Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 20

Book Reviews
House of Lost Worlds 2016, Richard Conniff.

(Yale University Press, Publishers Location, 352 pp.).

Museums hold the keys to the
past, present and creating an
understanding of the future. The
stories that often go untold are
the histories of the collectors and
creators of museums. Richard
Conniff discusses the vibrant history of the Yale Peabody Museum
of Natural History from before its
conception to current events. He
tells this history through stories
of the museum's many great
scientists. To tell the story of the Yale Peabody Museum he
begins with the tale of O.C. Marsh. It was through Marsh's
passion for science and his relation to famous philanthropist,
George Peabody, that the Yale Peabody Museum received it
founding funds and collections. Another famous name from
the rich fabric of the museum's history is James Dwight
Dana. Many students of both the curators and Yale University later go on to lead the museum or other museums. This
book also covers the roles that these students and curators
played outside the museum, from helping to shape environmental policies to making scientific discoveries that would
change the ways we understand the natural world.
The novel is useful for museum educators, administrators,
and other interested museum staff. Editorially the book
reads well and the author provides excellent illustrations.
The book's historical references are well supported by the
author's thorough research; notes are provided for further
research by the motivated reader. When examining the layout, the placement of the special notes sections can throw off
the flow of the narrative. The occasional jumps between the
various figures can also cause some confusion.
There is still much of the Yale Peabody Museum's history
that is left untold. Many of these dynamic personages reflected in this novel are famous men in their own rights. Another shortfall is that a great majority of the book takes place
before the establishment of the museum. That being said, the
history of the museum leads to a better understanding of the
museum's core institutional values. Overall, Conniff weaves
an interesting and dynamic tale about some of the men who
help shape science and build the Yale Peabody Museum. It
serves as a reminder that museums in the present don't exist
in isolation from their histories. The novel illustrates the
connected nature of museums both in research and education, as well as the struggle and success to reach greater
heights in shaping our understanding of the world.
20 * SPNHC Connection

-- Alyson Wilkins, University of Kansas, 1410 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, Kansas

The Future of Natural History Museums

2018, E. Dorfman, ed. (International Council of Museums and Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, London
and New York, 247pp.).
SPNHC is a very focused community of practice, bringing together
collection management professionals from natural history museums (NHMs), herbaria, botanical
gardens and other entities with
similar interests in natural history
collections. As described below,
this book uses a broader, more
inclusive definition of NHMs in
examining the future prospects for a
very wide range of NHM activities.
Administrators would do well to consider using this book as
background reading for their leadership retreats and strategic
planning activities.
In recent years SPNHC has become more international in its
membership, has reached out to professionals who work on
social science collections, and has co-organized its annual
conferences with non-NHM organizations with related missions (e.g., biodiversity informatics, specimen digitization).
However, this book treats NHMs as a much larger community of practice. In addition to organizations with zoology,
botany and paleontology collections (SPNHC's core members), NHMs as treated here would include institutions with
missions to pursue research, education and public engagement involving the natural world. For example, chapter 8
("The Natural Futures Museum") explores how interactive
exhibits could cover "the relationship between humankind and nature" by addressing phenomena now covered
in NHMs, hands-on science centers, history museums and
other organizations. The 14 essays in this edited volume
examine NHMs from this broader perspective. About half of
the 23 contributing authors are affiliated with U.S. institutions (11); the other half represent organizations in Europe
(7), and one each from South America, Asia, Africa, New
Zealand and Australia. Most are researchers, educators or
administrators affiliated with particular NHMs while others
are participants in international programs of cultural conservation under the International Council of Museums (ICOM)
and UNESCO. Several are project leaders in museological
studies and exhibit design.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018

No label
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - No label
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 2
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 3
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 4
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 5
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 6
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 7
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 8
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 9
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 10
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 11
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 12
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 13
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 14
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 15
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 16
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 17
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 18
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 19
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 20
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 21
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 22
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 23
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 24
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 25
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 26
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 27
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 28
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 29
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 30
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/society-for-the-preservation-of-natural-history-collections-march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/35-1
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/34-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/34-1
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/33-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/33-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/32-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/32-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/31-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/31-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/30-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/29-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/29-1
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/28-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/cfnl/28-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/cfnl/30-2
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com