Transfer of the United States National Parasite Collection [Announcement]

Authors

Eric P. Hoberg, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research ServiceFollow
Anna J. Phillips, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural HistoryFollow

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

Systematic Parasitology (2014) 89: 1-2.

Comments

U.S. government work.

Abstract

In 2013, an agreement was articulated between the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Smithsonian Institution to transfer the United States National Parasite Collection in its entirety (fluid specimens, slide specimens, frozen tissues and reprints) to the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C. Current collections staff, including senior curator Dr. Eric P. Hoberg and support scientists/managers from the ARS will be transferred with the collection and with adjunct appointments in the NMNH will provide continuity and assistance for curation and accessibility during and after the relocation. New curatorial controls will be established under NMNH guidance by Dr. Anna J. Phillips and collections management policy of the NMNH as implemented by the Department of Invertebrate Zoology.

Operational responsibility for curation and management of the USNPC, including new accessions, cataloging, loan processing, information requests and visitor support will be shifted from the ARS to the NMNH on June 2, 2014. Smithsonian protocols will be adopted, and stakeholders and users of the collection are asked to refer directly to the NMNH.