... what do I do with my geological collection?
Research projects for PhD, Masters and sometimes undergraduate students, often involve the collection of fossils, rocks and minerals. These may be accompanied by maps and field notebooks, thin sections, acetate peels, SEM stubs, cavity slide preparations and analytical powders, in addition to digital data. However, university departments often do not have the storage capacity or resources to look after geological collections and they sometimes get neglected or discarded after the project has ended or the student has left.
Unfortunately, as many researchers and curators know from bitter experience, this has often resulted in the loss of specimens which should have been preserved for the public good, by depositing them in an accredited museum or other institution with the appropriate facilities. This can easily be avoided with early planning and having the long-term value of the collection in mind.
This booklet is intended to help students, their supervisors, and indeed anyone who collects geological material, to manage their collections and associated data to ensure the best possible outcome for these valuable resources. In fact, if your research is publicly funded, it may be a requirement of your funding that data with long-term value, which includes physical collections and samples, are preserved and made openly available in a timely and responsible way.