This is an unprocessed collection. Any arrangement reflects either a pre-existing order from the records' creators or previous custodians, or preliminary sorting performed by staff.
The Ownbey Herbarium at Washington State University transferred these materials to the WSU Libraries in two installments in 1990 (MS.1990.38, MS.1990.46).
This collection consists of research data, notes, correspondence, grant files, photographs, and other materials related to Amy Gilmartin's research on various topics, including Tillandsia, Bromeliaceae, the flora of Baja California, and plant genetics. Gilmartin used computer technology to build and analyze research data, and this is reflected in the collection (for example, Fortran coding sheets).
MS.1990.38 (26 boxes) contains research data, correspondence, reports, grant materials, catalog cards (specimens, species), field trip files, a 1980 curriculum vitae (box 8), photographs, collected reference materials, Gilmartin's master's thesis and Ph.D. dissertation, and other materials related to Gilmartin's research, teaching, and administrative activities.
MS.1990.46 (6 boxes) contains correspondence, grant files, index cards (bibliography and plant species), and photographs.
A preliminary inventory is available for this collection. Please contact the repository for more information.
Advance review by MASC staff is required prior to use by researchers. Please contact the repository for more information.
Amy Jean Gilmartin (1932-1989) served as the director of the Marion Ownbey Herbarium at Washington State University from 1975 until her death in 1989. Gilmartin earned her bachelor's degree from Pomona College, and her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Hawaii. Prior to taking the director position, Gilmartin taught biology at Monterey Peninsula College in California, served as a research associate for the Smithsonian Institution from 1969-1970, and chaired the botany department at the University of Guayaquil in Ecuador from 1962 to 1964. She was an authority on tropical and sub-tropical plants, and published more than 75 articles about her research.
The herbarium under her direction made use of new technologies. Gilmartin received a grant from the National Science Foundation to install a compact storage system, which allowed the expansion of the herbarium collection without requiring additional building space. As an early advocate of the use of computer technologies in systematics, Gilmartin installed a computer system in the herbarium in 1976 that could be used for record-keeping and label-making. The collection expanded in new directions under her leadership. Her interest and fieldwork in the tropics led to the acquisition of plants from those regions. Her research emphasized Bromeliaceae and the herbarium acquired a significant bromeliad collection during her tenure as director.