Rehousing and expanding access to the type and rare bird collection, American Museum of Natural History

The Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City houses one of the world’s most important collections of type and rare bird specimens. Type specimens are globally unique and are used by taxonomists to describe species. The AMNH collection is also used more broadly by researchers, naturalists, and artists for a range of research and educational purposes.

However, the type and rare bird collection is currently stored in nearly century-old cabinetry, which threatens the physical integrity of the specimens due to soot accumulation and jostling during the opening and closing of drawers. This award will safeguard a globally significant collection by providing new cabinetry and an opportunity to record specimen data, including imaging a select subset of specimens.

The enhanced specimen data will be made publicly available and retrievable on open-access online databases. This project will ensure the long-term protection of the specimens and improve access for both on-site and online users.

To maintain the AMNH type and rare bird collection at the highest curation standards and expand its accessibility, the project will achieve the following objectives: 1) replace century-old cabinetry with 54 new cabinets on compactors; 2) add 3,037 additional rare bird specimens, representing a 36% increase in the collection; 3) image the non-passerine primary-type collection and make it available online; and 4) improve metadata and georeference all 11,898 specimens housed in the type and rare bird room. Digitizing these collections is crucial as type specimens are not loaned out, which will allow remote researchers access for their investigations.

The project will utilize an educational and outreach platform involving high school students and social media to fulfill these objectives. Collectively, this proposal will broaden the utility of the collection through improved access via digitization, online resources, onsite facilities, and workforce training, ensuring the collections viability into the future.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.