AMATEUR COLLECTING AND THE PERSONAL COLLECTION’S CONUNDRUM

Collecting fossils is how we safeguard our planet’s history. Amateurs play a vital role in this collection process, and everything that can be done to encourage this behavior should be implemented. Fossils left uncollected disintegrate and that part of our shared history is unrecoverable. So, save as many as you can – any way you can.

But now the problem becomes – what happens to these precious resources after they are collected? The answer has profound repercussions for how and even if these specimens can be used to further our interpretation of our planet, it’s history and what implications for our future can be inferred from it.

Professionals will curate, catalog and house these treasures, saving them for the future – right up until their institution faces a budget crunch and the collections become orphaned or abandoned.

Personal collections may fare little better. Though lovingly tended during a collector’s life, what happens to them after the owner has passed on rivals the orphaned and abandoned museum and institution collection’s fate.

There is even debate in some circles regarding the legitimacy of personal fossil collections, and certainly no empathy for their scientific value. While it is true that personal fossil collections are as diverse as the collectors themselves, ranging from a handful of specimens with no data tossed in a shoebox, to thousands of specimens carefully curated to professional standards; it is equally true that personal collections have had a profoundly positive impact on paleontology through the years.

This presentation will illustrate the real-world scientific value personal collections can offer as well as explore some out-of-the-box ideas for how to promote more uniform curation habits among the amateur population.

In addition, we will explore unconventional ideas for future specimen digitization and housing models for collections of all origins to ensure the history of our plant is safeguarded and accessible well into the future.