Society Meeting 2015

 The University of Kansas in Lawrence, USA, was the site, from 30 July to 2 August 2015 (with a post congress day on August 3) of the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) co-sponsored by several herpetological societies including the ISHBH. This was actually the place where the thoughts that led to the establishment of ISHBH were shaped at an SSAR/HL meeting in 1996.

Monday August 3 was a full day with ISHBH activities starting in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library on the campus with an immense holding of rare and important herpetological books. We were welcomed by Karen Cook and Sally Haines who are both librarians at the Department of Special Collections. This time, the Library arranged a large exhibition open to the public called "All Creeping Things - A History of Herpetological Illustration" with glass cases displaying open classical books on herpetology. But not only that: just for the ISHBH delegates the librarians brought out the very best of the herpetological holdings for us to flip through, examine and inquire about. There were moments to sit down and participate in active discussions connected with collecting, archiving, and preserving books. The visit at the library had attracted 26 members and guests and encompassed two sessions that lasted for several hours with an intermediate shared lunch.