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It's entertaining to hear these opinions on a topic of common interest, like blind men feeling different parts of an elephant. Some parts of the elephant are more pleasant to touch than others, and some are downright dangerous. But amateurs' fossils don't have to take up shelf space in professionals' offices anymore. Ask for a digital image instead. If the supposed whale bones turn out to be the real thing instead of crustacean burrows or concretions, and they look intriguing, then they can take up shelf space, preferably as donations to the turtle expert upstairs (oops, is that getting too specific, Ed?). Seriously -- What are professional paleontologists expected to do as the amateur-to-professional ratio continues to climb? Our responsibility increases, and obviously we have to find ways to satisfy the demand AND get proper credit for it when Annual Evaluation time comes around. If an endless series of visitors is cutting into your research time, then get them grouped up: Close the door firmly and leave it just as open at stated office hours. Encourage amateurs to join local societies and then identify fossils at an occasional special meeting, maybe in conjunction with giving an invited talk. You could even ask the society to help collect, clean, or sort fossils, usually giving back more time than they take. And do what you can to raise amateurs to semi-professional level (e.g., certification programs at the Geological Survey of Utah and Denver Museum of Natural History). As many professionals decline to semi-amateur level after years of semi-paleontologic employment (with teaching, administration, or other duties "paying the bills"), the line between professional and amateur can become quite blurred. Was that part of the elephant's back I was touching, or part of its neck? Andrew K. Rindsberg Geological Survey of Alabama P.O. Box 869999 Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-6999, USA arindsberg@gsa.state.al.us
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