Dear friends and colleagues,
We need your help now. Most of you came to the Australian Museum in 2013
for the Polychaete Conference, many worked in our collections and some
are familiar with our Microscopy and Microanalysis lab (aka SEM lab) and
know Sue Lindsay who runs it. Below is the letter we sent to our
visiting fellows, and I hope that many of you can also support us if
you are considering visiting AM collections or even just believe that
SEM is an essential facility for a modern museum.
Yours,
Lena
Dear all,
As previous users of our SEM/microscopy facilities, we are writing to
ask for your support to help retain this essential service at our
Museum. You may or may not be aware that, last week, this lab was shut
down and the operator, Sue Lindsay, made redundant. This means that much
of the research work planned to include the use of these facilities and
Sue's expertise is now on hold, and will have to be outsourced, at much
greater cost to research in terms of time and money. Which will
ultimately slow down productivity and results of research. It may also
affect your decision to visit and do future work in the AM collections.
We are asking you if you would please send a letter (preferably on your
institutional letterhead, or with your affiliation) stating that you
find the action to be detrimental to the productivity of science and how
essential the tools of SEM and other micrography is to the process of
knowledge of marine invertebrate taxonomy, and of course, mentioning the
invaluable assistance provided by Sue Lindsay in preparation of
specimens and imaging under SEM. Without her, many of us would spend
much greater time doing this work, and with poorer results. If you were
considering any future work at the AM, please also mention this and that
it may affect your decision to do so. We are also trying to prepare a
business case, costing out internal vs external service, and also the
importance of retaining such an experienced and skilled lab-operator
(Sue), which will be signed as a petition from the users of the SEM/
microscopy unit.
I hope you can respond quickly, as we hope to get this issue raised at a
meeting on Monday afternoon between the union and management, so please
send your letters to Pat, as soon as possible.
Thanks to you all,
Best wishes,
Anna, Pat & Lena.
