Museum of Natural and Cultural History records
Scope and Contents
The collection contains office files, correspondence, reports, meeting notes and minutes, Lane Cooperative Museum files, Herbarium historical documents, specimen identifications and site evaluations, negatives, glass negatives, photographs, plant log, a Museum of Anthropology accessions/inventory journal, and a negative of Fort Rock sandals.
Material is organized by accession and includes the following material: (lists are not comprehensive)
Accession 10.085.A: An accession/inventory journal for the Museum of Anthropology, and an accession/inventory journal for the Herbarium, 1933-1937.
Accession 1996.158.A: Herbarium documents, information on a "Herbarium attack" of 1998, Fungi catalog, plant log book, glass negatives, negatives, museum memos, and photographs.
Accession 11169.A: Office files, correspondence, and reports, 1956-1975 (this accession also includes the accession 2005.77.A).
Accession 1996.113.A: Office files, fellowship files, memoranda, and correspondence, 1968-1977.
Accession 11085.A: Office files, commissions, correspondence, meeting notes and minutes, plans, and Lane Cooperative Museum files, 1977-1982.
Accession 2005.77.A: A negative of Cressman's Fort Rock sandals (filed with accession 11169.A).
Accession 2002s.301.A: Specimen identification, reports and biennial reports, some correspondence, 1950s-1970s.
Dates
- Creation: 1956-1982
Creator
- University of Oregon. Museum of Natural History (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Permanent University Archive public records are available for research, and are subject to state, and in some cases federal freedom of information laws. In compliance with applicable state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, FERPA and HIPAA, specific records that are legally protected, sensitive, private, or confidential are exempt (not subject to disclosure) and closed to protect individual privacy. Access to paper records will be granted after a professional review of the records occurs based on regulations in state and federal laws. Contact Special Collections and University Archives well in advance in order to access these records.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
The Museum of Natural and Cultural History (MNCH) is Oregon's primary repository for anthropological and paleontological collections.
In 1935 the Oregon Legislature proclaimed the anthropological collections of the University of Oregon to be the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, the repository for all holdings of anthropological nature to come into the hands of the state. In 1936 the State Board of Higher Education combined the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, the Condon Museum of Geology, the University Herbarium, and the Museum of Zoology into the University of Oregon Museum of Natural History (now known as the Museum of Natural and Cultural History).
Today, as the premier natural and cultural history museum in the State of Oregon, the MNCH houses nearly 1 million ethnographic and archaeological objects and almost 100,000 fossils and biological specimens from Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and around the world. Samplings of these collections are available online in the web galleries.
Extent
4.75 linear feet (7 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
In 1936 the State Board of Higher Education combined the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, the Condon Museum of Geology, the University Herbarium, and the Museum of Zoology into the University of Oregon Museum of Natural History. The collection contains correspondence, reports, meeting notes and minutes, Herbarium historical documents, glass negatives, photographs, a Museum of Anthropology accessions/inventory journal, and a negative of Fort Rock sandals.
Arrangement
Material within this collection has been organized by accession. This organization reflects the fact that the collection has been acquired in increments over time. This organization is also based on the decision not to merge the various accessions and organize them as a whole at this point in time, given the fact that future accruals are anticipated and/or that this organization is deemed sufficient for access.
Researchers should note that materials within a series or accession may overlap and/or relate to materials found in other accessions or initially processed materials. For example, correspondence may be found in all or only some groupings. In order to locate all relevant material within this collection, researchers may need to consult each accession.
Researchers should also note that similar materials can be arranged differently in each accession, depending on how the material is organized upon receipt or during initial processing. For instance, correspondence is one accession may be arranged alphabetically, while correspondence in another accession is arranged chronologically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records have been acquired through occasional transfers from the Museum of Natural and Cultural History.
Accruals
Continued transfers of records from the Museum of Natural and Cultural History are expected indefinitely.
Physical Description
6 manuscript boxes, 1 record storage box, and 1 half-manuscript box.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Tanya Parlet, December 2011.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
This collection received a basic level of processing including minimal organization and rehousing. Multiple accession(s) for the collection have not been merged or organized as a whole. Each accession is described separately.
Description information is drawn in part from information supplied with the collection and initial surveys of the contents. Folder titles are based on those created by the creators or previous custodians. Titles have not all been verified against the contents of the folders. In some cases, staff supplied folder titles during initial processing.
Subject
- University of Oregon. Museum of Natural History (Organization)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Museum of Natural and Cultural History Records
- Status
- Complete Description
- Author
- Tanya Parlet
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
