The new issue of the Museum’s scientific journal, The Nautilus, is being published today, October 31. Co-edited by José H. Leal (National Shell Museum & Aquarium) and Rüdiger Bieler (Field Museum of Natural History), it brings together historical accounts of fifteen major museum-based molluscan collections in the U.S. containing specimens from the Eastern Seaboard. I also includes an introductory article prepared by curators, collection managers, and collection associates involved in the project. The articles are an outcome of the National Science Foundation-sponsored Thematic Collections Network grants collectively known as Mobilizing Millions of Mollusks of the Eastern Seaboard (ESB). Each article tells the story of an institutional collection from its earliest days to its present involvement in community-wide efforts. Support for this publication under National Science Foundation award DBI-2001510 to the Field Museum is gratefully appreciated. Read the special issue here and the historical account of the National Shell Museum collection here.
