[Taxacom] Vouchering and CBOL

[Neal Evenhuis]

I have been informed that a researcher working for the Consortium for 
the Barcode of Life is intending to "voucher" specimens from which 
DNA was extracted into his personal collection.

I looked for a protocol for vouchering specimens for CBOL and found a 
document online that indicated that the CBOL Database Working Group 
recommended (in 2005) that barcodes be linked to vouchered specimens. 
However, I could find no further documentation regarding protocol for 
where those vouchers should be deposited.

I would think that CBOL would want to strengthen and legitimize the 
results of their research by insisting on the permanence of their 
vouchers and thus require that vouchers be deposited in a permanent 
collection and not private and/or personal collections (where 
personal collections may easily be destroyed upon that person's death 
by unknowing persons -- and I know of a few that have).

Am I missing something that CBOL has told their participants 
regarding this -- or has CBOL missed the importance of permanent 
vouchers by omitting where vouchers should be deposited?

Neal