Collections I've Known

If you are standing in the doorway of the CMC Herbarium, chances are that you could turn around and see me at my desk: headphones on, head bobbing to some tunes. While the connection between the herbarium and music might not be readily apparent, I don’t have to make too great of a stretch when linking them in my mind.

For example, I take great pride in the organization of my digital and physical collections. Digitally, there are no “Track 1” or “Unknown Artist” tags to be found in my iTunes. The bitrate of my songs is pretty standardized at a higher quality variable bit rate (VBR) of V0 (which averages about 245 kilobytes per second). I chose this to maximize sound quality while also keeping file sizes down. Digitization of specimens in the herbarium also requires high quality images, excellent record keeping, and up to date annotations.

My physical collection is also similar to the physical specimens of the herbarium. I have high quality (i.e. mint) records with all the original inserts as well as records that have had a rougher life with many scratches and water damaged sleeves. Just as the quality varies in my record collection, some specimens have a paucity of collection data, are missing key structures, or misidentified (and therefore improperly organized), while others are exquisite specimens.

 

Organization is extremely important in both collections. When I’m looking for soul music, I head to my soul section and I can immerse myself in the genre. Likewise, if I was trying to learn Carex species, I could head straight to the Cyperaceae and dive right in. There is a difference here between the two, however. Herbaria are organized phylogenetically, whereas the amount of reticulate evolution in music would make this an extremely daunting (in my opinion, impossible) task.

Both collections are designed to be used and explored. When I want to compare Eriophorum virginicum form album against other specimens for comparison and identification, I am greeted with many eager individuals. Alternatively, in my record collection when I am comparing that new thrift store find to my older copy, I can compare matrix numbers, label types, and sleeve attributes (i.e. gatefold) to determine pressing information and rarity.

Importantly, I have all my records, their conditions, any special notes, and the date I last listened to them in a spreadsheet. This makes my collection accessible in a new way to me. Not only is it is a very different browsing experience, but I can also send this list to friends so we can compare collections (and see if we want to make any trades/loans). In herbaria, databases can serve a very similar purpose.

You could call this a lesson in organization, but really it is obsession; because when you love something so much, you’ll look for any excuse to spend more time with it.