Supporting Scientific Collections

Scientific collections are the vast array of specimens, samples, and data that are contained in our nation's museums, research institutions, zoos, aquaria, and botanic gardens. They are an important part of our nation's scientific enterprise, supporting research and discovery that informs our understanding of human health, agriculture, and the environment. It is essential that the nation make a sustained commitment to preserve and protect these valuable scientific resources.

AIBS has joined with the Natural Science Collections Alliance - an AIBS member society - to promote the value of natural history collections. In recent years, their activities have included meeting with Dr. John Holdren, science advisor to President Obama and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, about the federal government's role in preservation and use of scientific collections. The organizations also pushed for a Presidential Executive Order that would establish a federal framework to promote the preservation and use of scientific collections. This effort was endorsed by a number of scientific organizations.

With support from the U.S. National Science Foundation, in September 2012 AIBS convened a workshop to develop an implementation plan for the Strategic Plan for a Network Integrated Biocollections Alliance. The outcome of the workshop will be a detailed report that will be published in November.

Resources on Collections

Fact sheets developed by AIBS about the value of scientific collections.

Funding	Research	Education	Biodiversity

Recent AIBS Position Statements on Scientific Collections

• Joint Society Letter to NSF about Scientific Collections
• AIBS, ESA Write to Senators about Importance of Collections in Preserving Plant Genetic Resources
• AIBS, ESA Statement on Importance of Living and Non-living Natural Science Collections
• AIBS Comments on Final Draft Strategic Plan for Establishing a National Digital Biological Collections Resource