The Herbarium handbook has been an important reference for herbarium collections care and management since it was first published in 1989. It draws on standard herbarium practices and personal experience from experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as contributions from partners and collaborators around the world, making it a celebration of collective knowledge.
The old handbook had drifted away from contemporary and technological advances and needed updating. The newly revised handbook presented an opportunity to outline new and future workflows of the herbarium curator, and the new version has undergone a major transformation not only in design but also in concept.
The book covers everything needed for contemporary herbarium management, from creating collections, preparing and caring for specimens and managing a herbarium building, through to public engagement and outreach, and features highlights of herbaria from around the world.
Highly accessible and adaptable, this richly illustrated handbook is the essential resource and training tool for all botanists, herbarium managers and curators involved with the making and maintenance of herbarium collections. Richly illustrated, the handbook is an ideal reference tool intended to help with training the next generation of staff, interns and volunteers, share ideas on best practice, techniques and workflows. Much like its original purpose, it is an updated manual for running a modern herbarium, and with the wealth of knowledge will help teaching and staff planning for the future.
Editors:
Nina Davies is the Herbarium Curation Manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her research interests are focused on African Rubiaceae and engaging a wider audience with herbarium collections.
Clare Drinkell is a Senior Curator Botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her research interests are in exploring ideas in creative engagement in science. Clare’s taxonomic focus is on plant families in South-East Asia.
Timothy Utteridge is a botanist in the Asia Team at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His research focuses on the taxonomy and systematics of various woody plant groups in South-East Asia. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Kew Bulletin and co-author of Trees of New Guinea, The Kew Tropical Plant Families Identification Handbook and A Guides to the Alpine and Subalpine Flora of Mount Jaya (all Kew Publishing).
The new Herbarium Handbook is available from Kew Gardens.