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----- Original Message ----- From: <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2001 11:23 PM Subject: petition > From:[log in to unmask] (Eisenmann, Vera) > >Subject:Pétition > > Here is the text of the letter that I plan to send to the > Smithsonian with as many signatures as I can get. I am pasting it > into this email since I know that some of you have trouble with > attachments. Here is what I want from you: 1. Please distribute > this email to other interested colleagues and ask them to email me > back if they want to have their names on this letter. 2. If you > want to sign on, please email me back to that effect, followed by a > four line statement with your name, title, department and > institution. Make is so that I can cut that section and paste it into > the text. I already have the names of Joukowsky, Kohl, Matney, > Rubinson, Russell and Stein. The letter will be sent to the trustees, > secretary and the members of congress and the senate who sit on > the appropriate committees. It will be addressed to Renquist, who > is the chair of the board of trustees. The board of trustees will > meet on May 6, so I will mail the letters off on May 1, with however > many names that I have, in alphabetical order. The letters will carry > no letterhead, since they represent a broad group. Here is the text: > > > The undersigned strongly urge a reconsideration of the decision by > Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small to close the Smithsonian > Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE). SCMRE > performs a critical role in the two central missions of the > Smithsonian: 1. to enable the holding of "artifacts and scientific > specimens in trust for "the increase and diffusion of knowledge", > and 2. To serve as "a center for research dedicated to public > education, national service, and scholarship in the arts, sciences, > and history." > > The collections of the Smithsonian attract large numbers of visitors > every year who expect to increase their knowledge of the arts, > science and history through their interaction with the exhibits. The > long term care of these collections must, then, be a top priority in > meeting the Smithsonian's responsibility for the stewardship of the > nation's treasures. At its inception SCMRE (then known as the > Conservation Analytical Laboratory - CAL) served as the only > conservation laboratory for most of the Institution. With the > development of individual museum based conservation programs, > SCMRE's mandate was changed to focus its efforts in collection > care on developing new techniques of conservation, examining > larger questions of the long term viability of materials in museum > environments, and building a high impact training program in > conservation and conservation science. The work has been of direct > benefit not only to the constellation of arts and science museums of > the Smithsonian, but to museums around the country and the world. > Surely leadership in the science of object conservation is a natural > and expected role for the Smithsonian. In fact, there is no other > center for conservation science in the country that fills this need. > > SCMRE also plays a critical role in bringing scholars in the arts and > humanities together with the techniques and approaches of the > natural and physical sciences. Materials research conducted at > SCMRE applies cutting edge analytical methods, such as neutron > activation analysis, electron microscopy and molecular biology to > the study of archaeological artifacts, skeletal remains, and other > materials. Through this process, the artifacts held by the > Smithsonian and at museums and universities worldwide, can be > made to tell far richer stories relating to the history of technology, > methods of manufacture, the process of trade and exchange, and > the evolution of our own species. The training and outreach > component of this work, engaging Native Americans and Latinos in > the study of their own material cultural heritage, has served as a > model for the inclusion of wider constituencies in scientific > research. Once again there is no other comparable center in the > United States since the range of expertise represented, and the > range of techniques developed in the SCMRE is not possible in a > university setting where the departmental structure makes such > interdisciplinary work very difficult. > > It seems to us extraordinarily short sighted to cut an internationally > respected research center with so broad and critical a role for the > maintenance and study of museum materials. The proposed cuts > would not only greatly diminish the Smithsonian's ability to maintain > and study its own collections, but would leave the Nation without an > institution that would ensure that these skills were passed on to the > rest of the country. Again, we strongly urge you to reconsider the > decision to close the SCMRE. > > Dr Véra Eisenmann, Laboratoire de Paléontologie, 8 rue Buffon, > 75005 Paris. > Tel : 33 1 40 79 30 22, > Fax : 33 1 40 79 35 80, > Tel domicile : 33 1 43 83 69 49 Maria-João Valente Auxiliary Professor Departamento de História, Arqueologia e Património Universidade do Algarve - Portugal