{"title":"From Mammy to Big Mama: Caring for Collections on Our Own Terms","authors":"Kayla T. Jackson","doi":"10.1177/15501906241232906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241232906","url":null,"abstract":"Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (the Center) began as a settlement house in 1929. It has and continues to serve the predominately Black neighborhood, commonly known as Rondo, in Saint Paul, MN. I am the first professional archivist hired by the Center and, as such, I was the first to establish workflows, implement standards, and provide easy access to the Center’s archival collections. Yet, I was trained to be an archivist by white people at predominately white institutions and have learned over time that not all the frameworks, ideas, and expectations impressed upon me apply in community archives which serve Black people. In this paper I will discuss the underappreciated social and emotional labors involved in being a Black woman in charge of a community archive, which serves a historically Black community, and was initially led by Black women. I will explore aspects of internal colonialism, catalog description, and efforts in community collaboration and outreach as it relates to collections entrusted to the Hallie Q. Brown Community Archives (HQBCA). This paper will offer a vignette into the journey of a professional serving the majority as a minority in collections care, to serving an underrepresented community as a fellow member of a marginalized group.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"42 20","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140432728","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":"Dorothy Shepherd and the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Ancient Near Eastern and Islamic Art Collection","authors":"Robin M. Hanson, Holly Witchey","doi":"10.1177/15501906241233815","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241233815","url":null,"abstract":"Dorothy Shepherd (1916–1992), a scholar of Ancient Near Eastern and Islamic art, helped lay the groundwork for scholarship in her field during a period when curatorial work and scholarship was dominated by men. She attended the University of Michigan and after graduation was appointed assistant curator of decoration at the Cooper Union Museum, New York. During World War II Shepherd served in the newly formed Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section of the United States military and in 1947 was appointed associate curator of textiles at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA); she retired from the CMA in 1981. During Shepherd’s tenure, the CMA acquired textiles and Islamic objects, and organized textile exhibitions showcasing Cleveland’s collection; Shepherd also authored numerous publications. In addition, Shepherd produced a significant but as yet unpublished catalog of 280 Islamic textiles in Cleveland’s collection. All of this is evidence of a noteworthy career that deserves further study and recognition.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"16 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140433030","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":"Inclusive Description in the Glasgow School of Art Library’s Published Catalog","authors":"Carissa Chew","doi":"10.1177/15501906241232307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241232307","url":null,"abstract":"This case study provides an overview of two guidance packs that the author created for the GSA Library, the first of which concerns advisory notices and the second of which concerns subject indexing and classifications. In an effort to share good praxis, this article includes real examples of item-level advisory notice text as well as a set of flowcharts that were designed to help GSA Library staff with the tasks of inclusive description.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140440914","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":"Not Just a Women Artists’s Show: Curatorial Challenges for the Exhibition of Women Artists in a Public Collection","authors":"Haizea Barcenilla","doi":"10.1177/15501906241232897","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241232897","url":null,"abstract":"Using a practical case study co-curated by the author and Garazi Ansa as a departing point for reflection, this article addresses a number of questions that arise when organizing exhibitions of female artists in collections. First, it examines the danger of falling into categories such as “women artists.” Second, it discusses the possibilities for the exhibition to have an impact on other activities of the museum, such as collecting. Finally, it proposes alternatives to extend the curatorial purpose on time by other by-practices, such as editing children’s book about the exhibited artists.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"25 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140441311","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":"Accessibility and Exhibit Safety: The Importance of Sensory Maps","authors":"Emma Cieslik","doi":"10.1177/15501906241232310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241232310","url":null,"abstract":"Museum accessibility, through audio description services, sighted guides, sensory maps/guides/social narratives, and more, is an essential part of exhibit safety and design. In the past decade, more museums recognize the importance of trigger warnings (a trigger being a sensory experience that may cause mental or physical discomfort, overload, or breakdown) for flashing lights, noise content, and movement to ensure visitors with epilepsy, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), PTSD, and mobility devices remain safe. But while more museums are developing resources and programming for neurodiverse individuals, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), many still do not understand how sensory maps, an inclusive and easy-to-create resource, are critical to visitor safety. A sensory map is an annotated layout of an exhibit, gallery, or entire museum that identifies areas with high and low sensory stimulation and the type of stimulation. Sensory overload/overstimulation can put visitors, staff, and collections at risk; sensory maps alleviate this risk by allowing visitors to self-select in or out of experiences, and in doing so, prioritize their own mental and bodily wellbeing. Highlighting how sensory maps are critical for visitor, staff, and object safety encourages museum boards of directors to allocate funding to create these resources and to seek out more funding for tailored programming and exhibit experiences. I met with accessibility professionals from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the International Spy Museum, the Houston Museum of Art, and others to share their insights about how to create accessible sensory maps (physical and digital versions) and reach out to disabled communities.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"97 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140448339","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":"Collections of Collections: Alice T. Miner and Electra Havemeyer Webb","authors":"Anastasia Pratt","doi":"10.1177/15501906241232425","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241232425","url":null,"abstract":"Electra Havemeyer Webb, in 1947, founded the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. A “collection of collections,” the museum brought together examples of art, architecture, and even local trees, all showcasing Webb’s interest in objects that can educate and illuminate American life and culture. On the other side of Lake Champlain, Alice T. Miner, with her husband, created the Alice T. Miner Museum in 1924. Her collection focused on the Colonial Revival, though, in a sense, this, too, is a “collection of collections.” The character of their museums reflects on their individual personalities and circumstances, but the fact of the collections speaks to the time period and to the ways in which women have seen and understood American culture. This article explores what these collections tell us about the women who created them and about the ways in which race, gender, and class intersect in the inclusion and exclusion of objects and images. Whether the steamship Ticonderoga or the top of a crazy quilt made be Lena Olena Blow of Sciota, NY, in 1908, the objects chosen by Webb and Miner (respectively) tell a story, one that is reinforced by their presentation within the museums. Through examining the provenance and presentation of specific objects, this essay will consider the wider themes, including the relative invisibility of women, craftspeople, and people of color, considered through the two museums. Of particular interest will be the women themselves and their intentions in creating museums that have long outlived them. Were they aware of the significance of their work? Did they strive to include objects and images that illustrated race, gender, and class, as understood or misunderstood by the America of their times? Have the curators and directors that followed them changed the tenor of the museums in order to address those questions more fully?","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"13 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139958511","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":"Collaborative Approach to Updating Object Records at the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum","authors":"Alasdair Campbell, Rachael Smith","doi":"10.1177/15501906231220973","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231220973","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines a collaborative approach to the assessment and updating of object records held at the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum (DLB). The Museum is the primary repository of objects and documents relating to the life of David Livingstone (1813–1873). Livingstone is renowned for his travels throughout the African continent and subsequently, a third of the collection originates from Africa. The language used for both the classification and description of objects contained outdated, racist and colonial references to peoples, communities, and territories. Similarly, the omittance of acquisition information reflected dominant museum collecting practices of the ninteenth and early twentieth centuries. In order to dismantle these Western-centric cataloging conventions, DLB collaborated with local African diaspora community groups, international museums, and heritage organizations from Malawi and Botswana. A series of case studies illustrate knowledge production through oral history and object biography to create records that include multiple voices.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"31 48","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139775973","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":"Collaborative Approach to Updating Object Records at the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum","authors":"Alasdair Campbell, Rachael Smith","doi":"10.1177/15501906231220973","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231220973","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines a collaborative approach to the assessment and updating of object records held at the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum (DLB). The Museum is the primary repository of objects and documents relating to the life of David Livingstone (1813–1873). Livingstone is renowned for his travels throughout the African continent and subsequently, a third of the collection originates from Africa. The language used for both the classification and description of objects contained outdated, racist and colonial references to peoples, communities, and territories. Similarly, the omittance of acquisition information reflected dominant museum collecting practices of the ninteenth and early twentieth centuries. In order to dismantle these Western-centric cataloging conventions, DLB collaborated with local African diaspora community groups, international museums, and heritage organizations from Malawi and Botswana. A series of case studies illustrate knowledge production through oral history and object biography to create records that include multiple voices.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"458 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139835587","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":"Acknowledging the Colonial Bias in Early Museum Collection Records","authors":"Tharron Bloomfield","doi":"10.1177/15501906241232303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241232303","url":null,"abstract":"As a Māori museum professional, the writer has encountered inaccuracies in the descriptions of Māori material within museum collection records. These inaccuracies not only hinder access but may also perpetuate misconceptions about indigenous communities. Inaccurate records render artefacts less accessible to researchers and community members. In addition to factual accuracy, cultural context is paramount. The writer advocates for museums to actively engage with indigenous cultural knowledge holders to improve collection records and in doing so ensure that indigenous communities can reconnect with their material culture.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"643 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139838900","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":"Acknowledging the Colonial Bias in Early Museum Collection Records","authors":"Tharron Bloomfield","doi":"10.1177/15501906241232303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241232303","url":null,"abstract":"As a Māori museum professional, the writer has encountered inaccuracies in the descriptions of Māori material within museum collection records. These inaccuracies not only hinder access but may also perpetuate misconceptions about indigenous communities. Inaccurate records render artefacts less accessible to researchers and community members. In addition to factual accuracy, cultural context is paramount. The writer advocates for museums to actively engage with indigenous cultural knowledge holders to improve collection records and in doing so ensure that indigenous communities can reconnect with their material culture.","PeriodicalId":422403,"journal":{"name":"Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals","volume":"56 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139779272","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}