$ value of herbarium specimens

[Alex Chapman]

Dear John,

Dr Jim Armstrong prepared a paper for a 1991 symposium entitled
"Australia's Biota and the National Interest - The Role of Biological
Collections",
in which he summarised average costs of collecting and processing natural
science (ie.
herbaria and museum) specimens in Australia.

In Table 3 he states that:
"The total cost of curating a specimen was determined by adding the average
costs of
collecting ($14.20), identifying ($7.20), databasing ($2.50), and preparing
($15) each
specimen (ie. a total of $38.90 per specimen) and including a 35%
administrative on-cost
(viz. $13.62 per specimen)" to reach a grand total of $52.50 per herbarium
specimen.

Of all the figures I have seen posted in this thread I suspect that this is
much nearer
the actual per specimen cost in a well-maintained herbarium collection.

This full reference for this paper is:
  James A. Armstrong (1992). The funding base for Australia's biological
collections,
  In: Australian Biologist. - Vol. 5, no. 1, p.80-87. ISSN: 10306234
  Publisher: Australian Institute of Biology, Darlinghurst, N.S.W.


Cheers,
____
Alex R. Chapman                   Email: alexc at calm.wa.gov.au
Research Scientist            Voice/Fax: +61 9 334 0506 /0515
WA Herbarium - Department of Conservation and Land Management
Locked Bag 104 Bentley Delivery Centre Western Australia 6983