NPL Temp Label: Loan labels

As of 2013, Loan Labels are handled through the reports tab on Specify. They have 2 parts- the in-house label that stays in the drawer to mark where the specimen is normally stored, and the specimen label that stays with the specimen being loaned out. We do not send original primary specimen labels out of the lab. Educational, Research, Destructive and 'Other' loan labels will be printed on pink paper. Research on Campus and Exhibit loans will be on yellow paper.

The example below is a screenshot and therefore not on a colored background.

Specify database generated labels

In-house labels will indicate the number and type of loan, the borrowers name, the species lent, how many are on loan out of how many are available, and the storage information.

Specimen labels have all of the information on the in-house label, but also include locality, geologic time and stratigraphic information. This is put in the tray with the specimen as it is prepared for shipment. 

Older loan labels

Prior to 2013, loan labels were hand written and did not include as much information as the new labels do. You will come across these labels in drawers all over the collections at NPL. It is important to realize even if there is a specimen in a tray along with this label, it is not safe to assume the specimen in the box is the one that was sent on loan. These labels do not always indicate if one specimen was loaned while the other stayed, and if you remove that label the next person looking in that drawer will not necessarily know there should be 2 specimens present.