Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology
Treatise to be reinvented
Dear Paleontologists and Geologists,
Fifty years ago, R.C. Moore established an endowment to support the compilation and publication of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, to be compiled by the Paleontological Institute at the University of Kansas and jointly published with the Geological Society of America, who also was responsible for marketing and distribution. This has been a beneficial and rewarding relationship that sustained the Treatise for most of those 50 years.
In recent years, however, the need has become ever more pressing for the Treatise to be put into digital form and, perhaps more importantly, to become a living document for students and research paleontologists. There has been a general sense that this must take place quickly.
Recently, we met with leaders in the paleontological community (see below), and it became clear that the Treatise will need to be reinvented in some very real senses. Because of the urgency and because of the magnitude of the task of reinvention, those of us involved in the business end of the Treatise (the co-signers below plus Jack Hess, Executive Director of GSA; Jon Olsen, Director of Publications at GSA; and Jill Hardesty, Managing Editor of the Treatise) concluded that the current relationship between the Paleontological Institute and the Geological Society of America may be more of a hindrance than an advantage at this point in time. Therefore, we have decided that the best way forward, at least for the time being, is for the Paleontological Institute to take over all operations with respect to the Treatise.
This should in no way be construed as a lack of commitment on the part of the Geological Society of America to the paleontological community and to the Treatise. Indeed, it was GSA that called the leadership meeting, and we note that the current President of the Geological Society of America herself has very close ties to the paleontological community and has published numerous papers with paleontological and paleobiological content, and some 20% of GSA members are paleontologists. Rather, GSA is assuming the same role as paleontological societies and other geological societies as interested parties to whom the Paleontological Institute might look for intellectual and financial support as appropriate to those societies. This was necessary to allow the Paleontological Institute to proceed unfettered and to perform the reinvention of the Treatise with the greatest speed. GSA would like to emphasize that the door remains open for the Treatise to utilize GSA’s expertise in publication, distribution, and education and outreach at some future date if such expertise would be beneficial.
We believe that the future of the Treatise is bright and are looking forward to seeing its reinvention as a 21st-century resource.
Regards,
Judith Totman Parrish |
Paul Selden |
Robert H. Goldstein |
Participants:
| Warren Allmon, GSA Treatise Committee Doug Erwin, President, Paleontological Society Bob Goldstein, Chair and Professor, Dept. of Geology, KU Joe Hannibal, GSA Treatise Committee Jill Hardesty, Treatise Managing Editor Howard Harper, SEPM Executive Director Jack Hess, GSA Executive Director Steve Hasiotis, SEPM |
Jon Olsen, GSA Director of Publications Tim Palmer, Palaeontological Association Lisa Park, GSA Treatise Committee Judy Parrish, GSA President Paul Selden, Director, Paleontological Institute, KU Paul Taylor, Palaeontographical Society Roger Thomas, Paleontological Society Richard Twitchett, Palaeontological Association |