Collection Profiles (fwd)

[Doug Yanega]

I've asked Ron, and he thought it'd be good to forward this to Taxacom for
additional input. If you wish to send a general response to all readers,
adding a CC: to ent-list at insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu  would be helpful,
otherwise messages should go to Ron directly.

>From: Ron McGinley <MNHEN011 at SIVM.SI.EDU>
>Date:         Thu, 15 Feb 96  12:25:28 EST
>
>Dear ENT-LIST readers: Some of you may know about the collections
>standards and profiling system we have developed here at the
>Smithsonian Dept. of Entomology. A preliminary draft of this was
>distributed in an issue of Insect Collection News (ICN) and I
>delivered a formal paper on this at the International Congress in
>Madrid, 1992 (published in associated proceedings; I'm working at
>home now and don't have citations at hand). Since that time a number
>of musuems around the world have been developing various profiling
>systems and I have been asked to deliver a follow up paper, summarizing
>what's going on with all this, at the second Congress in UK next
>summer.
>  A number of institutions have adopted our system directly and even
>more interestingly a number of others have radically modified it to
>suit their particular needs.
>  EXAMPLES: 1) I was asked to participate in a workshop at the Canadian
>Museum of Nature - Rob Waller and company, want to develop a profiling
>system that could apply to all of their scientific departments, including
>their library. They are pursuing a matrix approach to collection
>profiling (as opposed to our linear system).  2) I recently received
>a reprint from the botanists at the Natural History Museum (London)
>that reviews the matrix system they have developed (I also received
>a manuscript from BM Paleo wherein they explore a linear system).
>3) Steven Williams at Texas Tech is developing a linear system for their
>vertebrate collections.
>  QUESTION: ARE ANY OF YOU AWARE OF COLLECTION PROFILING EFFORTS THAT
>I COULD INCLUDE IN MY REVIEW PAPER?
>  Please contact me via ENT-LIST or directly at mnhen011 at sivm.si.edu.
>My primary interest is making contact with those of you who may be
>directly involved with collection profiling or know of others who
>are.
>  I'm looking forward to any feedback or questions received. Many
>thanks.--Ron McGinley
>P.S.: Information about the NMNH Entomology profiling system is
>available via the NMNH Gopher - this also includes real data for ALL
>families in the NMNH collection mfor more information contact me or
>Jerry Louton, mnhen001 at sivm.si.edu - note that I'm "011" and Jerry is
>"001" - a common mistakey
>

Doug Yanega       Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA      phone (217) 244-6817, fax (217) 333-4949
 affiliate, Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dept. of Entomology
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82