Collections curators are encouraged to complete this important survey at http://www.museum.tulane.edu/collectionswebsurvey/.

A more thorough explanation of this effort is provided below by Dr. Hank Bart, a Co-PI on the NSF grant.

Dear Colleagues,

At long last, the CollectionsWeb Survey of U.S. Natural History Collections is ready for its official launch (see the survey links farther down in this message).

The survey is an activity of the Community Building in U.S. Natural History Collections Research Coordination Network (http://www.collectionsweb.org/). The project was funded by the National Science Foundation in 2006 to address challenges and explore opportunities in U.S. Natural History Collections (NHC). One of the first steps in any community building process is identifying who your community is. When we first proposed this project, we realized that there was no single inventory of U.S. NHC, and that a comprehensive survey of U.S. NHC had not been undertaken for several years.

Within the past two years, surveys of 291 Federal Scientific Collections (http://www.ostp.gov/galleries/NSTC%20Reports/Revision_1-22_09_CL.pdf) and 611 Federally Funded Scientific Collections (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09044/nsf09044.pdf) have been conducted (respectively) by the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections and the National Science Foundation. However, by our estimates, these surveys reached less than half of U.S. NHC. Moreover, although the results of these surveys give us valuable insight into challenges currently facing U.S. NHC, they provide only a limited basis for assessing long term trends. This is your opportunity to be counted!

Our goal in building this site is to inventory all U.S. NHC, produce a comprehensive database of U.S. NHC information, and establish a baseline for periodically assessing status and trends. The survey is based on a survey instrument produced by the Association of Systematics Collections (ASC, now the Natural Science Collections Alliance), first conducted in 1988 (baseline data). Our questions and background information are based on the 1995 report of the 1993 ASC survey, entitled Status, Resources and Needs of Systematics Collections by Diane Zorich and K. Elaine Hoagland.

We plan to make all of the data collected at this site a permanent resource for the NHC community by posting the content on the web site of Natural Science Collections Alliance or the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. As a member of the community, you will have access to the data (minus sensitive institutional data), and summaries of the survey results, for use in reports and grant proposals.

We are partnering with the Biodiversity Collections Index (BCI, http://www.biodiversitycollectionsindex.org/) to produce an index of U.S. NHC. BCI is a community-driven, open-access project initiated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). It is a global registry of Biodiversity Collections, which aims to provide Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs) to every natural history collection on earth. We are also using the data to make a digital map showing the locations of all U.S. NHC.

Here is the link to the survey: http://www.museum.tulane.edu/collectionswebsurvey/

Please bookmark this site so that you can find it later, and add it to the list of trusted sites in your web browser so none of the scripts are blocked (more below).

The survey is directed at collection curators, but some of the questions request financial data that may require administrative input. Thus, we suggest that takers download and print a hardcopy of the survey using the link on the opening page, compile all of the financial data, then return to the website to enter your information online. This can also serve as your hardcopy of the survey.

Prior to taking the survey, you will need to identify yourself and select your collection from the list that appears after choosing the state it resides within. Then, click the text that reads "Start New Survey". If your collection's name does not appear in the list, you will be instructed to click a link that will send you to the Biodiversity Collections Index's (BCI) website, so you can register it. Please register your collection even if it resides within a larger museum or institution that is already registered in BCI. Once you have registered in BCI, return to the survey and choose your newly registered collection from the dropdown list.

We have programmed features that allow you to pause the survey without completing it, skip questions, return to previous questions, change your answers, or navigate among question in the survey. In the event that you pause the survey, you will be assigned a number that you will need to rejoin the survey later (your partially completed survey data will be saved under this number). Write this number down. When you are ready to rejoin the survey, click on the text that reads "click here to resume an existing survey". This will launch a Java script that may be blocked by your web browser. If this happens, click on the information bar at the top of the page and select "Temporarily Allow Scripted Windows" or add the survey site to your trusted sites list in your web browser. Then click again on the text "click here to resume an existing survey" and enter the number to rejoin the survey.

We have tried to anticipate everything that can go wrong when taking the survey, but I'm sure other problems will be detected. So, if you have a problem, please contact Hank Bart (). Please type "CollectionsWeb Survey" in the subject line of your message.

Here is the link again: http://www.museum.tulane.edu/collectionswebsurvey/

This is an extremely important survey and it is extremely important that all U.S. NHC participate. Thus, we will leave the survey up at least until the end of this year. We will be monitoring input and sending out periodic reminders. But please complete your survey right away.

Many thanks in advance for participating.

Hank Bart,
CollectionsWeb RCN Co-PI

Henry L. Bart, Jr.
Director and Curator of Fishes
Tulane University Museum of Natural History
3705 Main Street
Belle Chasse, Louisiana 70037
Voice: 504-394-1711
Fax: 504-394-5045
Website: http://www.museum.tulane.edu/hank

This year, Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits Week is sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Natural Science Collections Alliance, Sevilleta Field Station, and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry-North America.

Individuals unable to participate in this event may instead visit the AIBS Legislative Action Center at www.capwiz.com/aibs to send a letter to members of Congress that demonstrates the value of federal investments in biological research.

The proposed changes are part of the agency's efforts to implement SB 733, also known as the Louisiana State Science Education Act, which was signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal (R) on 25 June 2008.

Please click here to read the full text of the comments.

The AIBS Media Library contains upwards of 80 plenary lectures by some of the world's most eminent biologists recorded at AIBS Annual meetings from 2000 onwards. You can view synchronized audio, video, slides, and transcripts for free. Previous years' meetings' topics have included infectious diseases; invasive species; bioethics; evolution & medicine; and biodiversity science, economics, & policy.

The most recent lectures added to the library are from the 2009 Annual Meeting, "Sustainable Agriculture: Greening the Global Food Supply," and include:

- Keynote Address: Why Redefining Science Education is the Key to Enhancing the Public Understanding of Science
Bruce Alberts, Science editor-in-chief; University of California, San Francisco

- Biodiversity-friendly Agriculture: Why Scale Matters
Louise E. Jackson, Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis (in collaboration with the National Council for Science and the Environment)

- From Transgenic Crops to Transgenic Pests: How Can AgBiotech Be Green?
Fred Gould, Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University

- Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security: The Wake-up Call for Change
Hans R. Herren, Millennium Institute

- Foodborne Diseases: The Continuing Public Health Challenge of Finding Problems and Finding Solutions
Robert Tauxe, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-borne, and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

- Cultivating Agricultural Landscapes for Ecosystem Services
Scott M. Swinton, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University

- Pollination Services, Sustainable Agriculture, and Your Lunch
Taylor H. Ricketts, Conservation Science Program, World Wildlife Fund-USA

- The African Green Revolution Moves Forward
Pedro Sanchez, Tropical Agriculture and the Rural Environment Program, Earth Institute at Columbia University

- America's Agricultural Future: Soylent Green + 25
May R. Berenbaum, 2009 AIBS President; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Plus, special sessions:

- Chris Mooney on his new book Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future

- The Science and Technology of Biofuels

- Agroecology of Biofuels

- Professional Science Masters: Connecting to the Business Side of Science

PRIMING SCIENTISTS FOR SUCCESSFUL MEDIA INTERVIEWS
New AIBS book provides tools and tips for effective science communication

WASHINGTON, DC-Evolution, climate change, stem cell research-Scientists are frequently called upon to provide expert information on hot button issues that pervade the daily news headlines, yet most find themselves woefully unprepared for the bright lights of the television studio or leading questions from a newspaper journalist. A new publication from the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media, by Holly Menninger and Robert Gropp, will prepare scientists for successful and effective media interviews.

Recognizing that many scientists are reluctant to engage in media outreach, the Primer outlines compelling reasons for scientists to interact with the media and describes key differences between journalism and science that may not be apparent to practicing scientists. Step-by-step, Menninger and Gropp walk scientists through the entire interview process-from appropriate questions to ask when a reporter calls to practical advice for looking and sounding one's best on-air or on-camera.

The information and advice in the Primer is presented in eight easy-to-read chapters that provide vital information for scientists new to media outreach, as well as a quick refresher for seasoned experts-an ideal text for a graduate course on science communication or a professional development course for students and faculty. The Primer's authors speak from their own experiences as PhD scientists in the biological sciences with years of experience in media outreach.

The concise, user-friendly volume has several unique features that set it apart from other media guides for scientists. The Primer includes first-person interviews with nearly a dozen scientists who have successfully navigated print, radio, and television interviews. The scientists-including the "Island Snake Lady," Kristin Stanford, recently featured on the Discovery Channel show, Dirty Jobs-share advice and experiences on a number of topics, including safely speaking on behalf of an organization, avoiding trouble when discussing socially or politically controversial topics, and reflections on first interviews.

The Primer also provides worksheets to assist readers with interview preparation: building a message framework with talking points and transition phrases, developing analogies, and using illustrative props or images. It includes pages for readers to organize contact information of journalists with whom they have worked directly and those who have reported on stories related to their own research to keep as potential contacts for future story pitches.

"Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media" is available now in the AIBS Webstore.

CONTACT: Robert Gropp
202-628-1500 x 250
rgr...@aibs.org

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Holly Menninger is a public policy associate at the American Institute of Biological Sciences, where she works on science policy and to improve communication among scientists, policymakers, and the general public. She has a PhD in behavior, ecology, evolution, and systematics from the University of Maryland. Before joining AIBS, Menninger frequently fielded entomological questions from journalists representing local, national, and international media outlets. She now writes regularly for the AIBS Public Policy Report, the Washington Watch column in BioScience, and on the blog of the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science.

Robert Gropp is the director of public policy at AIBS, where he has led the effort to increase AIBS media relations and activities to better articulate and communicate public policy positions to and through the media. He earned a PhD in botany from the University of Oklahoma. With over 10 years in public affairs, Gropp has worked with many media outlets ranging from trade publications to national newspapers. He also edits the Washington Watch column in BioScience as well as the AIBS Public Policy Report and Natural Science Collections Alliance Washington Report.

BOOK SUMMARY

• Title: Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media
  Authors: Holly Menninger and Robert Gropp
  Publisher: American Institute of Biological Sciences
  ISBN: 978-0-936829-03-6
  5.5x7.5 paperback, 54pp., $12.95

AIBS Media Primer Press Release (32 KB PDF)