How to store a growing collection so you can find any piece
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A collection you can search has three layers: each specimen in its own box or tray with its label, boxes of one size grouped in flats (shallow open trays) or drawers, and a catalog that records where every piece lives, down to cabinet, drawer and position. The National Park Service says a good system "may be as simple as a series of sturdy boxes," and that cabinets should ideally be "powder-coated steel with drawers of steel or wood" [1]. This page compares flats, drawer cabinets and shelves, gives the short version of the metal versus wood question, and sets out an organizing scheme and a location code that keep any piece findable.
Flats, drawers and shelves compared
| Storage | Best for | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flats (shallow open trays, often cardboard) | Field lots, stock, specimens waiting to be cataloged | Cheap, stackable, easy to sort on a table | Open to dust and light; stacked flats crush the crystals in the one below if the walls are too low |
| Boxes on open shelves | A small collection, large specimens | No furniture to buy | Dust, light and knocks; hard to keep sizes together |
| Drawer cabinet | A cataloged collection of any size | Dark, dust-resistant, organized by drawer; NPS says doors "should seal tightly and have locks" [1] | Cost and weight; the cabinet's materials matter (see below) |
| Shelves for single large pieces | Cabinet specimens too big for drawers | NPS: "Large specimens should be stored on shelves or, if fragile, on form-fitted mounts of plaster of Paris and stable foam" [1] | Earthquakes and shelf collapse; needs restraint |
Most collections use all four in sequence. Material comes home in flats, gets cleaned and cataloged, moves into boxes in a drawer cabinet, and the few big pieces end up on shelves or in a case.
Trays inside drawers
Inside a drawer, small specimens usually sit in cardboard trays or boxes. NPS notes that "Small specimens can be stored in cardboard trays in drawers," and that "Acid-free cardboard specimen trays are unnecessary for geological specimens, but will last longer than acidic trays" [1]. Keep trays from sliding: NPS suggests that "Magnets or empty trays used as space holders in a drawer will prevent specimen trays from shifting within drawers" [1]. Matching tray and box sizes to the drawer is covered on what size box.
Metal or wood: the short version
Two National Park Service leaflets point in slightly different directions, and both are worth knowing.
- COG 11/2 (1998) prefers powder-coated steel cabinets and accepts drawers "of steel or wood," noting that well-sealed cabinets "particularly cabinets with wooden drawers" buffer humidity changes [1].
- COG 11/11 (2006) states that "it is NPS policy that collections are stored in metal cabinets," and explains why: wood, coatings, adhesives and sealants can release acids, and in a sealed cabinet "these gases cannot escape" [2]. A museum manual on geological collections names "oak, birch and chipboard" among materials that release acidic pollutants in storage cabinets [3].
This page follows the later leaflet for anything acid-sensitive. Calcite and other carbonates, shells and some fossils belong in metal or in well-sealed boxes, away from bare wood and fresh finishes. Stable silicates such as quartz are far less reactive to acid vapors, so a wooden cabinet is a smaller risk for them, though the label paper and any organic matrix still share the cabinet air. NatSCA, the UK natural science collections association, adds a practical point in favor of metal: modern cabinets are usually metal, which greatly reduces the risk of a pest outbreak [4]. The full explanation, including how to test a cabinet and what barriers help, is on acid vapors from the cabinet itself.
When you open a cabinet that has been closed for a long time, open it and let it air before leaning in, especially if it holds radioactive or other hazardous species. COG 11/11 warns that a person "will become exposed to these high concentrations when a cabinet is first opened" [2]; the hazards involved are on radioactive minerals at home.
Choosing an organizing scheme
How you arrange drawers decides how you search. Pick one primary order and let the catalog handle every other way of looking.
| Scheme | How it works | Good for | Drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| By catalog number | Specimens go in the next free position in number order | Fast filing; nothing ever has to move | You cannot browse by species or place without the catalog |
| By mineral system | Grouped by chemical class, as in the published Dana or Strunz classifications | Systematic collections, teaching | New species force rearranging; renamed species move |
| By locality | Grouped by country, state, mine | Locality and self-collected collections | Multi-species pieces need one home and cross-references |
| By size class | Thumbnails, miniatures and cabinets in separate cabinets | Saves the most space, since box sizes match drawers | Splits a species or locality across cabinets |
| Hybrid | Size class first, then system or locality within each | Most growing collections | Needs discipline when filing |
There is no rule here, and every scheme works if the catalog records where each piece is. The one mistake to avoid is having no fixed order at all, which is how specimens and labels get separated.
A location code that finds any piece
Give every storage place a short code and record it in the catalog as its own field.
Format: cabinet, drawer, position. For example, `C2-D07-14` means cabinet 2, drawer 7, position 14 counted from the front left.
- Number the furniture. Label each cabinet and each drawer on the outside. NPS says "All boxes, cabinets and drawers need to be clearly labeled to prevent unnecessary disruption of specimens" [1].
- Add a location field to the catalog, separate from the catalog number. The number identifies the specimen; the location says where it is today. The full field list is on keeping the catalog, and a ready-made spreadsheet is on the catalog template.
- Update the location the day a piece moves, whether to a show, a display, a buyer or another drawer.
- Use an "out" card. When a specimen leaves its place for more than a day, put a card in its spot with its number and where it went.
- Put it back in the same place. NatSCA's handling advice ends with exactly this: put it back in the right place [4].
- Check the codes once a year during your condition check: pick ten records at random and find each piece.
Keep labels with specimens at every stage. NatSCA's rule is to keep every label with its specimen or box [4]. What to do when labels and specimens do get separated after a move or a spill is on keeping labels with specimens.
Shelving large specimens safely
Large cabinet specimens are the hardest pieces to store and the easiest to break.
- Put the heaviest pieces lowest. A heavy specimen on a high shelf is a hazard to the specimen below it and to you.
- Give each a footprint. A fitted foam cradle or tray stops rolling; NPS describes form-fitted mounts of plaster and "stable foam" for fragile large pieces [1].
- Restrain shelves in earthquake country. The collector Willard Perkin lost part of his collection when the 1971 Sylmar earthquake "shattered the glass cases and shelves in his garage" [5]. Anchoring shelving to the wall and adding a lip or a restraint across each shelf is ordinary prudence. More on handling and earthquakes is on breakage and handling loss.
- Cover against dust. NPS suggests polyethylene or washed, unbleached cotton covers, and prefers cotton where the room is humid [1].
Keeping track of everything you have stored
The location field only works if the catalog is kept. How to catalog a new specimen step by step, which software or spreadsheet to use and how to back it up, is on keeping the catalog.
References
- National Park Service, Kathy Hall, *Storage Concerns for Geological Collections*, Conserve O Gram 11/2, April 1998. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/museums/upload/11-02_508.pdf
- National Park Service, Greg McDonald, *Health and Safety Issues with Geological Specimens*, Conserve O Gram 11/11, September 2006. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/museums/upload/11-11_508.pdf
- Western Australian Museum, *Geological Collections*, online museum manual (manual.museum.wa.gov.au), undated, read October 22, 2026. https://manual.museum.wa.gov.au/book/export/html/52/index.html
- Emma Nicholls, Horniman Museum and Gardens, *Care and Use of Geological Collections*, Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA), undated. https://www.natsca.org/sites/default/files/Care%20and%20Use%20of%20Geological%20Collections-%20NatSCA.pdf
- Jim Houran, Jim Bleess and Alex Schauss, *Little Wonders: Connoisseur Thumbnails in the Contemporary Collector Market*, iRocks, April 7, 2020. https://www.irocks.com/little-wonders-connoisseur-thumbnails-in-the-contemporary-collector-market
