The History of Scientific Collections

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University Collections in Germany: Research on their Holdings and History

Funded by the German Research Foundation [2] (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
Conducted by Dr. Cornelia Weber [3]
PDF Download Projektflyer (PDF, 480 KB.) [4]

Nearly every German university possesses scientific collections and museums in various departments. Their functions are manifold: on the one hand, they establish a basis for research and education; on the other hand, they often serve as mediators of science to the general public. The exploration of these collections could reveal many valuable details regarding the history of science. However, university collections have not been considered an object of research in Germany to date and neither a complete survey of holdings, nor a fundamental interdisciplinary treatise on the history of university collections exists.

The project intends to catalogue German universities' collections and to compile extensive data on the holdings and history of these collections, in order to form the basis of a specific investigation into the history of science and a historical analysis of collecting.

The university collections and museums in Germany, identified to date, are recorded in the following online-information system:

University Collections in Germany [5]

UMAC Worldwide Database of University Museums & Collections [6]

Further information:

• Cornelia Weber, University Collections. In: European History Online (EGO), published by the Leibniz Institute for European History (IEG), Mainz 2012-12-19.
  http://www.ieg-ego.eu/weberc-2012-en [7]
• Cornelia Weber, Geowissenschaftliche Universitätssammlungen in Deutschland und ihre Bedeutung für die internationale Scientific Commmunity. In: Beschreibung, Vermessung und Visualisierung der Welt. Beiträge der Tagung vom 6. bis 8. Mai 2011 an der Akademie gemeinnütziger Wissenschaften zu Erfurt. Ed. by Ingrid Kästner and Jürgen Kiefer. Aachen 2012 (Europäische Wissenschaftsbeziehungen 4). pp. 393-407.
  Addendum: Universitätssammlungen in Deutschland mit geowissenschaftlichem Objektbestand, pp. 408-424.
• Cornelia Weber, Universitätssammlungen und -museen. In: Quellen zur frühneuzeitlichen Universitätsgeschichte. Typen, Bestände, Forschungsperspektiven. Ed. by Ulrich Rasche. Wiesbaden 2011 (Wolfenbütteler Forschungen 128), pp. S. 83-118.
• Cornelia WeberFrom anatomy to zoology: Results on the history of university collections based on trans-disciplinary research. In: University Museums and Collections Journal 3, 2010, pp. 121-126.
  http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/umacj/2010/weber-121/PDF/weber.pdf [8]
• Cornelia Weber, Universitäre Sammlungen - ihre Bedeutung in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. In: Anatomie und Anatomische Sammlungen im 18. Jahrhundert anlässlich der 250. Wiederkehr des Geburtstages von Philipp Friedrich Theodor Meckel. Ed. by Rüdiger Schultka and Josef N. Neumann in co-operation with Susanne Weidemann. Berlin 2007. pp. 397-404.
• Cornelia Weber, Verzeichnis medizinischer Sammlungen an den Universitäten in Deutschland. In: Anatomie und Anatomische Sammlungen im 18. Jahrhundert (see above). pp. 405-417.
• Universitätssammlungen in Deutschland - Untersuchungen zu Bestand und Geschichte. In: Daniel Burckhard, Rüdiger Hohls, Claudia Prinz (Hrsg.), .hist 2006. Geschichte im Netz: Praxis, Chancen, Visionen. Teilband II: Historische Fach- und Themenportale, Reihe Historisches Forum, 2007, pp. 228-243.
  http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/histfor/10_II/ (pdf) [9] or
  http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/histfor/10_II/PHP/Fachportale_2007-10-II.php#009007 [10]

Interest in university collections and museums is not restricted to Germany. In 2001, the special committee 'University Museums and Collections' (UMAC) was founded under the auspices of the 'International Council of Museums' (ICOM). Further information: http://umac.icom.museum [11]

In April 2000, the EU-Project 'Academic Heritage and Universities - Responsibility and Public Access' was initiated on a European level. The project was sponsored by the 'Culture 2000' programme. Further information: http://universeum.it [12]