Paris Museum

[Michael Schmitt]

Dear  colleagues,

a request for support reached me that is certainly of importance to many
members of this list.

                                   Greetings
                                Michael Schmitt
>
>Through a coincidence of ages, two-thirds of the research  staff (J. 
>Kovoor,
>D. Guinot, Y. Coineau, M. Naudo, J.-P. Mauries, J.  Heurtault, A.
>Munoz-Cuevas and Nguyen Ho) will have retired from the  Laboratoire de
>Zoologie (Arthropodes) by the year 2001, which places it in a  very
>precarious position. As you know, the Laboratory houses  invaluable
>reference collections of Arachnida, Crustacea, Myriapoda and  Onychophora,
>associated with an exceptional documentation.
>
>For reasons  that have nothing to do with Science or the best interests of
>the Museum, our  Laboratory has already lost 50% of its technical 
>assistants
>and is in  serious danger of losing additional research posts and
>facilities, which  would inevitably lead to further reductions in funding.
>This would mean that  we would no longer be able to carry out research,
>maintain the collections  and provide visitors with access to material and
>documentation as in the  past. The survival of the disciplines themselves 
>is
>at stake in our  country.
>
>We hope that you will share our concern about this situation and  we are
>appealing to you and other colleagues to give us your support by  writing 
>to
>the Director of the Museum, pointing out the importance of  maintaining 
>the
>laboratory, together with its collections and libraries,  which represent 
>an
>international resource.
>
>Your message can be  sent in the form of an e-mail, fax or letter to the
>Director of the Museum.  We would appreciate it if you could also send a
>copy to our laboratory. The  addresses are:
>
>Monsieur le Directeur du Museum
>57, rue Cuvier
>75005  Paris
>France
>E-mail: diremnhn at mnhn.fr
>Fax: (00 33) 1 40 79 38  55
>
>Laboratoire de Zoologie (Arthropodes)
>Museum national dÝHistoire  naturelle
>61, rue de Buffon
>F-75231 Paris Cedex 05
>France
>E-mail zoolarth at mnhn.fr
>Fax (00 33 )1 40 79 38  63
>
>This is very urgent.
>
>Please accept our thanks in advance for  your support.
>
>With our best wishes,
>The personnel of the Laboratoire  de Zoologie (Arthropodes).




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* Dr. Michael Schmitt (Zoologischer Anzeiger, Managing Editor) *
* Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig  *
* Adenauerallee 160, D-53113 Bonn, Germany                     *
* Phone/Fax +49 228-9122 286, e-mail: m.schmitt at uni-bonn.de    *
* http://www.uni-bonn.de/museumkoenig/ENGLISH/ESCHMITT.HTML    *
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