Access to Collections

The collection is a heavily used resource. In addition to staff and student research, the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology handles external loans and receives visits from professional colleagues at home and abroad. Specimens in the collection are generally available for loan upon approval by the Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Larry Martin. Specimens may be loaned to qualified, recognized professionals or their students, at the discretion of the Curator-in-Charge. Graduate students requesting specimens on loan must submit a letter of request co-signed by their advisor. The borrower assumes full and complete responsibility for the material on loan, and agrees to all conditions specimens for the handling and storage of borrowed specimens. The criteria considered in granting a loan request include, but are not limited to, the number of specimens in the request, which specimens are requested, the condition of the specimens, what the borrower plans to do with the specimens, the project design, the previous loan record of the borrower, the location of the borrower, and priority use of the material by another researcher. In some cases, it may be preferable for a researcher to visit the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology instead of borrowing specimens.

The catalog data for the specimens in the collection is available in an electronic database. Although collection data are not available online as yet, we are working with Specify staff to put part of our inventory of the holdings online soon. However, electronic or hardcopy reports of collection data are available to qualified professional and student researchers. Reports can be generated based on taxonomic or geographic categories. Requests for data on specimens in the collection can be made to the Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Larry Martin.

Collection Facilities

Limited visitor space is available for qualified professional and student researchers to work in the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology. Because we host an average of 70 visitors (for about 200 visitor days) a year in the division, it is necessary to make arrangements in advance with Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Larry Martin.

The collection is housed in Dyche Hall and Lippincott Annex as well as the BRC-West. In the BRC-West, t he fossil fish and Natural Trap Cave collections as well as the over-sized dinosaur blocks and fish slabs are housed in a newly renovated facility equipped with state-of-the-art climate, pest, and security controls on a motorized, high-density storage system. Specimens are protected by an overhead sprinkler system and UV-shielded lighting. Tours of the collection storage facility may be arranged by contacting Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Larry Martin.