Collections Management and Curation

      PLSC 630

SPRING 2001

Objectives

            The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the organization and management of plant collections in public gardens.  Students are required to have completed a course in plant taxonomy so that they are familiar with plant morphology, plant identification and basic familial characteristics. 

            The course is divided into three sections, 1) plant records and labeling, 2) the various systems for the organization of the plant kingdom (phylogeny), including references and discussions on nomenclature, and 3) policy statements and management concerns.  The course will present students with information as to the organization and maintenance of curatorial records for public gardens.  We will discuss labeling, accessioning and signage.  Basic information on the use of data base systems and various mapping systems will be presented.  Students will get an in-depth view of BG-Base and BG Map as options for the maintenance of plant records and discuss how much of this information should be available to the public.  The second portion of the course will focus on the application of taxonomic principle to the organization and maintenance of collections.   This will include classics of the organization of the plant kingdom to practical issues addressing the use of restricted names in plant records and labels.  The third portion of the course will deal with the development and application collection, accession and curatorial policies.

Personnel

     Instructor:            Dr. John Frett

                        141 Townsend Hall

                        831-2531 (phone and V-mail)

                        jfrett@udel.edu

Course Time /Location

            Lecture:           T R 9:45-11:45 noon

                                    102 Fischer Greenhouse

 Recommended Texts

Bean, W.J. 1970. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles. Vol 1, 2, 3, 4 and supplement.  M. Bean and John Murray (Publishers) LTD. Great Britain.  (Now reprinted by Timber Press).

Cronquist, A. 1988. The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants, second edition. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, New York.

Flora of North America. Vol 1 (1993), 2 (1993).  Oxford University Press. New York, NY.

Gleason, H.A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, second edition. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, New York.

Jones, S.B., Jr. and A.E. Luchsinger. 1986.  Plant Systematics, second edition.  McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, New York.

Kartesz, J.T. and Kartesz, R. 1980.  A synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada and Greenland. Volume II, The Boita of North America. The University of North Carolina Press.  Chapel Hill, NC.

Krussmann, G. 1976. Manual of Cultivated Broad-leaved Trees & Shrubs. Vol 1, 2, 3.  Timber Press. Beaverton, OR.

Krussmann, G. 1983. Manual of Cultivated Conifers. Timber Press. Portland, OR.

Radford, A.E., Ahles, H.E. and Bell, C.R. 1968. Manual of the Flora of the Carolinas.  The University of North Carolina Press.  Chapel Hill, NC.

Rehder, A. 1940. Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs Hardy in North America.  Dioscorides Press.  Portland, OR.

Spongberg, S.A. 1991. A Reunion of Trees.  Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

Grading

                                                            Points for each   Total points

Examinations (3)                                100                                300

Papers (5)                                            20                                 100

Projects (1)                                          100                                100

                                    Total points possible                  500

            Grades will be assigned according to the following schedule:

                        Total points                           Grade

                         500 - 465                                   A

                         464 - 450                                     A-

                         450 - 435                                   B+

                         434 - 415                                   B

                         414 - 400                                   B-

                         399 - 385                                   C+

                         384 - 365                                   C

                         364 - 350                                   C-

                         349 - 335                                   D+

                         334 - 315                                   D

                         314 - 300                                   D-

                         299 -                                          F

            Make-up exams will be given only in the case of excused absences (illness or family emergency). You must notify the instructor prior to the exam or you will receive a 0 score for that exam. Upon returning, students will provide documentation of the illness and a written request to schedule a make-up exam.

Late Work:

            All late work will be assessed a late penalty of 10% per day to include weekends and holidays. Thus, after 10 days a score of 0 will be recorded.