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! American Museum of Natural History and The Paleontology Portal, Collections Management: A Resource for Managing Fossil Collections. This site is divided into four sections (acquiring, storing, tracking, sharing), describing the main activities in managing a fossil collection.

! W. Berendsohn, Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG): TDWG Subgroup on Biological Collection Data, Software for Biological Collection Management. This page lists software which is used in collection management. See also: Standards, Information Models, and Data Dictionaries for Biological Collections.

BiologyBrowser (produced by Thomson Scientific). This is a free web site offering resources for the life sciences information community. Go to: Subject > Museums > Natural History Museums.

! BioCollections.org (managed by Julian Humphries, University of Texas and Bill Fink, University of Michigan): The Biodiversity and Biocollections webserver is one of the oldest (ancient by Internet time) sites to provide information about biodiversity, biological collections, and associated software. Go to: DELTA. The DELTA format (DEscription Language for TAxonomy) is a flexible method for encoding taxonomic descriptions for computer processing. It has been adopted by the International Taxonomic Databases Working Group (TDWG) as a standard for data exchange. DELTA-format data can be used to produce natural-language descriptions, conventional or interactive keys, cladistic or phenetic classifications, and information-retrieval systems.

Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther (eds.), Earth Pages, Blackwell Publishing: Paleobiology: A Synthesis (PDF files). Series of concise articles from over 150 leading authorities from around the world. Navigate from the content file. Excellent! Go to: Infrastructure of Palaeobiology (Museology (page 515), e.g. collection management, documentation systems, exhibition strategies.

CollectiveAccess. This is a highly configurable cataloguing tool and web-based application for museums, archives and digital collections. Available free of charge!

Deutsche Naturwissenschaftliche Forschungssammlungen (DNFS). In German.

Deutscher Museumsbund (the German Museums Association). The website of the German interest group for museums and museum staff. Go to: Jobs (in German).

E. Margaret Evans et al. (2010): A Conceptual Guide to Natural History Museum Visitors Understanding of Evolution. PDF file, Journal of Research in Science Teaching.

Fossil Preparation (American Museum of Natural History and The Paleontology Portal). Go to: Labeling.

The Geological Curators´ Group (affiliated to the Geological Society of London). They are a national organisation dedicated to improving the status of geology in museums and raise the standard of geological curation.

Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik (GfBS). GfBS-Newsletters, and AG Kuratoren: Literatur, Dokumente, Links. In German.

L. Herzog (2011): Institutional Analysis of a Natural History Museum: Formation and dissemination of scientific knowledge. In PDF.

Kenneth G. Johnson (Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London), Harry F. Filkorn, and Mary Stecheson: Paleontology Collections on the World Wide Web: The Missing Link. Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 8 (2); October 2005.

Jere H. Lipps: Into Focus: Museums and Their Exhibits. Palaeontologia Electronica 10(2), 2007.

Randall F. Miller, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario: A career as a museum curator.

The National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Department of the Interior (the Museum Management Program (MMP), part of the National Center for Cultural Resources Stewardship):
! NPS Museum Handbook. This is a reference guide on how to manage, preserve, document, access and use museum collections. Go to:
Part I: Museum Collections.
Part II, Museum Records.
Part III, Museum Collections Use.
All files are in PDF format. See especially:
! Appendix U: Curatorial Care of Paleontological and Geological Collections (in PDF).
Appendix K: Photography (in PDF).

M.E. Popa (2010): Field and laboratory techniques in plant compressions: an integrated approach. PDF file, Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae, 7: 279-283.

Stefanie Schramm, Die Zeit: Die Leichen im Keller. A documentation attempt of nearly forgotten university biology collections (including palaeontology collections) in Germany (in German).

Andreas Sentker und Urs Willmann, Die Zeit: Die Arche vor dem Untergang (in German). State of the art of natural science museums and collections in Germany.

SESAR, the Solid Earth SAmple Registry (an NSF funded project, by geosamples.org): SESAR is building a web-based digital registry for solid earth samples that will provide for the first time a way to uniquely name and identify samples on a global scale by means of the International Geo Sample Number IGSN. Establishing SESAR and the IGSN will have a wide-ranging impact on sample and data management, especially with respect to sample sharing and data integration, addressing a basic requirement for interoperability among information systems for sample-based data.

! C.H. Shute and C.J. Cleal (1987), starting on PDF page 16: Palaeobotany in museums. In PDF, The geological curator. See also PDF page 19:
"What makes a good research paleobotany collection?"

R. Silverman and C.M. Sinopoli (2011): Besieged! Contemporary political, cultural and economic challenges to museums in the academy as seen from Ann Arbor. In PDF.

Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC). SPNHC is a multidisciplinary organization to encourage research on the essential requirements for preserving, storing, studying, and displaying natural history collections and to provide a bridge between natural history collection managers and relevant technical, professional and both governmental and non-governmental organizations. Website hosted by the Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Calgary. See also:
Guidelines for the Care of Natural History Collections. This document is meant to serve as a tool for institutions and their staffs to continue to elevate the standards of managing and caring for natural history collections. It has been particularly gratifying that the review and comments have involved individuals from all of the professions associated with the use and care of natural history collections: collection managers, curators, conservators, administrators, research scientists, registrars, archivists, etc.

SYNTHESYS (hosted by the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm). For the first time, Europe’s globally important natural history collections and resources will be available in a coordinated way to scientists across Europe.
In the framework of the SYNTHESYS´project, the Swedish Museum of Natural History offers access to extensive and scientifically important biological and geological collections and state of the art facilities.

Keith S. Thomson, Natural History at Oxford University and Oxford University Museum: Natural History Museum Collections in the 21st Century (an ActionBioscience.org original interview, American Institute of Biological Sciences).

! Cornelia Weber, Hermann von Helmholtz-Zentrum für Kulturtechnik, Berlin: The History of Scientific Collections (supported by the the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG). The project intends to catalogue German universities' collections and to compile extensive data on the holdings and history of these collections, in order to form the basis of a specific investigation into the history of science and a historical analysis of collecting. Go to: University museums and collections in Germany (under construction).

! Whirl-i-Gig (a software development firm working in the varied worlds of museums, biological research and conservation, natural history, material culture, and art history): CollectiveAccess (formerly known as OpenCollection). This is a full-featured collections management and online access application for museums, archives and digital collections. CollectiveAccess is freely available open-source software. Also worth checking out: Forum.

Home / Institutions & Organisations / Natural History Museums / Temporary Exhibitions

! Fossilien: Fossilienbörsen (in German).

Lutz Geißler, Sehmatal-Neudorf: Netzwerk für Geowissenschaftliche Öffentlichkeitsarbeit. In German. Go to:
! Geoscience exhibitions in Germany.

Generaldirektion der Staatlichen Naturwissenschaftlichen Sammlungen Bayerns, München (The Bavarian Natural History Collections, the largest union of Natural History institutions in Germany): Natural Science Museums in Bavaria, Special exhibitions.

! Paläontologische Gesellschaft (an association for German speaking palaeontologists): Events, and Special Exhibits (in German). Palaeontology calendar about temporary exhibitions, public speeches and other events. Data provided by members of the Paläontologischen Gesellschaft.

! The Paleontology Portal (produced by the University of California Museum of Paleontology, the Paleontological Society, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the United States Geological Survey, with funding from the National Science Foundation). The Paleontology Portal is a website providing a central, interactive entry point to North American paleontology resources on the Internet. Go to: Calendar of Events. Palaeo meetings and special events.

Andreas Thinschmidt, Österreichischer Archäologiebund: Veranstaltungen in Wien und Niederösterreich. Go to: Ausstellungen. Temporary exhibitions in Vienna and Austria (in German).

Vereinigung der Freunde der Mineralogie und Geologie (VFMG) e.V. (in German). Go to: Börsen und Tauschtage.

Home / Institutions & Organisations / Natural History Museums / Museums Directories

Arbeitskreis Paläontologie Hannover (APH): Palaeontological Museums and Collections in Germany (in German).

Arthur Anderson: The Lost Museum of Sciences. A comprehensive index of science museum links throughout the world. See also: http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/museum/88/index.html

! University of California in Berkeley: Natural History Museums. A comprehensive list.

BiologyBrowser (produced by Thomson Scientific). This is a free web site offering resources for the life sciences information community. Go to: Subject > Museums > Natural History Museums.

! BioCollections.org (managed by Julian Humphries, University of Texas and Bill Fink, University of Michigan): The Biodiversity and Biocollections webserver is one of the oldest (ancient by Internet time) sites to provide information about biodiversity, biological collections, and associated software. Go to: Natural History Museums.

! Jonathan Bowen (Dept. of Computer Science, University of Reading), Oxford University Computing Laboratory (OUCL), Archive Service: Museums. This page provides searching facilities for museums around the world. With search engine.

John Burke, Oakland Museum of California, The Virtual Library: Museums in the USA.

Jonathan Bowen, School of Computing, Information Systems and Mathematics (SCISM), South Bank University, London (The Virtual Library): Virtual Library museums pages. A distributed directory of on-line museums.

! DFG-Senatskommission für geowissenschaftliche Gemeinschaftsforschung: Museen und Schausammlungen. Link directory of German palaeontology and mineralogy museums (in German).

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften (DGG):
Museen - global (in German).

Google: Reference > Museums > Science > Natural History.

Andrzej Kozlowski, Wydzial Geologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Poland: Links. Go to: Geological Museums.

Glen J. Kuban, North Royalton, OH: Kuban´s Guide to Natural History Museums on the Web. This site features one of the largest directories of natural history museums on the World Wide Web. Included are any museums or exhibits that feature displays on fossils, paleontology, and related subjects.

Rex Bing Hung Kwok, School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales: Palaeontology. Go to: Palaeontological Collections in Museums, and Exhibits of Private Palaeontological Collections.

A. Maas, Section for Biosystematic Documentation, University of Ulm, Germany: Natural History Museums in Germany (in German).

! N. MacLeod, PaleoNet: Places to go. Links to museums.

Gordon McKenna, Cambridge, mda and Virtual Library Museums: Museums around the UK on the Web.

Mark W. Maimone, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh: Hands-on Science Centers Worldwide. This page contains pointers to public museums with a strong emphasis on interactive science education.

! Jim Mills, Mills Geological: Museums of Interest. An annotated link list especially of museums with petrified wood collections in the United States.

Museen in der Schweiz: Swiss Museums Online.

MuseumStuff.com (a product of Discovery Media, San Diego, California). Museumstuff.com is dedicated to creating a web based guide to museum related information. This information includes links to museum websites and virtual exhibits, educational and entertaining games and activities, and extensive learning resources concerning topics typically promoted through art, science and history museums.

! Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris: Sciences de la Terre, Natural History Science Museums in France (in French). An index.

Nature Quest Publications Inc., Cambridge, MA: Natural History Museums and Research Centers.

Natural Science Collections Alliance. The Natural Science Collections Alliance is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit association that supports natural science collections, their human resources, the institutions that house them, and their research activities for the benefit of science and society.

! Oxford University: Virtual Library museums pages: Index of museums around the world, categorized by country and type. Also available via Sweden, http://www.icom.org/vlmp/ or USA, Stanford University.

Adam L. Schiff, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle: NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS. Links to museums and collections worldwide.

Science Museum, Tokyo: Links to Japanese and World Museums.

! Biological Research Collections in Germany, University of Ulm: Links to German Natural Science Museums.

! Virtual Library, Museums Pages, and Virtual Library museums pages. A distributed directory of on-line museums. See also: Historisches Centrum Hagen, Virtual Library Museen (in German). The Virtual Library Museums contains museum related information in Germany and in German-language countries.

! Cornelia Weber, Hermann von Helmholtz-Zentrum für Kulturtechnik, Berlin: The History of Scientific Collections (supported by the the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG). The project intends to catalogue German universities' collections and to compile extensive data on the holdings and history of these collections, in order to form the basis of a specific investigation into the history of science and a historical analysis of collecting. Go to: University museums and collections in Germany (under construction).

! Webmuseen.de: Natural History Museums in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (in German).

Adres Wydzialu, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Poland: GEOLOGICAL AND RELATED MUSEUMS. Alphabetical by country and city.

YAHOO: Natural History Museums.

Zentralregister biologischer Forschungssammlungen in Deutschland (ZEFOD). The ZEFOD project is a co-operation of the German Centre for Documentation and Information in Agriculture (ZADI), the Botanical Institute and Botanic Garden of the University of Bonn and the Zoological Research Institute and Museum Alexander Koenig (ZFMK). Go to: Collections (in German).

Home / Institutions & Organisations / Natural History Museums / Access to Natural History Museums and Collections

Dinosaur Museum Aathal, Switzerland
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico, See also:
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Web-based Paleo-database Home Page.
Naturhistorischen Museum Basel, Switzerland
Urweltmuseum Oberfranken, Bayreuth
The Museum of Paleontology (UCMP), University of California at Berkeley. Worth checking out: Beth Schachter, HMS Beagle, Windows into Paleontology. Annotated links about Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology, from Beagle Site Review, Issue 39.
Naturhistorisches Forschungsinstitut, Museum für Naturkunde, Zentralinstitut der Humboldt-Universität, Berlin.See also:
Gretchen Vogel, Science magazine: Berlin's Scientific Treasure House Shakes Off the Dust. Science, Vol 305, Issue 5680, 35-37; 2004. After decades in suspended animation, the Museum für Naturkunde has adopted 21st century methods in a campaign to recapture its former glory.

Museum of Natural History, Mineralogy and Petrology, Bern.
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, Bochum
Goldfuß-Museum, Bonn
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" Buenos Aires, Argentina
Museo de Geología y Paleontología, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Museum of Natural History Chemnitz, Germany
The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Also available mirrored via Europe.
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Chile
Geomuseum Clausthal
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland OH.
Geological Museum, University of Copenhagen
Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Germany
Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie, Staatliche Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden
Jura-Museum Eichstätt, Germany
Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Natural history museum, Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze, Florence.
Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt, Germany
Teylers Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands
Naturhistorisches Museum Heilbronn; Germany
Muschelkalkmuseum Hagdorn, Ingelfingen, Germany
The Geological Museum, Geological Survey of Japan
Museo de La Plata, Argentina
Musée Cantonal de Géologie à Lausanne
Museum Naturalis, Leiden. National Museum of Natural History.
National Museums, Liverpool
The Natural History Museum, London.
Redpath Museum, Faculty of Science of the McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.
The Earth History Museum, Vernadsky State Geological Museum, Moscow
LWL-Museum für Naturkunde, Münster, Germany
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), Ithaca, New York: Museum of the Earth. The museum will make the world-class collections and scientific expertise of PRI available to a wider public, and serve as a resource for teachers and students.
Otmar Kleindienst, Private Triassic Museum, Ochsenfurt-Kleinochsenfurt (in German).
University Museum of Natural History, Oxford
Muséum National d´Histoire Naturelle, Paris

Fundy Geological Museum, Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, Canada Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Università di Pisa
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh
National Museum Prague, Czech Republic. Palaeontological Collections, Hall 2 - Sternbergeum (Rhacopteris bipinnata), Life of the Upper Palaeozoic, i.e. the Carboniferous and Permian Periods of Bohemian Massif.
The Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Museum of Natural History, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Stuttgart
Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm
Museums of Natural History including Botany at Tøyen
Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Trelew, Chubut, Argentina
Virtual Museum of Archaeology, Palaeontology and Anthropology of the Ulyanovsk Povolzhiye
Museum of Natural History, Vienna
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Earth Sciences Museum, Waterloo, Ontario. Museum on the University of Waterloo.
Palaeontological Museum, University of Zurich, Switzerland. See also here.

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