What I Do: Notes from the Frontiers of Academic Curating in Biology

Abstract

Abstract In an era in which genomes are being sequenced and support for traditional biological collections is diminishing, it's a dynamic time to be an academic curator in biology. Pressures arise from factors such as bureaucracy, from the need to document productivity in terms that largely neglect collections, from the seeming discord between taxonomic orientation and hypothesis testing, reliance on soft money, teaching and research, and the need to build collections. Some of us prefer to continue building collections nonetheless. These factors combine to produce unprecedented levels of stress on academic curators. However, these seas can be navigated, and doing so brings both traditional and nontraditional rewards. This article presents a personal working study in navigating this increasingly complex career choice.