Penn State herbarium selected to participate in collections assessment program
Penn State’s herbarium — known as the Pennsylvania Agricultural College (PAC) Herbarium — is one of 71 institutions in the United States selected to participate in the Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program.
CAP helps museums, like the PAC Herbarium, improve the care of their collections by providing support for a general conservation assessment of the museum’s collections and buildings. The PAC Herbarium, one of Penn State’s oldest natural history collections, will work with a team of preservation professionals to identify preventive conservation priorities. The final assessment report will help the museum prioritize its collections care efforts in the coming years.
The museum was established in 1859 with 3,000 specimens donated by Evan Pugh, Penn State’s first president. Today, the collection contains more than 100,000 items, including the third largest collection of plant voucher specimens — a preserved organism used to confirm identity and location and for future comparisons — in the commonwealth. In addition to voucher specimens focusing on the flora of rural Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna River, the collection also contains about 44,000 other specimens from throughout North America and the world.
“The CAP program will be critical to planning the future of one of the key plant collections in Pennsylvania as well as help us develop a vision and strategy for the coming decades as Penn State elevates and strengthens plant-based research,” said Jesse Lasky, director of the PAC Herbarium and associate professor of biology.
The PAC Herbarium supports a wide variety of faculty and student research, both at Penn State and among the broader botanical community. Research projects have included a large multi-herbaria effort to understand how different plants respond to urbanization over time, a restoration project to add native plants and reduce the deposition of unwanted sediments from the removal of mill dams in Pennsylvania, and efforts to locate and propagate three threatened species of parasitic plants for use in educational and conservation purposes. Additionally, scientists have worked to create voucher specimens and collect DNA samples for all species at the Penn State arboretum as well as plants at reference sites throughout Pennsylvania.
“Herbarium specimens represent an invaluable resource for plant research, containing a physical record of the diversity of plants living across our landscapes over multiple centuries,” Lasky said. “Growing and maintaining this resource requires our active efforts and sustained investment and the CAP award will facilitate this effort.”
Additionally, the museum supports the broader Penn State community by creating and delivering trainings and workshops to faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, K-12 students and the general public. They assist the community with plant identification and voucher processing and provide museum tours and access to a botanical library.
“The collections in the PAC Herbarium offer a way for members of the public to connect to the history of our landscapes and to appreciate the amazing diversity of plants from around the world,” Lasky said.
The PAC Herbarium is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the academic year. Tours can be arranged by emailing the curator Sarah Chamberlain. Learn more at the PAC website.
About CAP, FAIC and IMLS
The CAP program is administered by the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation saves cultural heritage for future generations, protecting it from decay and destruction. Learn more at the FAIC website.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums. IMLS advances, supports, and empowers America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. Their vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities. To learn more, visit the IMLS website and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.