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Finding Aids to Personal Papers and Special Collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 7142

Systematic Biology Resource Management Project

Records, 1971-1973

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Systematic Biology Resource Management Project
Title:Records
Dates:1971-1973
Quantity:3 cu. ft. (1 record storage box) (4 document boxes)
Collection:Record Unit 7142
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

These records consist of materials of the Systematic Biology Symposium and the Belmont Conference concerning their discussion of the work of the six committees. They include general correspondence and the correspondence of the six committees; financial records; travel vouchers; position papers of the six committees; drafts of a national plan for systematics resources; a pre-publication draft of America's Systematic Collections: A National Plan; transcripts and tapes of the Systematic Biology Symposium; and correspondence, constitution, and by-laws of the Association of Systematics Collections.

Historical Note

In 1971, at the invitation of the Smithsonian Institution, systematists and administrators representing seven scientific institutions, including the Smithsonian, convened to discuss a national program for systematics collections and their management. The participants recommended that further studies be undertaken and a report be presented to a national conference. Six committees were established and their findings presented to the Conference of Directors of Systematics Collections meeting at Gainesville, Florida, in April 1972. The meeting revised the reports and they were again reviewed in July 1972, at the Systematic Biology Symposium sponsored by the Smithsonian, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Science Foundation. The findings were then turned over to a committee of systematists and administrators, meeting at the Smithsonian's Belmont Conference Center, who were responsible for drafting a national plan for the coordination of national systematic resources. The Association of Systematics Collections, which replaced the Conference of Directors of Systematics Collections, received the draft and was charged with the responsibility to write, publish, and distribute the final report.

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Descriptive Entry

These records consist of materials of the Systematic Biology Symposium and the Belmont Conference concerning their discussion of the work of the six committees. They include general correspondence and the correspondence of the six committees; financial records; travel vouchers; position papers of the six committees; drafts of a national plan for systematics resources; a pre-publication draft of America's Systematic Collections: A National Plan; transcripts and tapes of the Systematic Biology Symposium; and correspondence, constitution, and by-laws of the Association of Systematics Collections.

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7142, Systematic Biology Resource Management Project, Records

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Container List

Box 1

Finances, 1971-May 1973

Box 1 of 5

America's Systematics Collections: A National Plan, prepublication draft of the report (August 1973)

Box 1 of 5

Drafts 3 and 4 of America's Systematics Collections: A National Plan

Box 1 of 5

Drafts 1 and 2 of America's Systematics Collections: A National Plan

Box 1 of 5

Post-Belmont Correspondence File, October 1972-November 1972

Box 1 of 5

Post-Belmont Correspondence File, November 1972-October 1973

Box 1 of 5

Minutes of the Belmont Writing Conference, September 29-October 1, 1972

Box 1 of 5

Original Drafts of Output, Belmont Writing Committee, September 29-October 1, 1972

Box 1 of 5

Box 2

Belmont Participants Travel Vouchers

Box 2 of 5

Belmont Meeting - Participants Travel and Housing Forms

Box 2 of 5

Belmont Meeting - Arrangements

Box 2 of 5

Belmont Meeting - Richard Sumner Cowan's Papers (2 folders)

Box 2 of 5

Sally W. Yochelson's Notes, working papers, address lists, etc.

Box 2 of 5

Directive to Belmont Writing Committee

Box 2 of 5

Box 3

Systematic Biology Symposium, National Academy of Sciences, Transcript (July 6-8, 1972)

Box 3 of 5

Post-Systematic Biology Symposium Correspondence, July-September 1972. Contains correspondence, constitution, and by-laws pertaining to the Association of Systematics Collections. (2 folders)

Box 3 of 5

Systematic Resources Symposium - Arrangements

Box 3 of 5

Box 4

Hotel Reservation Data for Symposium Participants

Box 4 of 5

Position Papers of the Six Committees

Box 4 of 5

Committee I. Relationships of Natural History Museums to Users. Howard S. Irwin, Chairman. (NOTE - Files for Committees contain correspondence and financial statements. Chairmen maintain their own detailed records of committee work.)

Box 4 of 5

Committee II. National Resource Centers for Systematic Biology, George Edmund Lindsay, Chairman.

Box 4 of 5

Committee III. Specimen Documentation, Data Recording, Retrieval and Exchange. Richard Sumner Cowan, Chairman. Expenditures.

Box 4 of 5

Committee III. Specimen Documentation, Data Recording, Retrieval and Exchange. Richard Sumner Cowan, Chairman. New York Meeting.

Box 4 of 5

Committee III. Specimen Documentation, Data Recording, Retrieval and Exchange. Richard Sumner Cowan, Chairman. General. Includes 2 tapes of the first meeting.

Box 4 of 5

Committee IV. Management of Collections: Curatorial Practices, Operating Procedures, Equipment. Robert Inger, Chairman.

Box 4 of 5

Committee V. Growth of Collections and Libraries. Reed C. Rollins, Chairman.

Box 4 of 5

Committee VI. Present Trends and Future Prospects. Peter Hamilton Raven, Chairman.

Box 4 of 5

Chronological Correspondence File, May-June 1972

Box 4 of 5

Chronological Correspondence File, March-April 1972

Box 4 of 5

Box 5

Chronological Correspondence File, May 1971-February 1972

Box 5 of 5

Original Transcripts of the Systematic Biology Symposium (4 folders)

Box 5 of 5

Tapes

Committee III. Specimen Documentation, Data Recording, Retrieval and Exchange. Tapes VI and VII. March 31, 1972 (2 magnetic tapes)

Box 5 of 5

Systematic Biology Symposium. Tape 1. July 6, 1972 (magnetic tape)

Box 5 of 5

Systematic Biology Symposium. Tape 5. July 8, 1972 (magnetic tape)

Box 5 of 5

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