Dear list members,

We are looking for potential reviewers of an upcoming new book “The Conservation of Natural History Specimens”, to be published by Routledge.

Natural history collections feature in many institutions globally and are an essential tool of research and communication in the goal of preserving our planet, from resourcing minerals for sustainable technologies to promoting biodiversity and natural sources of medicine. Natural history collections have never been more important, but there are very few conservation courses globally which focus on this material, and, with budget cuts, many museum staff are faced with managing mixed collections containing unfamiliar materials. A handbook has not been published for over 25 years on natural history conservation, and even these early editions did not cover all aspects of the discipline. This is the ideal time to capture and share more recent advances and developments in the field, as a single reference text.

The book will be divided into seven parts which aim to contain practical advice and techniques for conserving a range of natural history materials:

Preventive conservation
Dry stored zoological material
Fluid stored zoological material
Entomology
Botany and Fungi
Geology
Miscellaneous material (e.g. slides and models)

The reviewing period would be September to November 2024.

If you think that you will be able to contribute to this new and exciting endeavour as a reviewer of one or more chapters, we would love to hear from you!