World Federation for Culture Collections No. 26 (July 1997)

Abstract

WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS NEWSLETTER No. 26 (WFCC) July 1977 Code Number:NL97010 Sizes of Files: Text: 73.4K Graphics: No associated graphics files WFCC EXECUTIVE BOARD Officers and members WFCC COMMITTEES Committee on Biodiversity: Committee on Education and Capacity Building: Committee on Endangered Culture Collections: Committee on Patents: Committee on Postal, Quarantine and Safety Regulations: Committee on Publications and Publicity: Committee on World Data Centre for Microorganisms: WFCC REPORTS Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Board, August 28, 1996, Veldhoven, Netherlands Minute 1. Call to order. Minute 2. Record of attendance. Minute 3. Committees. The composition of the newly agreed upon committees - World Data Centre on Microorganisms Committee: - Postal, Quarantine and Safety Regulations Committee: - Endangered Collections Committee: - Patents Committee: Minute 4. Adjournment. Minute 5. Meeting reconvened on 29 August 1996 at 8:00 am. Minute 6. Committees - Biodiversity Committee: - Publications and Publicity Committee: - Education and Capacity Building Committee: Minute 7. Resolutions. Minute 8. General Business. - Skerman Prize. - Revision of Guidelines/Standards. - Statutes Revision. - WFCC Business Plan. - Technical Information Sheets (TIS). Minute 9. Future Meetings. Minute 10. Close of Meeting. WFCC EDUCATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING COMMITTEE (EBB) GOALS 1. Assessment of the needs for the establishment of new culture collections and of the training and capacity building needs of microbial culture collections on a global and regional basis. 2. Development and continued promotion of capacity building and education programmes for CCs on a global and regional basis, with the main emphasis being on taxonomy and electronic communication systems (at least e-mail, information about holdings on www). 3. Support of WDCM activities through collection and update of information on a regional basis. GENERAL OUTLINE Many of the activities of the EBB Committee will be carried out regionally. The initial effort of the members will be towards building an assessment on the needs for establishment of CCs, status of capacity building, education and training needs of the existing CCs in their area of representation. The proposal for regional development should be analysed in regional workshops, organised by EBB representatives of the region. Funds for doing the workshops should be sought on a regional basis and complemented with funds from international agencies. ACTION PLAN Activity 1. Assessment of CCs status and needs on a global and regional basis. An inventory of existing CCs in different regions of the world will be conducted, mainly using data obtained from WDCM, supplemented with regional contacts. Activity 2 - Support to WDCM activities Activity 3 - Proposal for Education and Capacity Building activities Activity 4. Strengthening existing activities of CCs MEMBERSHIP A core committee was agreed during ICCC8 in Veldhoven. The Policy for membership was to include 2 representatives from 6 geographical regions and to establish working links with the WFCC Biodiversity Committee The immediate action that will be taken by EBB is the distribution of a questionnaire, developed together with the Biodiversity Committee and WDCM, for the assessment of CC needs in training and education. The questionnaire will be added to the WFCC Newsletter, as well as to the ECCO Newsletter. Readers are kindly asked to help in circulating it to the CC people in their regions, hoping that with the assessment of the needs EBB will be more able to make the right steps and help to overcome deficiencies. WFCC ENDANGERED COLLECTIONS COMMITTEE GOALS 1. To act as first port of call for any collection (industrial/private/academic) which considers itself to be endangered. 2. To assess the requirements of the Endangered Collections and provide any supportive or lobbying assistance it can. 3. In the event of a culture collection being in imminent danger of being lost, to visit or by means of correspondence assess its sector of expertise and interest (i.e. industrial/medical/fungal/algal etc) and solicit possible alternative sites. 4. To seek a source funding for this exercise; or if a "pot" already exists to allocate appropriate funds for the task to be carried out. MEMBERSHIP NEW WFCC MEMBERS, NEW ADDRESSES AND OTHER CHANGES Relocation of the National Collection of Food Bacteria (NCFB) Address correction OBITUARIES ROWLAND HILL 1935-1996 In memoriam Professor Bela Lanyi (1927-1997) RETIREMENT Retirement of Dr. Ivan J. Bousfield FOCUS ON CULTURE COLLECTIONS Future prospects for the UK National Culture Collections For some considerable time now the UK Culture Collection network has existed as a loosely affiliated federal system comprising eleven separate specialist entities. These collections have been supported by eight sources of Government funding emanating from five Government departments and are all maintained on separate sites by nine different parent organisations. Also, in more recent years, continued funding for several of the collections has been a major worry. Consequently a review on the whole UK system of operating service collections has been long overdue. Co-ordinated Marketing Policy This will involve the development of a unified house style (UKNCC) and the production of advertising materials around three sectoral nodes - an industrial node at NCIMB, a medical node at ECACC/CAMR and an agricultural/mycological node at IMI. Co-ordinated Database Construction This will provide a single electronic contact point for the UKNCC allowing access to a range of information such as strain dam, culture availability, uses and applications, services and expertise available, as well as providing a central ordering point. This initiative is also aimed at updating and harmonising data storage and retrieval facilities at UKNCC member collections as well as providing the facility for combined/specialist hard copy catalogue production. The Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP) The Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa functions as the national service collection for algae and protozoa in the UK, acting as a depository for strains of prokaryotic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), eukaryotic microalgae, small seaweeds and free-living non-pathogenic protozoa. Freshwater algae and all protozoa are maintained at the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Institute of Freshwater Ecology (IFE) Windermere Laboratory. Marine algae are kept at the NERC, Centre for Coastal and Marine Science (CCMS) Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory (DML). NEWS FROM AND FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS Journal of Culture Collections New Settlement of the Spanish Type Culture Collection (CECT) Philippine Network of Microbial Culture Collections Established National Collection of Dairy Cultures (NCDC), Karnal, India News on Cuban Culture Collections NEW CATALOGUES AND DATABASES OF CULTURE COLLECTIONS American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 12301 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD 208521776, USA. Filamentoas Fungi Reference Guide. The first edition of ATCC Quality Control and Reference Strains has been published. Collection Nationale de Cultures de Microorganismes Institut Pasteur. Fungi Culture Collection, Catalogue of Strains 1997, Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP) 1995 DSMZ Catalogue of Strains 1997. Institute for Fermentation, Osaka (IFO). Catalogue of newly accepted strains. WORLD WIDE WEB International Course: Biochemical Engineering Applications in Environmental Biotechnology and Cleaner Production (Workshops and Roundtables), The List of Bacterial Names with Standing in Nomenclature Bacterial Nomenclature Up to Date The Microbe Files RECENT PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST TO CULTURE COLLECTIONS NEW BOOKS RELEVANT TO CULTURE COLLECTION WORK EURACHEM Gives Guidance towards Accreditation EURACHEM has recently published a guide entitled "Accreditation for Laboratories Performing Microbiological Testing". WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING COURSES Details of events from September 8 1997 to December 5 1997 CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS Details of events from 4 September 1997 to 22 January 1998.