Natural Science Collections at Ludlow Library and Museum Resource Centre

Welcome to

Natural Science Collections

in West Midlands Museums and Botanical Gardens

Ludlow: Ludlow Library and Museum Resource Centre

Contact: Daniel Lockett, Curator of Natural Sciences

Tel: 01584 813666

email: llmrc@shropshire-cc.gov.uk

Collections: The Shropshire County Museum Service's natural science collections, held at Ludlow, include approx. 36000 geology specimens comprising important material such as the Shropshire mammoths, early fossil fish and palaeozoic cephalopods, as well as a representative stratigraphic and fossil collection that highlights the importance of Shropshire's geology to the history of the science.

Biological collections include approximately 58000 specimens. The bulk of these are Shropshire invertebrates such as butterflies, beetles etc. A good collection of about 1400 British and worldwide marine, freshwater and terrestrial mollusks is a major part of this. About 1000 vertebrate specimens are also housed either as part of an osteological collection or as taxidermy specimens, and there is a collectionof birds eggs currently undergoing inventory. A small herbarium of about 2000 specimens has also been assembled. A small fluid collection also exists and is used to preserve soft body detail of local fauna and as comparative material with fossil specimens

Access: Gallery displays are available at Ludlow Museum in Castle Square. All other services are operated from Ludlow Museum Resource Centre. Though a collections database is not currently accessible to the public it can be accessed by staff to answer enquiries and a public version is a long term goal. Educational services include a loans box service currently being developed in conjunction with Shrewsbury museums and events based at Ludlow.

Key Issues: With the completion of the museum resource centre collection care and physical access to the collections has been greatly improved. However, we require additional staffing to address a documentation backlog for both geological and biological collections. Although Ludlow Museum has a permanent geology gallery, display of other Natural Sciences material is not possible at present except in temporary exhibitions. We are beginning to make some material accessible online, however a programme of digitization would be required to extend this. Currently we use the Admuse database but are likely to change at some future point to another system.

Developments: All natural science collections have just been transferred to climate-controlled storage in the Museum Resource Centre.

Developments in 2008/2009:

Shropshire County Council will cease to exist when it becomes part of a new Unitary Authority (Shropshire Council) in April 2009.

Shropshire County Council Museums Service will merge with Shrewsbury Museums Service to become a new Shropshire Museums Service in April 2009. This change to a Unitary Authority may involve cuts in curatorial staffing.

The new Shropshire Council will become responsible for the museum development at The Music Hall , Shrewsbury - 'inherited' from Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council (Shrewsbury Museums Service).