Small Collections Grant
This page is used to provide assessment scores for each grant application assigned to you. Please use the rubric below the grant details to enter your assessment scores and any notes you wish to include.
Please note that all scores entered must be whole numbers (no decimals), or you will be unable to save this form.
New steel cabinets to protect the irreplaceable plant specimens at the Ruth O’Brien Herbarium
United States
Process backlog, Conserve
Cost (USD):
2000
TAMUCC
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Objective:
The Ruth O’Brien Herbarium is a small herbarium with about 11,000 specimens affiliated at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. The herbarium has specimens that are representative of the coastal bend region especially of the plants in Nueces county. The Ruth O’Brien herbarium also houses specimens from across the country, special collections from the Padre Island National Sea Shore and algae from Vera Cruz and Quintana Roo Mexico. Although a small facility, it plays key roles in teaching and research.
Due to a long period of neglect, the herbarium has suffered extensive insect pest damage.
Timetable:
In the summer of 2019 herbarium curators started with freezing infested specimens to kill insects. Half of the specimens have been cleaned of insects, but we are running out of space in the only three good cabinets in the herbarium. Currently, the method we use to Isolate the specimens is by sealing them in Autoclave bags. We have also received a grant to begin digitization from September 2019 and will begin digitizing specimens in spring 2020.
Scoring Rubric
Reviewer's name:
Collection Improvement (max. 120 points)
-
Facilitating access to the physical collections by digitization (e.g., data entry, setting up database structure with an outline of the platform to be used, purchasing equipment, and imaging specimens) – up to 30 points.
-
Enhancing physical collections by improving the conservation status of specimens in the herbarium (e.g., better folders, protecting covers, mounting paper, labeling, etc.) – up to 30 points.
-
Curating specimens (e.g., updating families, species identification, identifying types) – up to 20 points.
-
Increasing our understanding of the flora or funga by making new herbarium specimens available, such as processing of backlog or collecting and mounting of new specimens from understudied sites – up to 20 points.
-
Securing collections by distribution of duplicates (or orphan collections) to other regional or international herbaria or shipping endangered collections to another herbarium – up to 20 points.
This proposal scores:
/120
Methods & Funding (max. 40 points)
-
Match between the proposed budget and methods for the aims described – up to 10 points.
-
Perceived need, the extent to which the project will benefit from IAPT funding: e.g., due to active floristic work or contribution to poorly collected sites, due to threatened conditions of collections, and for the degree of involvement of others (outreach and education). We give more points for herbaria in low- and middle-income countries – up to 20 points.
-
Sharing duplicate specimens with other herbaria – up to 10 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Broader Impacts (max. 40 points)
-
Degree of regional importance of the collection or the taxonomic importance of the targeted collection – up to 10 points.
-
The project will yield durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites) – up to 15 points.
-
The project involves outreach/mentoring and broad dissemination – up to 15 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Year of last successful SCG application:
Has applicant applied for SCG before?:
Plan:
A new steel cabinet costs US$1575.00 plus shipping. We are looking to purchase the single door full height cabinet from Aurora Storage.
Institution:
IH Code:
Country:
Target areas:
Applicant First Name/s:
email:
"Other" target:
Barnabas Daru
Applicant Last Name/s: