Completely Rethinking the Organisation of Natural History Museums: A Taxonomically Arranged National Collection

This paper looks at an alternative way of organising all of the natural history collections in the United Kingdom. Currently, almost every museum manages very diverse collections of biological and geological material. Unlike other types of museums, natural history museums often hold the same or similar selections of specimens across many institutions which could be reorganised nationally by taxonomic group. The advantages and disadvantages as well as the practical consideration of implementing such a new system are examined as a way of efficiently caring for natural history material across museums.