Abstract
A MATTER of very great importance to scientific workers in Great Britain and throughout the world is raised by Dr. Percy R. Lowe in an article discussing the threatened removal of the ornithological collections from the British Museum (Natural History) to Tring (Museums J., 49; May 1940). It is there stated that “the Trustees of the Museum seriously contemplate transferring the national ornithological collections from South Kensington in London to Tring in Hertfordshire”. That would indeed be a serious step, for no expert studies bird skins without using the books referring to the group upon which he is working. So that the ornithological library would have to follow. But many bird papers appear in journals not specifically devoted to ornithology; would the series of these journals also have to go, or would the expert be left in the lurch ? That seems to be a problem not easily solved; Dr. Lowe discusses others. But indeed the proposal bristles with so many difficulties that it may be taken for granted that the Trustees will seek advice from scientific workers who are accustomed to study ornithological or other systematic collections, and will make no decision even for the future without the fullest inquiry and consultation.
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National Collections in London or in the Country?. Nature 145, 889 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145889b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145889b0