<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:red;font-weight:bold'>NOTICE OF CLOSING OF LOANS AND SHIPPING<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian
Institution, is in the process of moving its entire fluid collections to a new
off-site collection storage facility called the Museum Support Center (MSC),
Maryland, about 8 miles away from the downtown Washington DC Natural History
Building. All the staff in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology are involved in
this complex move which is now in its first stages for the invertebrate
collections. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>This is to inform you </span></font></b><b><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>that the entire invertebrate
collections of both fluid and dry specimens will be closed for loans from January
1 to December 31, 2008</span></font></b><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>.</span></font><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'> Until December 31, 2007, we will attempt to process
incoming critical loan requests when staff are available, and if the requested
collections are accessible. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>If you are planning a visit to the Museum during 2008,
please make sure to contact your sponsor to obtain the latest information on appropriate
dates in order to ensure availability of specimens that you may need to
examine. <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Portions of the fluid collections will
not be accessible at times, and there may be no staff to assist visitors to the
dry collections.</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>We thank you in advance for your understanding, and apologize
for the inconvenience our loan program shutdown may cause. We will re-open our
loan program as soon as possible, and will do our best to provide collection
access to visitors during the move. <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>We will
continue to process incoming types and other critical specimens needed for
completing manuscripts</span></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>As a result of the move we will finally be able to correct
some long standing collection arrangement problems for improved access, and
will be able to decompress the collections to provide internal growth space.
The new storage facility offers state-of the-art environmental controls and
life safety systems providing much-improved storage for the collections. The
new facility will also offer well equipped labs for visiting scientists. We
take this opportunity to extend an invitation for you to visit us at the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Museum</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Support</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> after we complete
the move of the fluid collections.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Many thanks for your continued interest in our collections.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Dr. Rafael Lemaitre, Chair,
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of
Natural History, P.O. BOX 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA; e-mail:
lemaitrer@si.edu<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Feel free to contact Kristian Fauchald (<a
href="mailto:Fauchald@si.edu">Fauchald@si.edu</a>) or Linda Ward (<a
href="mailto:wardl@si.edu">wardl@si.edu</a>) for further details about the
annelid collections.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
