Poster

Nomenclatural “types” are the treasures of any natural history collection and are constantly sought out by researchers. Many curators lack the skills or resources to attend to their research and curation and such types risk being 'lost' to the international scientific community.

Inter-museum collection databases are often discussed but rarely materialise. AC-NMW and NHMUK have received funding from the John Ellerman Foundation to develop a jointly held, universally accessible resource connecting the Mollusca collections of nationals and other large museums for the first time. Staff at seven partner museums in six UK cities, each lacking a malacological curator, are being trained to recognise, research and interpret the molluscan type specimens in their collections.

This project will strengthen and develop curatorial skills in specialist areas at regional museums that are transferable to other historically important natural history collections. This talk will describe the progress and provocations of the project’s first year.