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Kate Santry interview
Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 7:40 pm
by Pete Eeles
Hi all,
On Monday I'll be interviewing Kate Santry, Head of Archival Collections (i.e. the library!) at Oxford Uni. Museum of Natural History. As input to that, if any members would like certain questions asked then please let me know in this thread.
Cheers,
- Pete
Re: Kate Santry interview
Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 7:52 pm
by Jack Harrison
The obvious questions which you must already have thought of:
Are some of the supposedly genuine early specimens of species now extinct in Britain thought to be genuinely British?
Is any DNA of old specimens sample to research (if this is possible, I'm no DNA expert) into changes, habitat requirements, foodplants, etc, today compared to earlier times? I have as an example that fact that the Comma would today seems to favour nettle as larval food but 100 years ago, it was hop (I think I am correct) and this perhaps is one factor in its steady expansion of range (also, presumably, in response to climate change but I am not talking about that here).
Jack
Re: Kate Santry interview
Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 8:03 pm
by Pete Eeles
Hi Jack,
Kate is in charge of the various books, articles etc., not the collections themselves. The obvious questions are oldest / rarest / most-demanded publications etc., and I also intend to discuss value of the archive, how it's used by researchers etc. etc.
Cheers,
- Pete
Re: Kate Santry interview
Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 8:47 pm
by David M
It'd be really interesting to know which is the oldest article they possess that specifically relates to UK butterflies. I guess there must be a few written in Latin lurking within those walls.
Re: Kate Santry interview
Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:40 pm
by Jack Harrison
Kate is in charge of the various books, articles etc., not the collections themselves.
My misunderstanding.
Jack
Re: Kate Santry interview
Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 4:21 pm
by Pete Eeles
Re: Kate Santry interview
Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:35 pm
by David M
Thanks, Pete. That Aurelian book looks positively spellbinding. You and Mark must have been like kids in a sweet shop.
Re: Kate Santry interview
Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:45 pm
by Pete Eeles
David M wrote:Thanks, Pete. That Aurelian book looks positively spellbinding. You and Mark must have been like kids in a sweet shop.
Looking through shelves upon shelves of books I could never afford and getting access to the most inaccessible of works is really quite something. So yes, kids in sweets shops is good analogy!
Cheers,
- Pete