Description
The Pioneer Trails Regional Museum (PTRM) has been a long-term partner with BLM, storing and managing fossils from North Dakota from federal land. The PTRM has a current and active Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Montana State Office of the BLM for museum collection management.This project will begin with a physical inventory of the BLM specimens in the collections at the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum (PTRM) in Bowman, ND. Current records indicate more than 10,000 BLM specimens are housed. The PTRM staff will properly count, record and store the specimens according to DOI standards. The PTRM has over 20 years’ experience and has publications and curatorial skills based upon this experience.PTRM Paleontology Department volunteers will be assisting this individual with the curation and data entry. These volunteers from the community consist of both adults and supervised school students. The youth volunteers provide the direct youth engagement of this project, as they will be trained in basic museum curation techniques and conservation standards, and given real-life experience in a professional museum operation. Later, and indirect youth engagement will involve expanded access to the collection information on line, museum exhibits, and museum outreach programs that benefit from this effort.The recipient will provide the working space and hardware (ie. computer, printer and curation tools) as part of their contribution to this project’s completion. Each specimen will be verified as to its correct taxonomic affinity, location collected, date collected and stratigraphic position (if possible).Currently, the collections of the museum are recorded in an Excel spreadsheet. As part of this project we will develop a professional curatorial database, and will thoroughly consider the Interior Collections Management System (ICMS), as well as other freely available systems. Whichever system the recipient selects, data must be compatible with ICMS.Currently the collections are stored in wooden cabinets, or in professional metal cabinets but in wooden drawers. Specimens are in non-archival storage boxes with labels on acidic papers. In this project we will assist with new storage cabinets, as well as drawers for new and existing cabinets to replace as many wooden drawers as possible. Additionally, the BLM will assist with materials to store specimens in archival storage trays, jars or vials with labels on non-acidic materials.One of the goals of the project will be to make the collection data more available and useful to researchers and the public. Among the considerations for selecting a collection management software will be its ability to share appropriate data to the web. We will explore joining the effort of the Paleo Portal (an NSF-funding web-based collection sharing site) to maximize the project efficiencies, both within the scope of the project and with other efforts previously funded.b. Objectives:The 10,000+ BLM specimens of the PTRM collections will be accurately counted, properly curated and properly stored for protection and posterity. It is the intent to have all the specimens entered into a relational database (such as ICMS) and potentially a public database like Paleo Portal. A complete set of catalogue records will be provided to BLM.Objectives include: 1) Provide qualified individuals to conduct and inventorying BLM specimens in the collections; 2) Establishing a computerized database system for the curation and accession records of the museum with appropriate data backups and protection; 3) Entering curation data into the new curation system; 4) Conducting a physical assessment of all BLM specimens in the collection; 5) Providing professional oversight to staff and volunteers to ensure work is completed in a professional manner and according to the highest museum standards; 6) Conducting preparation work on those specimens that need it, including appropriate treatment of specimens with chemical hardeners as needed; 7) Obtaining curatorial-grade specimen storage containers for prepared specimens for long-term conservation storage; 8) Replace wooden shelving, cabinets, and drawers with curatorial-grade metal fixtures which protect specimens from environmental degradation and dust in compliance with DOI curatorial standards; and 9) Making records of BLM specimens available and accessible to qualified researchers and the public, while protecting sensitive information in compliance with federal law and regulations.