Natural world

Biological records

 

National Museums Liverpool’s environmental and biological records collection began in 1969. It was known as the North West Biological Field Data Bank (NWBFDB). It was set up to safeguard items such as:

• naturalists’ notebooks
• unpublished reports with limited circulation
• voucher specimens to support records
• local journals and society records

For many years NWBFDB was the main regional records centre. Various different groups, such as conservationists and planners, used these records.

Now, however, a linked network of local record centres is being created. This means the museum’s role will change. It will no longer act as a local record centre. Instead, we will pass our site files to each properly constituted centre. These will then be computerised. The museum will continue to archive the files for their associated historical information.

World Museum Liverpool will continue to be part of the recording network by:

• providing public access to data and publishing results on behalf of the network
• housing voucher specimens
• collecting naturalists’ notebooks that provide a historic background to modern records
• collecting short-run scientific reports (so-called ‘grey’ literature)
• providing expert interpretation of records

Environmental recording has always been a significant activity of museum staff. We will continue undertake surveys throughout the UK. Staff also run recording schemes such as the North West Fungus Group, the Merseyside & West Lancashire Bat Group and the National Caddis Fly Recording Scheme.

Please get in touch with us at World Museum Liverpool if you have items like naturalists’ notebooks and records that you think we may be interested in acquiring.

Find out more about the new network of local record centres and how you can contact us.