{"title":"Working Remotely, Working Effectively: Improving Collection Access During a Global Pandemic","authors":"Colleen Bradley-Sanders","doi":"10.1177/1550190620980735","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190620980735","url":null,"abstract":"This article looks at how one college archive responded to the shutdown of its campus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Archivist and Associate Archivist worked together to develop work assignments that could be done from home. While collection processing was halted, the tasks assigned to staff all aimed to improve informational access to the collections, through an expanded effort to convert PDF finding aids to EAD for placement in an ArchivesSpace site, a project to create a searchable listing of collections that includes a brief description of content and links to finding aids, and planning for digitization of frequently accessed content. The archive anticipates having plenty of work to keep staff working even if the campus shutdown continues in the spring, and to date has not had to cut any staff member.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"85 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125625355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Collecting Pandemic Phenomena: Reflections on Rapid Response Collecting and the Art Museum","authors":"Sandro Debono","doi":"10.1177/1550190620980844","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190620980844","url":null,"abstract":"Rapid Response Collecting has been a most apt methodology with which to document the COVID-19 pandemic for an increasing number of museums. As the phenomenon unfolded across the globe, museums searched for and head-hunted the truth-revealing objects that could tell the stories and histories of the present to current and future generations. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic took Rapid Response Collecting to a higher level. A methodology originally conceived for a sporadic phenomenon happening within a specific context during the early years of the 21st century gained much more traction almost overnight. This paper shall make a case for a better understanding of the potential use and application of Rapid Response Collecting by art museums. It shall look into the defining values of this collections development methodology and how these can be applied and adopted when acquiring works of art. In doing so, it shall seek to understand to what extent the mainstream version of Rapid Response Collecting can be adapted for the needs, purposes and requirements of the art museum.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131968309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Materializing Difference: Consumer Culture, Politics, and Ethnicity among Romanian Roma","authors":"Á. Ábrán","doi":"10.1177/15501906211013720","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906211013720","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117186126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The New General Facility Report","authors":"Sebastián Encina","doi":"10.1177/15501906211013729","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906211013729","url":null,"abstract":"The General Facility Report is an oft-used and important document in the museum field. Institutions across the country and across the planet use it primarily to conduct loans between museums. Originally drafted in 1988, the form has seen several revisions over thirty years. In 2019, Collections Stewardship of the American Alliance of Museums formed a committee to revise the form once more. Several employees from various museums with familiarity with the form and its use gathered to edit the GFR. Those edits were presented to AAM and at a conference to solicit feedback, before making the form available to the public. The committee re-organized the form, removed redundant questions, and added more flexibility to the 2020 GFR. The final form maintained much of what made the existing GFR so important, but streamlined to meet current standards. The 2020 GFR is now widely available and ready for use.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128252810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Visualizing the Future of Collections: How to Make Data Visualization Accessible and Useful for Managing Collections and Museums","authors":"Jessica Mailhot","doi":"10.1177/1550190621998325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190621998325","url":null,"abstract":"Data are vital to collections—from managing their holdings to quantifying their impact. Data visualization can be a powerful asset for collections because it translates complex data into something intuitive. In recent years, data visualization (and dashboards specifically) has gradually been applied in collections for various tasks and audiences. However, this frontier is still new, and there are significant barriers making data visualization inaccessible for most collections, including time and resources, programming experience, training materials, and consistent examples. In this case study, I directly address these barriers by designing a suite of collection management dashboards using the free and user-friendly software Tableau Public and tutorials that explain how to use and customize the them. These resources were finalized with the input from a representative pool of the target audience. Everything is freely available online at http://www.CollVizDashboards.com. As museums continue to evolve, data visualization ought to be accessible to all collections.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124085466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hidden Gems: Using Collections in Museums to Discover the Motivations of Collectors","authors":"J. Freedman","doi":"10.1177/1550190621998330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190621998330","url":null,"abstract":"Motivations and drives for collecting have varied through time. From amassing as many examples of different species or artefacts in the sixteenth century to highlighting the importance and strength of the British Empire in the eighteenth century. General trends are seen across historic collections in museums. In an attempt to understand the motivations behind individual collectors, this paper reviews the lives of four mineral collectors from the collections in The Box, Plymouth: Sir John St. Aubyn (175801839), Colonel Sir William Serjeant (1857–1930), René Gallant (1906–1985), and Richard Barstow (1947–1986). Combined they acquired over 4,000 minerals, mostly from the South West of the British Isles. Through examining their lives and collections we may gain insight into their motivations, presenting an opportunity to exhibit new narrative and story-telling alongside the specimens, and in doing so, enriching the visitor experience.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133218009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Humanistic Constructs: Creating Agency in a Natural History Museum","authors":"Patti Wood Finkle, Valerie Innella Maiers","doi":"10.1177/1550190621998332","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190621998332","url":null,"abstract":"It is every museum’s goal to make a difference in their visitors, whether to make them aware of a situation such as climate change, educate about a time period, or inspire visitors to think, to feel, and to observe the world around them. The Werner Wildlife Museum strives to provide visitors these opportunities for personal growth through humanities programming.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123159014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Competing Cultures: A New Age in Chaco Canyon","authors":"W. Bustard","doi":"10.1177/1550190620951537","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190620951537","url":null,"abstract":"Chaco Culture National Historical Park was founded to protect and preserve the archaeological remains of a complex pre-Hispanic American Southwestern society. The 1987 celebration of the Harmonic Convergence in Chaco Canyon forced the park to re-examine its museum collection policies. A new cultural use of the park arose with modern “offerings” left in archaeological sites by non-Native visitors. At the same time, Native American descendant communities were finding their political voices and making themselves heard by federal land managers. Managing the physical manifestations of competing cultural uses has evolved over time at Chaco, in response to descendant communities, “New Age” practitioners, and researchers.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"52 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122607571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction to Focus Issue “To Curate or Not to Curate: Surprises, Remorse, and Archaeological Grey Area”","authors":"G. Gallenstein, S. Childs","doi":"10.1177/1550190620951543a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190620951543a","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128769857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Journal of the Plague Year: Rapid-Response Archiving Meets the Pandemic","authors":"M. Tebeau","doi":"10.1177/1550190620986550","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190620986550","url":null,"abstract":"Pandemics challenge the foundations of social life, pushing us apart even as we yearn for human contact. A Journal of the Plague Year: An Archive of COVID-19 (JOTPY) emerged as effort by historians and archivists to document the current crisis. Rapid-response archival projects and two decades of digital archiving work, have provided the framework driving the development of JOTPY’s mission, including (among other things) a commitment to addressing the silences in traditional archives, collecting ethically, and developing robust metadata—a particular strength of JOTPY. Nonetheless, archiving pandemic nonetheless presents a distinctive problem that has suggested an altogether new type of rapid-response archive. More broadly, JOTPY is part of a global effort to document the pandemic and seeks to provide a useful model for other research teams involved in this important work.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114425654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}