Preservation of Natural History Collections:
Rocks and Minerals

Note: At the encouragement of SMMP, the foregoing was submitted by George E. Harlow and Jeffrey E. Post to the Mineralogical Society of America. The proposed position statement is still under consideration by the Executive Committee of MSA.

Preservation of Natural History Collections: Minerals and Rocks

Issue:

In the past year there have been regrettable losses of important mineral collections from a university and a natural history museum, plus threats to others. The most egregious was the sale of a major portion of the mineral collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (see Attachment A). The Academy is one of the oldest institutions in the country with objects dating back to the colonial era. Unfortunately, the institution has been under financial strain and decided to focus on biology and ecology, abjuring earth sciences (also, not an unusual decision). After little communication with sister institutions about its collection and obtaining permission from the courts to deaccession a portion of the collection, the ANS sold the collection to a trio of mineral dealers. Another case was pointed out by Peter Heaney in the removal, without proper oversight, of a collection protected by Pennsylvania State University to its original owner, a school, after which it was auctioned off (see Attachment B). Then there is the recent plea from the Berlin Technical University that its classic mineral collection was threatened by demands for the space it occupied (see Appendix A). This sort of threat has been all too frequent in universities, without a proper policy to deal with the irreplaceable specimens collected by its staff and faculty. As a preeminent society of professionals who collect and study geological specimens to interpret the planet and its processes, it is vital for the geological community to recognize the importance of preserving these collections. The vicissitudes of scientific and societal interest must not be allowed to cause the loss of irreplaceable natural samples.

Proposed Position Statement:

Mineral and rock collections are a natural adjunct to mineralogical and petrological research. Their preservation is required as the foundation of the scientific information derived from them as well as the record of deposits and outcrops from which they were derived. Many classic or type localities for minerals and rocks have been lost due to extraction or destruction from mining, construction or landfill, so that collections comprise the only extant samples. Because institutions, such as colleges, universities, and museums, invariably sponsored the creation of geological collections created by their staff or donated by the public, it is incumbent upon them to maintain them and have policies for ensuring their preservation in the event such collections are no longer considered relevant to the institution�s mission. Preservation must meet the criteria of both sustaining the integrity of the samples as well as their accessibility for scientific research and education. If deaccession (sale or gift) becomes necessary, the entire process should be widely publicized from the start and divorced from financial considerations, as much as legally possible. Transparency and counsel by many is the best guarantee that the goals of preservation and accessibility to scientists and the public of the collections will continue to be met.

Appendix A:

Reply-To: "Dr. Susanne Herting-Agthe" <Susanne.Herting-Agthe@TU-BERLIN.DE>
Sender: Society of Mineral Museum Professionals <SMMP@LISTSERV.NHM.ORG>
From: "Dr. Susanne Herting-Agthe" <Susanne.Herting-Agthe@TU-BERLIN.DE>
Subject: urgent request for help for miner. collection of TU Berlin/Germany: please write letter of protest
To: SMMP@LISTSERV.NHM.ORG
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 06 Feb 2007 09:46:51.0739 (UTC)

Dear collegues, 

The Mineralogical Collections of the Technische Universit�t Berlin are in a serious and grave danger: the university wants to give up all geoscientific collections.

It would help us a lot, if you could send as many letters of protest as possible to the president of our university, to achieve an adequate housing and care for the future of the collections: 

To the president of the TU Berlin
Prof. Dr. Kurt Kutzler
Stra�e des 17.Juni 135
10623 Berlin 

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Attachment A: "Editorial: the Philadelphia sale" (Mineralogical Record 37, 498-499.)