The Sherwin Carlquist Collection
The Sherwin Carlquist Collection encapsulates more than 30 years of important botanical research conducted by the late Dr. Sherwin Carlquist, a renowned mid-century American botanist best known for his significant contributions in plant systematics, wood anatomy, and island plant diversity.
The collection is comprised of 191,789 collection objects, i.e., herbarium specimens, wood specimens, plant material preserved in spirits, wood anatomy microscope slides, color slide film, field photograph envelopes affixed with black and white field photographs with field notes, field photograph negative sleeves, and field collection notebooks. The objects in this collection are divided between the California Botanic Garden (RSA) and the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) owing to Carlquist’s longstanding professional affiliation with RSA and important collaborations with researchers at BRIT.
This collection has had some curation and digitization, but a significant proportion of the biological collections and the archival objects have never been curated or digitized, which makes the vast majority of this collection currently inaccessible to the broader research community, students, and the general public.
This project is generously funded by the National Science Foundation, award #2133562.
Imaging Team
Krishna Shenoy
Independent Contractor
Sherwin Carlquist Digitization Project
Sam Ekberg
Independent Contractor
Sherwin Carlquist Digitization Project
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Collections Insights
Collections Insights brings together three distinct perspectives that reflect the depth and richness of botanical collections—from the relationship between herbaria and libraries to the hidden treasures of archival holdings, and the personal narratives of those working in the field.
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The Oliver G. Burk Children’s Collection
The Oliver G. Burk Children’s collection is a treasure of both rare and new books on botany and natural history.
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Library Archives Collection
The BRIT Library houses one of the largest and finest collections of botanical works in the southwestern United States.
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Rare Book Room Collection
The Discovery Fund Rare Book Room includes an exceptional collection of books and limited-edition items, some of which were published over 200 years ago and are fragile, scarce, or valuable.
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The Arader Natural History Collection of Art
As one of the newer additions to the Library, the Arader Natural History Collection of Art celebrates art, science, and the beauty of plants and nature.
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The Stansbery Collection for Botanical Art
Through the generosity of Will and Kay Stansbery, the BRIT library offers access to a collection of books focusing on botanical art and illustration, and art history.
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Discovery Resources
Explore a curated collection of educational and digital resources from the BRIT Library and beyond.
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BRIT Library History
In large measure, the library of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas owes its existence to Lloyd H. Shinners and his vision of the future.
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Participate
In a world of increasing demands and shrinking dollars, you can also support our mission by sponsoring specific resources and preservation efforts.
