Special photographs are also made with the help of a scanning electron microscope. These photographs are more highly magnified than those taken through an ordinary microscope. SEM photographs clearly show spore details and cell structure. Data on the unique structure of different genes is also being collected for many species. Collections and their related materials can require a lot of space for storage.
Insect control is vital for the safety of the specimens.
Storage boxes must be repaired or replaced. The loan of collections is also part of curation. Hundreds, even thousands of collections can be loaned out and received back in a single year. The herbarium staff selects, packs and ships the loan and refiles the collections when they are returned. Keeping track of all the information and related elements of a collection is a major challenge for a herbarium.