9632403 Allmon Invertebrate paleontological collections are among the largest of US systematics collections and provide most of the empirical evidence for the history of life on earth. In order to fully utilize these collections, the invertebrate paleontological community needs to adopt a set of comprehensive guidelines for standards and prioritization in collections management, including curation, conservation, accession, deaccession, inventory and disposition of orphaned and endangered collections, risk management, collections access, the role of amateur collectors, and the relative value of different types of collections. In all these areas, the priorities of collection improvement and growth must be balanced against available resources as well as legal and ethical responsibilities. This proposal seeks funds to support an invertebrate paleontology workshop, the goals of which are 1) to discriminate problems and key issues related to collection curation and propose guidelines for their resolution, 2) to encourage and facilitate computerization of US collections, and 3) develop a common data model and set of common data standards for computerized record capture and management. The workshop will be held June 6-15, 1996 in association with the North American Paleontological Convention at the Smithsonian Institution. This workshop clearly addresses an important issue regarding data storage, computerization and management for both pure and applied research. The results of the workshop will be published in an edited volume.
