Re: paleonet superiority!

[Dawn Peterson <jurdyke@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dr. Rindsberg,

I wonder I you or another PaleoNet subscriber could expand a bit on programs
to develop semi-professional certifications at the Utah Geological Survey
and the Denver Museum of Natural History. I am a "full-time"
semi-professional (micropaleontology: ostracoda). Enquiring minds want to
know!

Dawn Peterson
Research Associate
Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology and Geology
California Academy of Sciences
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA 94118-4599

----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Rindsberg" <arindsberg@gsa.state.al.us>
To: <paleonet@nhm.ac.uk>
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 10:43 AM
Subject: Re: paleonet superiority!


> 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
>
>