[Taxacom] Herbarium vouchering policies

[Thiele, Kevin]

The Western Australian Herbarium (PERTH) is developing a set of policies
to guide vouchering services. The issue arises because incorporating
voucher specimens (e.g. for consultants and researchers) costs the
herbarium a significant amount in dollar terms, for processing,
mounting, databasing etc (estimated at AUD$52/specimen). The herbarium
provides this as a service to the community. Some vouchered specimens
contribute significant new knowledge (particularly in a biodiversity
hotspot like the south west of WA), while others add little (e.g.
specimens of well-represented, common species collected from known
localities or close to known localities). 

 

We need to determine whether to charge for the vouchering service, under
what circumstances it is reasonable to charge and when to waive a
charge, and whether we can or should attempt to filter out specimens
that add little new knowledge before they enter the herbarium processing
stream.

 

It would be useful to us to know if other herbaria have formal
vouchering policies, and the issues that have been considered in
developing such policies.

 

Cheers - Kevin Thiele

Curator, Western Australian Herbarium (PERTH)



This email, together with any attachments, is intended for the
addressee only. It may contain confidential or privileged information.
If you are not the intended recipient of this email, please notify
the sender, delete the email and attachments from your system and
destroy any copies you may have taken of the email and its attachments.
Duplication or further distribution by hardcopy, by electronic means
or verbally is not permitted without permission.