of California Museum of Paleontology FAQs page has some basic information on how to legally, appropriately and safely collect fossils fossil including tips on equipment and supplies
• The Paleontological Society is a North American society of paleontologists that publishes the journals Paleobiology and Journal of Paleontology. Although geared towards professionals, The Paleontological Society also includes amateur members.
• The Paleontological Association is Britain’s paleontological society and publishes the journal Palaeontology and the Palaeontology Newsletter.
• The Geological Society of America includes many paleontologists and publications include the journal Geology.
• For a good site for school children to learn about fossil preparation go with Flat Stanley on a visit to the University of California Museum of Paleontology and their Paleo Lab.
• An in depth glossary of useful terms is available on the The University of California Museum of Paleontology website
• “Preserving Vertebrate Fossils: Notes From The Laboratory” by Gregory Brown.
• University of Nebraska State Museum Museum Notes Number 87. February 1994 is a good exploration of some basic issues for amateurs such as collecting, documentation, geology, and preparation with some answers to common questions. 

• Alberta Museums Association. 1990. Standard Practices Handbook for Museums.  Alberta Museums Association, Edmonton.
• Buck, Rebecca A. and Jean Allman Gilmore, eds. 1998. The New Museum Registration Methods. Washington DC: American Association of Museums.
• Cato, Paisley, S., Julia Golden, Suzanne B. McLaren. 2003. Museum Wise: Workplace Words Defined. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. Washington DC.
• Collins, Chris. 1995. Care and Conservation of Paleontological Material. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
• Duckworth, W.D., H.H. Genoways, and C.L. Rose. 1993. Preserving Natural Science Collections: Chronicle of our Environmental Heritage. National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property. Washington, DC.
• Levin, H.L. 1988. The Earth Through Time, 3rd edition. Saunders College Publishing, New York.
• Porter, D.R. 1985. Current thoughts on collections policy, Technical Report 1. American Association for State and Local History, Nashville, TN.
• Rose, C.L., and A.R. de Torres (editors). 1992. Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions.  Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Rose, C.L., C.A. Hawks, and H.H. Genoways (editors). 1995. Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive Conservation Approach. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, Iowa City, IA.
• Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections.  1994. Guidelines for the care of natural history collections.  Collection Forum, 10:32-40.
• SVP Bibliography pp. 22-24

A compilation of terms mentioned throughout the Collections Management pages.