Descriptive Entry

These records consist of materials of the Systematic Biology Symposium and the Belmont Conference concerning their discussion of the work of the six committees. They include general correspondence and the correspondence of the six committees; financial records; travel vouchers; position papers of the six committees; drafts of a national plan for systematics resources; a pre-publication draft of America's Systematic Collections: A National Plan; transcripts and tapes of the Systematic Biology Symposium; and correspondence, constitution, and by-laws of the Association of Systematics Collections.

Historical Note

In 1971, at the invitation of the Smithsonian Institution, systematists and administrators representing seven scientific institutions, including the Smithsonian, convened to discuss a national program for systematics collections and their management. The participants recommended that further studies be undertaken and a report be presented to a national conference. Six committees were established and their findings presented to the Conference of Directors of Systematics Collections meeting at Gainesville, Florida, in April 1972. The meeting revised the reports and they were again reviewed in July 1972, at the Systematic Biology Symposium sponsored by the Smithsonian, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Science Foundation. The findings were then turned over to a committee of systematists and administrators, meeting at the Smithsonian's Belmont Conference Center, who were responsible for drafting a national plan for the coordination of national systematic resources. The Association of Systematics Collections, which replaced the Conference of Directors of Systematics Collections, received the draft and was charged with the responsibility to write, publish, and distribute the final report.