ESA's SysEB Section and the Entomological Collections Network (ECN) are pleased to announce details on the 5th offering of the Entomological Collections Management Workshop. This hybrid model will be held both in-person at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Cleveland, Ohio and virtually from July 16-20, 2023. The workshop will be led by co-instructors Dr. Floyd W. Shockley (Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History), Dr. David G. Furth (Furth Museum Consulting) and Dr. Jennifer Zaspel (Milwaukee Public Museum), with guest lectures from local host Dr. Nicole Gunter, and from numerous remote collaborators. The registration period for this workshop has expired.
Workshop details:
Registration fee: in-person USD $125 / virtual USD $75
Maximum Participants: in-person 25 / virtual 25
Registration deadline: March 31, 2023. Payment must be received by this date. (Anyone who registers for in-person attendance, but is not selected to receive a travel scholarship and can’t attend will have the option to attend virtually and receive a partial or full refund accordingly).
Workshop Sponsors: Entomological Collections Network (ECN) and Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity Section (SysEB) of the Entomological Society of America (ESA).
The two-stop application process:
1. Apply to Attend
Historically, registration was first come first served, however due to high demand, applications are now evaluated for both in-person and virtual attendance, based on a short (1-page maximum) summary on why you want to attend this workshop. This essay is a requirement for all applicants, whether you are requesting funding or not and regardless if you are attending in-person or virtually. Failure to upload an essay will disqualify you for selection to attend. Evaluation of essays will be based on a rubric that focuses on the following criteria [45 points total]:
- How does this workshop fill a critical need for you? [10 points]
- How will you apply the knowledge gained in this workshop? [10 points]
- How will this advance the management of the collection that you care for? [10 points]
- How will your participation in this workshop advance your career [10 points]
- Overall reviewer assessment of the essay. [5 points]
2. Register
Registration is open to everyone, however NSF funded scholarships are restricted to those residing in the US. To reduce travel costs international applicants are encouraged to apply for virtual attendance. There is one future offering in this series which will be hosted by Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut in summer 2024.
We are pleased to once again offer up to twenty USD $1,000 travel scholarships to in-person participants. If interested in applying for a travel scholarship, complete the justification statement during registration. If you have partial to full institutional support, we encourage using it to cover your registration and travel so we can fill the need of as many participants as possible. Like last year, we are capping the attendance at 25 in-person participants and 25 virtual participants to maximize interaction between participants and with instructors.
Registration deadline: March 31, 2023. Payment must be received by this date. (Anyone who registers for in-person attendance, but is not selected to receive a travel scholarship and can’t attend will have the option to attend virtually and receive a partial or full refund accordingly).
Registration comments and issues can be sent to accounts@entsoc.org.
Questions and comments about the workshop can be directed to the workshop team at workshop@ecnweb.org.
General Topics to be covered:
• Collection digitization techniques, management and workflows
• Collections management policies, procedures, plans, mission statements
• Collection Profiling/Assessment
• Kinds of collections (para-collections, teaching/exhibits, etc.)
• Collection profiling (assessment)
• Specimen packing & shipping
• Specimen preparation & labeling
• Storage: compactors, cabinets, drawers, trays (pinned, ethanol, slides)
• Collection curation: arrangement, standardization, loans
• Collection conservation (e.g., environmental monitoring, T & RH, materials interactions, etc.)
• IPM (fumigants, freezing, etc.)
• Permitting (endangered/threatened species, IUCN, etc. lists)
• Moving collections
• Orphaned collection & deactivation
• Collections management literature
• Useful websites & vendors
• Archives & libraries
• Value of collections
• Deeds of gift
• Outreach (tours, public education, etc.)
• Personnel: volunteers, work study, interns, research associates/collaborators, contractors, supervision, etc.
• Security issues (access, theft)
• Building issues & planning (physical plant, architects, floor loading, etc.)
Individuals who complete the training program will receive a Certificate of Completion acknowledging their expertise in Entomological Collections Management and Best Practices, an electronic copy of all lectures, and PDF's of relevant literature. ECN will also be creating and maintaining a registry of individuals who have completed the course as a permanent form of documentation. We will be asking participants to complete evaluation forms on the course and its contents on the final day so that we can further refine it for future offerings.