Scientific Collections: Mission-Critical Infrastructure for Federal Science Agencies. A Report of the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections (IWGSC)

摘要

Beginning in 2005, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) called on Federal agencies to focus attention on integrated support and planning for their care and use of Federally held scientific collections. Based in part on these recommendations, an Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections (IWGSC) was created, co-chaired by representatives of the Smithsonian Institution (SI) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to examine the current state of Federal scientific collections and to make recommendations for their management and use. This report is a first step in ensuring that this vital research infrastructure is preserved and strengthened for the benefit of both our country and the global scientific research enterprise. This report describes the nature and state of these collections and the issues they face as part of the nations research infrastructure. It also makes recommendations about improving the care and management of these assets. Object-based scientific collections (hereafter referred to as scientific collections) are valuable components of the Federal governments and the Nations research infrastructure, alongside buildings, scientific instruments, and human resources. Scientific collections, as discussed in this report, consist of physical objects that are preserved, cataloged, and managed by Federal agencies and other organizations for research and other purposes. Scientific collections do not include art or historical objects, collectibles, or the books and documents that are stored in libraries and archives. The specimens in scientific collections were acquired as objects for scientific study, not for their aesthetic or market value as collectibles.