Collections Access and Policies
The collection is a heavily used resource. In addition to staff and student research, the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology handles external loans and receives visits from professional colleagues at home and abroad. Specimens in the collection are generally available for loan upon approval by the Curator-in-Charge, Dr. Chris Beard.
Specimens may be loaned to qualified, recognized professionals or their students, at the discretion of the Curator-in-Charge. Graduate students requesting specimens on loan must submit a letter of request co-signed by their advisor. The borrower assumes full and complete responsibility for the material on loan, and agrees to all conditions specimens for the handling and storage of borrowed specimens. The criteria considered in granting a loan request include, but are not limited to, the number of specimens in the request, which specimens are requested, the condition of the specimens, what the borrower plans to do with the specimens, the project design, the previous loan record of the borrower, the location of the borrower, and priority use of the material by another researcher. In some cases, it may be preferable for a researcher to visit the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology instead of borrowing specimens.