JANUARY 1998 NEWSLETTER

Editor: James F. Hurlbut
Note my new email number: jfhu@csn.net

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

You will all be pleased to know that we are now both legal and solvent. Thanks to a great deal of work by our treasurer, Anna Domitrovic, the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals is now legitimate in the eyes of the Arizona State Corporation Commission. The checking account is capable of receiving checks made out to SMMP, as well as in the old name.

Anyone who has an old check outstanding (uncashed) should contact Anna to find out what happened to it. As of right now, all checks should have been deposited.

Our bank account is healthy, with about $8,000. Anna will present a treasurer's report at the annual meeting, and give us the gory details about her battle with bankers and commissioners.

There are a number of ways that SMMP members can become involved in our activities at the 1998 Tucson show, computer symposium, exhibit case & public lecture & demonstration. This year, we are going to try something new: a case in the Tucson show. This display will have a theme, and will include specimens from SMMP member institutions. The Sunday afternoon symposium will be on the same topic, so the two things go together. Details appear elsewhere in this newsletter.

If this combination of exhibit and symposium works well this year, we may make it an annual event. I hope all SMMP members will consider participating in or helping with the display and the Sunday event.

Elections are coming up again, and three members of the board will end their tenure at the annual meeting. These are Tony Kampf, Jim Hurlbut, and Dmitri Belakovski. If you are interested in nominating someone for one of the three vacant board positions, you can send a note to SMMP secretary George Harlow prior to the Tucson meeting, or you can come to the meeting and do it in person. You can also nominate yourself, if you would like to be on the Board, or ask someone else to submit your name.

The SMMP web site continues to grow under the expert supervision of Tony Kampf. If you have access to the web, please check it out before the Tucson meeting. Suggestions about content and format will be welcome.

I hope to see many of you at the meeting in Tucson. Happy New Year!

Jean DeMouthe, President

TUCSON ANNUAL MEETING
Friday, 13 February 1998

The Society of Mineral Museum Professionals will meet on Friday, 13 February 1998, in the Turquoise Ballroom at the Tucson Convention Center.

This is a change in location (again). Since the hotel where last year's meeting was held is filling up with mineral dealers, another location for the meeting was sought. Hopefully, the Convention Center will become the permanent site of this meeting.

Board meeting: from 12:00 to 1:00 pm
General annual meeting: from 1:00 to 2:00 pm
Symposium: Computerization of mineral collections: from 2:00 to 3:00 pm

So far, the agenda includes:

• financial report (treasurer)
• reports from committees:
  • computers: web page, symposium
  • stolen specimens: Kristalle theft
  • education: public symposium on Sunday 15 Feb
  • collections: orphan collections and/or curators
• SMMP outreach program
• collection standards document
• SMMP membership directory
• election of board members
• Announcements

If you have any items to add to this agenda, please send them to Jean DeMouthe or George Harlow before the meeting.

TUCSON MEMBERS' SYMPOSIUM
Friday, 13 February 1998 following the annual members' meeting
Subject: Computerization of Collections

SMMP Vice-president Jeff Post is organizing what should be a diverse and interesting symposium. Computerization is a task that most curators and collection managers have had to face. Improvements in technology, both in mineralogy and computer sciences, make learning about computers and collections an ongoing process.

This symposium will last between 1 and 1 hours. It will consist of short lectures and/or demonstrations by SMMP members. Subject covered may include hardware, software, and database management.

If you are interested in participating in this symposium, please contact Jeff Post as soon as possible (see Board list for his address & phone).

TUCSON EXHIBIT: main show, Tucson Convention Center, 12 - 15 February

The SMMP put in a case at the 1997 Denver show, entitled "As Good as Gold? Genuine Fakes, Manufactured and Assembled Specimens from Some of the Finest Collections." This display was very well received by everyone, so it was decided to try It again.

The Tucson Gem & Mineral Society is going to provide us with a standard, 4-foot display case, complete with light-colored liners and risers. All we have to do is fill it.

The subject of the exhibit will be "Imitation, treated & repaired specimens", the same subject to be addressed at Sunday's public discussion. It is hoped that this case will prove to be an extension of the subject addressed in our case in Denver. All species are eligible.

Do you have any wonderful fakes in your collection? Treated specimens? Anything that would fall into one of these categories? If so, and if you would be willing to lend your specimen(s) to SMMP for this case, please contact Ginny Mast as soon as possible

Specimens must be in Tucson in time for installation on Wedensday, I I Feb, 4 pm. Ginny must have label information (species, locality, institution, donor... and why they are in this exhibit) at least a week before the show.

We are professionals, and are supposed to know what we are doing, so this case has to look good. This means consistent information on and appearance of labels. Specimens should be clean and in a reasonable state of repair.

If you have any questions, contact Ginny Mast or Jean DeMouthe.

TUCSON WORKSHOP: Sunday, 15 February, 1998

The Society of Mineral Museum Professionals will host an educational workshop for the public on Sunday, 15 February, in the "demonstration area" on the main floor of the main show at the Tucson Convention Center. It is scheduled to go from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.

This year's workshop will consist of a mixture of short slide presentations and demonstrations by SMMP members. The subject is "Imitation treated & repaired specimens". The SMMP will also have a 4-foot display case in the main Tucson show on the same subject.

This topic includes a broad range of possible subjects. So if you have some specimens that would be good for demonstration, or if you would like to participate as a speaker, please contact Ginny Mast (see the Board of Directors list in this newsletter for phone & address).

All SMMP members are encouraged to come and join in the discussions. These workshops give the SMMP a valuable link with the public, and it is important that as many members as possible attend and participate.

STOLEN SPECIMENS: gold!!

The firm of Kristalle (Wayne & Donna Leicht) suffered a burglary to their home in Laguna Beach just before Christmas. A number of valuable specimens and items of gold jewelry were taken.

Photographs and descriptions of the major pieces, along with instructions for reported information, can be found on their web page at <http://www.kristalle.com>. Or call Kristalle at 714-494-7695.

SMMP WEB SITE

The SMMP home page on the World Wide Web is at <http://nhm.org/~smmp>. Please take a look at it before the annual meeting, if you can, so that we can discuss its contents and its future.

There is a link that allows a browser to highlight a curator's name and be sent directly to that person's e-mail. And the museum web sites section has links to each of the listed sites.

Tony Kampf continues to do a great job in maintaining and improving this site through the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Visit the SMMP web page today! And come to Tucson with suggestions for its expansion and improvement.

Society of Mineral Museum Professionals
CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS
February 1997 - February 1998

The following table gives the names and addresses of the nine people currently serving at the SMMP Board of Directors. Officers and Board members are elected annually during the Tucson Show in February.