Managers of Australasian Herbarium Collections (MAHC)

Welcome to the wiki pages of the Managers of Australasian Herbarium Collections (MAHC) group. MAHC is a subcommittee of the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH). It was established in 2009 with the aim of developing and implementing best practice standards for managing Australasian herbarium collections.

This wiki is a forum for ongoing communication and exchange of information, templates and resources for managers of herbarium collections in Australasia.

For MAHC business issues, please contact the current Chair via their institutional profile. To provide feedback on the wiki, contact the wiki administrator via their profile.

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MAHC Membership

The membership of MAHC is open to the Collections Managers (or equivalent position) of Australasian herbaria. Information on current members is available in their profiles.

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MAHC Meetings and Communication

MAHC holds face-to-face meetings annually in conjunction with CHAH and HISCOM. Regular teleconferences are also held to discuss issues relating to herbarium collections management that arise in the interim. In addition, MAHC conducts and participates in training workshops as deemed necessary by CHAH.

• Canberra, November 2012: Agenda (Microsoft Word document)
• Perth, November 2011: Agenda and MAHC-CHAH Agenda (Microsoft Word documents)
• Sydney, October 2010
• Cairns, September 2009

Teleconferences

• Agenda for August 2012 teleconference (Microsoft Word document)

Workshops

• Preventive Conservation and Integrated Pest Management Workshop, Cairns, September 2009
• Loan Officers Quarantine Conditions Workshop, Melbourne, February 2008

Mailing List

• Archives of MAHC-L Mailing List (requires MAHC-L login)

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Current Activities

Currently MAHC is actively engaged in the following projects:

• Development of national standards for Australasian herbarium collection management
• Digitising Type specimens as part of the Global Plants Initiative. MAHC members are collaborating to solve issues including the different herbarium sheet sizes used across the country and how to best capture data associated with the specimens for provision to JSTOR Plants. In addition to making vital information on Australian plants available to researchers worldwide, the project is also resulting in the identification of previously unrecognised Type specimens in Australian herbaria. Some relevant links include:
  • Digital Specimen Images at the Herbarium Berolinense
  • Herbarium Specimen Imaging Protocol from the UNM Museum of Southwestern Biology
  • Herbarium Digitisation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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MAHC Policies and Procedures

MAHC is working towards development of a national standard for management of herbarium collections. Policies are being formulated by MAHC for endorsement by CHAH to provide consistent procedures for Australasian herbarium collection management. Individual instiutions may tailor these policies to suit their own requirements. See Member Profiles for contact details and institution-specific policies before sending or requesting material.

• Loans of herbarium specimens
• Exchange of herbarium specimens
• Destructive Sampling Policy (PDF)
• AQIS Procedures and Forms

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MAHC Resources

• Recommendations for DNA sampling and storage (Microsoft Word document)
• Herbarium image library
• Herbarium materials: suppliers and information
• Herbarium pests and their control

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Useful Links

• Wiki Help: help using this wiki (Microsoft Word document).
• Index Herbariorum: global directory of herbaria (including standard abbreviations) and their staff.
• Herbarium essentials: the southern African herbarium user guide
• National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries
• Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material
• Linear sequence of families in APGIII: a possible systematic arrangement for herbarium collections.
• The Australian Plant Name Index: bibliographic database of plant names used in the Australian taxonomic literature.
• The Australian Plant Census: CHAH-endorsed list of accepted names for Australia's vascular flora.
• The Society of Herbarium Curators
• The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections

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