Chris,
 I never discard an older label and no museum that I know of does either.
One of the most important functions of the older labels is to prevent
errors in data. No matter how careful we are, when we make a newer label
some of them will have transcription errors every now and then. 10 fat
(fathoms), becomes 10 ft (feet) or 100 fat. Naples, the only locality
listed may become Nalpes, Italy or Naples, Florida, etc.

Sometimes assumptions are made by researchers depending on who wrote the
old label and what their handwriting was like.

Bynesian Decay is not caused by the label. It is due to poor storage
conditions. True, if the label is on acidit paper, and if the humidity and
temperature are high enough, acids can be given off which may affect the
shells. This would also be the case with cardboard trays, books in our
collection room, wooden cabinets, etc. Storing older labels in a Mylar
sleeve or a ziplock bag will both protect both the label and the
collection if this is a concern.

Providing old labels is the proper thing to do. Stand tall, you did the
right thing in sending all of the labels.

> That's my thought exactly. I was recently chasticed for including a old
> original label with my newer label. The shell was a Harpa cabriti. Before
> this species was regarded as Harpa ventricosa. I included the original
> label
> enclosed in a 2x3 ziplock & the recipient felt that I knew nothing about
> Byne's & commented negatively on my sending the original label with the
> newer label. Im at a loss how to comment on this.
> CHRIS:(

Regards,
Charlie
.................................................
Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Assistant Professor - Family Medicine

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