Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections September 2016 - 12

Society Reports and knowledge sharing to a large, new audience. A representative from the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA) attended the meeting and put forward a proposal for a potential collaboration with the Geology Curators Group (GCG), NatSCA and SPNHC. It was suggested that this proposal should be sent to council for consideration. In the coming year we will continue to support and expand international relations where possible in keeping with the SPNHC strategy. We also will review the membership of the past few years to see if the society has indeed become more international. Respectfully submitted, Sue Ryder, Chair Federal Collections The Sessional Committee on Federal Collections is tasked with identifying ways to improve communication between U.S. Federal agencies and non-Federal repositories regarding the development of policies and procedures for the management of Federal Collections. The committee is currently working on a positional paper reviewing current challenges and potential solutions in this area, which is due for publication later this year. Finally, an article in this copy of Collection Conversations by committee members Terry Childs and Elizabeth Varner will discuss current efforts by the Department of the Interior. Chris Norris has stepped down as chair, and Matt Brown has stepped in to take over the position. Respectfully submitted, Chris Norris and Matt Brown, Chairs in the newsletter, and publication sales. A total of $34,507 in membership dues was received. Advertising in the newsletter generated $5,330 in income. Sales of our six publications plus royalty payments brought in $6,529. A total of $3,101 in donations was received. Sixty-three subscribers and 512 individuals, institutional, corporate and student members were active for the year 2015. Of the 607 SPNHC members in 2015, 137 joined for the first time. Major expenses for the Society in 2015 were $8,745 for Collection Forum Vol 28 (2014), $4,758 for the Christine Allen grant and the Fitzgerald Travel grants, $3,527 for two issues of the SPNHC newsletter, $1,480 for membership booth accessories and transportation to meetings, $1,345 in expenses related to the upcoming Storage book, and $1,235 for annual hosting fees for the SPNHC website plus preparations for upgrades to the website database. Additional expenses include $750 to sponsor a meeting to address Biological Informatics Workforce issues, $570 for printing extra copies of SPNHC books, $400 for the 2015 election, and $275 for the annual fee to Cross Ref. The Treasurer's Office incurred the following expenses: $5,000 for the 2014 financial review, tax preparation and filing, $3,356 for insurance, $842 in merchant fees, and $150 in annual fees for QuickBooks. Long-term investment funds were consistent with the market; SPNHC investments saw a market value loss of $6,913 while the money market account earned $6,644 in dividends and interest. The CD account earned $39 in interest. The first part of 2016 has seen good income activity. By April 30, $28,145 has been received from membership dues, including deferred dues paid in 2015. As of April 30, 2016, we have 550 active members, including Life members. Membership renewals included 22 student, 334 individual, 52 library/subscriptions, 31 institutional and five corporate renewals. As of April 30, 74 new members have joined in 2016, of which 14 are student memberships, seven are institutional, and the remainder are individual. By April 30, 157 members who paid in 2015 had yet to renew for 2016. Please pay your dues on time. Treasurer's Report In 2015, the Society's total net assets increased to $246,600 from a total of $242,613 the previous year. Liabilities and net assets for 2015 totaled $279,002. Operating income was generated from three sources: membership dues, advertising 12 * SPNHC Connection In the first quarter of 2016 sales of all our publications totaled $2,143. Additionally, by April 30, we received $1,650 in royalties from Copyright Clearance Center and $300 in page charges for Collection Forum vol. 29. We have received $305 in unrestricted donations and $865 in restricted donations. A http://www.conservation-us.org/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections September 2016