Students and researchers are encouraged to visit the Herbarium, and these guidelines are intended to facilitate its use and ensure its preservation. All users must understand and adhere to the policies described herein.

Any questions should be directed to members of the staff. In addition, all visitors are asked to sign the visitor's log at the entrance to the Herbarium. This information helps us document usage of the Herbarium, and provide better services to those who visit.

Working with specimens

Handling specimens — Herbarium specimens are fragile! This is especially true at KSU, due to the historical collections (included in the general collections).

Use common sense in handling the specimens:

• Handle each specimen with two hands and move it around carefully so as not to bend the paper and stress the specimen…never “flip” through, or invert specimens
• Use the long-arm microscopes to view mounted material.
• Loose material should be placed in a fragment packet on the sheet from which it came (new packets are provided).
• Specimens in need of repair should be brought to the attention of a staff member.

Locating a specimen — The families are arranged following a system of 400+ families, of which we use about 380 (arrangement of flowering plant families follows Cronquist, 1981). This arrangement is posted on several cases at the ends of the herbarium aisles. Within each family, the genera are arranged alphabetically (generic nomenclature generally follows that of Flora of the Great Plains). Within each genus, species are arranged alphabetically. Furthermore, Kansas specimens are separated and placed in folders with a green tag (filed at the beginning of each genus), and specimens of cultivated material are separated and placed in folders with a red tag (filed at the end of the genus). Researchers looking for type material should consult the Curator.

Treatment of specimens for proper pest management — We operate under an “Integrated Pest Management Plan" that aims to minimize the use of pesticides. It is thus imperative that all workers adhere to the following policies:

• Ensure that all specimens are put away in insect-proof cabinets at the end of each day.
• Close all herbarium cabinets completely — the entire door should close tightly, top and bottom.
• Report any signs of recent insect damage or live insects (Lasioderma) to the staff.

All plant material entering the herbarium will be hard frozen, and this must be arranged by a staff member. The only non-frozen plant material permitted in the herbarium will be for identification by Mark Mayfield and must be delivered directly to him; if Dr. Mayfield is unavailable, such material will be deposited in the box outside of the main door.

Policy on destructive sampling — Projects involving removal of material (e.g., for pollen or DNA studies) must be approved in advance by the Curator. Specific guidelines will be followed for such projects, and specimens from which material is removed must be annotated. Researchers should be aware that sampling of some specimens (especially those that are historical, and those containing sparse material) may not be allowed.

Other resources

The herbarium library — The Herbarium houses an extensive collection of floras, other books, journals and reprints for use in taxonomic research and plant identification. These materials are intended for in-house use (permission to borrow an item must be obtained from the Curator).

The plant driers — The Herbarium has two plant driers, with the primary one being located outside the main door. All presses placed in the drier should be labeled by name and date. The drier must be monitored while in use and unplugged when not in use. Most well-packed presses will dry within a maximum of five days, and should be removed by that time (by the person who placed the press in the drier).

What you can do

Citing the herbarium — KSC is our recognized acronym, and should be used to cite all of our specimens. When study (in-house and/or via specimen loans) of KSC material has proven useful, the herbarium should be cited. Furthermore, we request that workers notify the herbarium staff of dissertations and papers citing KSC (this can be done readily via email).

Specimen annotation — Researchers are requested to annotate specimens studied that belong to groups in which they have expertise, and annotations are required on all specimens sent out on loan prior to their return. Annotations should not be written directly on sheets; paper for annotation labels will be provided.

Specimens to be accessioned into the herbarium — All researchers are encouraged to submit specimens for accession into the collection (the staff will determine which material warrants accession). Specimens must be properly prepared and labeled (see the staff for tips on label formatting and label-making programs); specimens serving as voucher material should be noted.