Its’ Who You Know

Its’ Who You Know – Ideas to Help Emerging Museum Professionals

So you’ve just completed your degree – a B.A. or M.A. in history, public history, museum studies, or the like. You find yourself in the museum world trying to find and keep a job, and steering through the sometimes treacherous waters of the non-profit field during a time of economic strife. Nothing to it, right?

During your time as a student, intern, and early years as a paid staff person, you belong to a very particular group in the museum profession: the emerging professionals (EMPs).
You wear many hats and your job title does not begin to describe the range of tasks you face on a daily basis. Coursework in history, collections management, and exhibit development were essential to your professional growth, and yet they didn’t quite cover all the questions that pop up day-to-day at work. So, where do you go from here – to look for advice and continued learning opportunities? The answers are closer than you think.

For someone new to the museum field, it really is all in who you know. As in most professional fields, networking is a tremendously important part of working in museums. And at a time when budgets for professional development opportunities are the first on the chopping block, free advice and discussion is more important than ever.

Luckily, in an age of burgeoning technology there are abundant resources out there, often for free. For starters, the American Association of Museums (AAM) has made it part of its mission to reach out to emerging professionals. The organization’s standing professional committees – from Audience Research and Evaluation to the Registrar’s Committee – operate listserves, where through a quick email you can survey a wide range of professionals on questions about your institution. How can you attract younger audiences? What are some inexpensive ways to build shelving for your collections in storage? How do you deal with abandoned cultural property? What are the newest developments in historic house museums? You name it; someone on these lists can answer it. Even better, AAM sponsors emerging professional fellowships to attend their annual meeting and other professional development events.

And on the flip side, if you’re looking for other younger folks in the field and you are a fan of social networking sites (who isn’t these days?), AAM has pages on Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn aimed at connecting you with other museum professionals who have been in the field for 5 years or less.

If you want to search for something a little more local and less intimidating, regional and statewide museum associations are a great resource. Google (everyone’s best friend) can help you to find these groups in your area. These smaller organizations provide chances for younger members to take on leadership roles – helping to plan conference sessions, workshops, and other events. Taking on positions of leadership can lead to solid connections in the field and is a good way to develop the “professional affiliations” section of your resume. In addition, most offer excellent Mentor Programs, which match you with a seasoned professional who works in a similar job (ex. Collections management, development, or administration). For an example, check out information on SEMC’s Mentor Program HERE.

Added bonus: If you are looking for jobs in a particular region of the country, regional conferences can be a great way to meet folks from that area and network in the months before you graduate! A quick list of all the regional organizations:

Mountain Plains Association
Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums
Southern Museums Conference
New England Museum Association
Western Museums Association

Like AAM, most regional and state conferences also offer scholarships and fellowships to new professionals for attendance at annual meetings. SEMC will host a panel discussing this very topic -- resources for EMPs -- at the regional conference in October 2009.

Finally, the importance of networking with the other museum professionals right in your own backyard cannot be stressed enough! Many of us work in towns and cities that boast a few museums, historic sites, libraries, and perhaps even a college or university. Make a point to get to know the staff at these places -- they could very well become great colleagues and key sources for information. There is very little gain in local museums and historical associations competing with each other for resources. When institutions compete, it’s the visitors who ultimately lose. Getting to know your colleagues in the surrounding area is the first step toward collaboration and getting the most out of every dollar spent in cultural institutions for the benefit of the entire community.

In short, try to use the vast experience of others to help build your knowledge base and better your position in the field. Getting an early start in local or national organizations will give you an advantage in the job search and building collaborative networks that could result in great collaborative projects later on. If nothing else, the current economic situation has taught us that we should capitalize on collective strengths and resources to create the best possible museum experiences for visitors, as well as for staff members!

Post by Alexis Thompson, Director of Historic House Museums, Historic Columbia Foundation, Columbia, SC.

Do We Need Museum Studies Degrees?

I just pulled this latest blog post from an AAM facebook update (a quick and easy way to keep up with the organization, and to find "food for thought" articles on the museum field). The post itself poses some basic questions - and a few far out projections - about the system of public education in general. But the beginning and end question the necessity of formal programs in Museums Studies, the role of those programs in helping graduates secure jobs, and finally, questions whether or not AAM should work to raise salaries for these trained professionals (union??).

The post is short, and easy to digest. The highlights come in the form of other articles referenced. I enjoyed: "How Web-Savvy Edpunks Are Transforming American Higher Education"

I know the RC-listserv is always buzzing with questions about distance education programs in museums - as well as advertisements for webinars and online courses. So it does seem like this is the direction we're moving in, as a field. But is there ever a substitute for hands-on training? Do most folks feel that online opportunities give them the experience they will need to start a full-time job?

In times of economic strife, when cultural institutions are tightening belts and there is less money available to attend conferences and workshops, I would agree that online opportunities for continuing professional education are great. I'm a fan of webinars - cheap, easy, and often enlightening. But I can't imagine what my view of museums and my base of knowledge of best practices would have been without my training in public history and museums - in an on-site program.

A few questions for you grad students (and alumni of programs): How valuable is getting a graduate degree in museum studies? What about your program was valuable and only available in a real world, hands-on setting? Or, if you're in the process of getting a degree online -- what made you choose that path, and is it working for you?

Weigh in at will....

JQA Tweets...from the 1800's??

NY Times article on the Massachusetts Historical Society's latest endeavor -- "tweeting" John Quincy Adams's journal entries, each day for the next year. Click here for the article.

Seems like a simple but effective way to get a new audience thinking about collections....

Updates & Upcoming Events

Hi All!

So its been a while - i've been swamped at work, as have the folks that i've lured in as semi-regular contributors to this blog space. But I read a couple of great articles today that I thought I would pass on, AND I have a few cheap-but-interesting webinars to promote.

So, first the articles:

Nina Simon's latest blog post: "Eight Other Ways to 'Connect with Community'" -- She critiques a recent article from the Christian Science Monitor (found here) that talks about museums engaging new audiences. Interesting points, and her bullets for connection at the end are worth a read.

"At Louvre, Many Stop to Snap but Few Stay to Focus" -- an article circulated on the RC-AAM listserv yesterday; talks about why people visit museums -- good food for thought.

And now, some opportunities for inquiring minds in the field with tight budgets. AAM is offering discounted webinars on "museum essentials" at a pretty good price ($25/each) to members. Two coming up in September deal with visitors & interpretation:

Sept. 9th -- Planning for Exemplary Visitor Experiences

Sept. 23rd -- Audience Research and Evaluation: Why it Matters Now More Than Ever

So if you or your institution is a member, you can register and invite all the other folks in your area to come and webinar together. For more info, you can visit the AAM site here.

Well, thats all for now. More on the way soon! And hopefully more CVG projects coming with the start of the new school year at USC.

Telephone = Twitter???

Interesting blog post HERE from Brad Rourke, recounting some main ideas from his recent read of, "America Calling: A Social History of the Telephone to 1940." Although the book was published in the early 90s - before we knew much beyond bag phones - Rourke moves past the obvious comparisons to cell phones and onto seeing social media as the new telephone. Closing the post, Rourke suggests that things we now view as utilities (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) will eventually become second nature, and people will engage as regularly as they answer their cell phone.

My question: Aren't we already there? How many people check their Facebook page daily? Hourly? Or more often. Some would say we're already moving on to the next generation of these "new" social media tools. I mean, when does something like Twitter go from being cool and new to dated and boring? When everyone hops on the bandwagon, does a social media platform become obsolete -- or is it still a great way to deliver information quickly and connect to new audiences? Where is the tipping point.

Taking Deaccessioning Public

Through some exchanges on the RC listserv a few weeks ago, some registrars submitted blogs and websites from museums and museum employees across the country that are trying new tactics to make their collections more accessible to the public. Many are making their registration processes more transparent by describing what they do: how they pack & store collections, prepare an object for transport, or diagnose pest management problems. The idea is that visitors -- maybe not all, but some -- are genuinely interested in the nuts and bolts of collections management. And registrars are getting better at sharing their vast knowledge, as social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs spread like wildfire.

Now, one example of this transparency caught my eye -- the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This museum began a systematic review of their holdings in 2007 and has since moved forward with the laborious process of deaccessioning items. Although the museum is required to publicize proposed deaccessions in the newspaper (according to state law), IMA has taken this a step further and created a portion on their homepage dedicated to this process. The site provides the basics of this process & a searchable database of items proposed for deaccession, as well as those that have already been transfered (and fills you in on "where they are now").

My questions start with this: Is this the kind of transparency that more institutions need to adopt? And beyond that, is this an engagement technique which builds greater relationships with the public -- do visitors feel more connected through the exposure of this process? What kind of response has the museum had to this initiative? I'm curious -- so i'm looking to read more about this - but would love to know what others think....

Lecture on the Multi-Platform Museum

In case you missed it, Nina Simon's talk -- "Everyone's Smithsonian: The Multi-Platform Museum" happened yesterday afternoon and it was brilliant! Great food for thought. The speaker discussed audience needs & how museums (in this case, Smithsonian) can work to meet those needs. The beauty of the talk was that her suggestions could be applied to all kinds of cultural institutions & she gave great examples of museums across the county (and across the pond) who are engaged in new kinds of outreach work in social media.

So, just click here to see the archived webcast -- or here, to click through the slides from the presentation.

Blogging with the "Technical Tourist"

Dr. Allison Marsh, the newly-hired Museums Studies professor in the Public History Program at USC is on the road this summer and blogging about her adventures. Her journey will take her through Canada, along the Alaska pipeline, and back to the east coast -- visiting cool sites along the way.

Her posts are entertaining - and will show you places i'm sure you've never heard of - so be sure and check it out here. So far she has journeyed from Richmond, VA through West Virginia and is making her way through Canada.

New Ways to Engage

Is culture getting cooler? It seems that museums are always searching for new ways to engage new audiences, keep regular visitors coming back for more, and more generally, finding means for the institution to stay fresh and cutting edge. I just came across an article and an opportunity I thought I would share...

First, this article, which profiles institutions across the country (and beyond) who are introducing innovative programming to shake their stuffy, "ivory tower" reputations. I think some of these offerings sound great - but I'm always trying to think of ways for history museums and related organizations to adapt this strategy...surely innovative programs don't just spring from art museums, right? If you know about/have experienced cool programs going on in Columbia or beyond, post a comment below!

Second, an opportunity! Nina Simon, a museum consultant who specializes in visitor engagement (and is always giving great talks & posting great blog entries) is doing a presentation for Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History on May 18th called "The Multi-Platform Museum." You can watch this presentation online here @ 3PM on the 18th. To read more about the talk (to find out what you're in for) check out her blog Museum 2.0

Post by Jan Levinson, Public History Alum '08

Project 5: What's in the Box?

Project #5: Inventory at HCF

April 30, 2009
10AM - 3PM

On April 30th volunteers returned to Historic Columbia Foundation for their second project with the organization, and under the supervision of Collections Manager Alexis Thompson. From mid-morning to late afternoon the Collections Volunteer Group inventoried boxes from the Woodrow Wilson House that were moved recently into the Hampton-Preston Mansion of HCF. Members in attendance: Halie Brazier, Nate Johnson, Amanda Roddy,
and Sarah Scripps.

Alexis began by showing us some of the storage areas, where we discussed some issues that historic houses deal with, as well as some innovative measures HCF has taken. She showed us the new period room they are developing, wherein they will recreate a girl's dormitory from Chicora College which was housed in the mansion. Afterwards, we dove into the boxes, which contained lace table runners, women's clothing, purses, even natural history specimens (???) among other things. To assist in our inventory, Alexis demonstrated the PastPerfect (collections management) database for Nate and Sarah, who had never used it before. Using the computer and our paper materials, we worked in pairs to inventory the objects and make note of their condition. After a pizza lunch provided by Alexis, we finished up our inventory around 3pm. Thank you to all who were involved!

I want to echo Jan's congrats in the last post -- we have two new student coordinators for the '09-'10 school year and they have some great ideas for this group! Amanda Roddy and Sarah Scripps, both Public History/Museum Studies students -- I wish you the best of luck!

For more images from this project, click here

Post by Halie Nowell, 08-09 Student Project Coordinator

New Leadership for CVG

After a year of dutiful service as Student Project Coordinator, Halie Brazier will be graduating this summer and moving on to the greener pastures of professional life! Thanks to Halie for all of her hard work this past year, putting together great projects and bringing volunteer opportunities to a new class of students at USC.

I'm pleased to announce that in the Fall of 2009 CVG will have not one, but two brand new Student Coordinators: Amanda Roddy and Sarah Scripps. Under their leadership, this group will move into its 3rd year of service to Columbia area museums -- and who knows what new directions they might pursue. Congrats to Amanda & Sarah for taking on this challenge!

In other news, a recap of the group's most recent project (at Historic Columbia Foundation) is coming shortly... so stay tuned for that and other updates on projects for this coming Fall semester. If you have questions or comments about the group please email ilikeeurope@hotmail.com or jllevinson@gmail.com.

Next Project: Return to HCF!

The Collections Volunteer Group will participate in Project #5 next Thursday, April 30th from 10am-3pm at the Historic Columbia Foundation! We will be doing an inventory of objects from the Woodrow Wilson home. Here's what Alexis (Collections Manager, HCF) has to say:

"The project that I have in mind is to help inventory artifacts that came out of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home. John (Sherrer) and I will be moving these artifacts from one storage area to another (to make way for our Chicora College/CFW period dorm room in Hampton-Preston). The inventory will include assessing each box's contents, updating the location on paper and in PastPerfect, and renumbering and rehousing any artifacts that may need it. I have not even gotten into some of these boxes, so it should be a good experience for all of us."

There will be a free pizza lunch included! Meet in front of the Hampton-Preston mansion on Blanding street. If you can only come for a little bit, then that's perfectly fine. We hope to see you there, and we appreciate any time you can spare for a good cause!

Calling All Ideas!

Greetings! So, the last few posts have recounted our volunteer efforts thus far and provided a summary of what this group is and what it hopes to accomplish. Now i'm opening up the floor for your thoughts & suggestions on new projects!

Some thoughts Halie & I have tossed around:

• Should the group broaden its focus and look for projects outside of collections work?
• If so, what kinds of projects would serve a need in the community & interest volunteers?
• Is there interest in planning a project outside of Columbia?

If you have comments on any of these, or other ideas/suggestions...let us know!

Project 4: The Lexington County Museum

Project #4: Condition Reporting Edgefield Pottery at the Lexington County Museum

November 22, 2008, 12-4:30pm

Lexington County Museum director J.R. Fennell provided a pizza lunch for the group when we arrived at noon. Afterward, he took us on an informative tour of some of the 36 structures that belong to the museum. Although it was cold, the tour was worth it because the museum has some really interesting houses and collections. We also discussed some problems with the storage, protection, and presentation of some of the artifacts, and what special considerations a small museum has with these issues. Afterward, we worked in groups of two to condition report the museum's Edgefield pottery collection, which included a storage jar by the famous Dave. Alexis Thompson taught us how to condition report ceramics, and we learned some terminology to describe the jugs and other objects.

Project 3: South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum

Project 3: Condition Reporting & Re-housing Framed Objects at the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum

Saturday, May 10, 2008, 9:00am-4:30pm

We met at the Relic Room early Saturday morning to condition report and re-house over 100 framed objects, including many of the framed flags in the collection. Sarah Wooten (Chief Curator ofCollections and Exhibitions) and Rachel Cockrell (Registrar) were both on hand to supervise the project.Sarah kicked off the project by providing volunteers with an overview of the the museum's history, the scope of the project at hand, and how the work of our volunteers would contribute to an upcoming conservation assessment by AASLH. Rachel provided us with an overviewof the day's tasks, a tour of storage, and was on hand the entire daywalking between volunteer teams to answer questions and provide helpful tips for handling & assessing the framed objects.Our group learned how to assess the condition of a framed object, discerning whether or not a frame was causing damage and if the object should be transferred to the archives. We worked in teams of two toremove excess wrapping, attach identification tags (where needed) and to place the framed works in protective ethafoam. We had a great pizzalunch, good conversation, and put in a lot of hard work! Thanks to everyone who volunteered -- the day was a great success.

Project 2: Historic Columbia Foundation

Condition Reporting at Historic Columbia Foundation

Saturday, March 29, 2008, 11:00am - 4:00pm

Alexis Thompson the Collections Manager of the Historic Columbia Foundation is currently working on a collection-wide inventory of nearly 6,000 objects, which include furniture, ceramics, paintings, photographs (you name it, HCF has it) -- a project that is anticipated to conclude in the Spring of 2009. Our group was asked to help with this inventory by condition reporting a group of ceramics & metals from the collection. We began the morning with a quick greeting from John Sherrer, Director of Collections, followed by a quick recap of suggested readings and instructions on how to condition report. We worked as individuals, each tackling a box of objects in need of routine condition reporting & photographing. Alexis was on hand for the duration of our project, walking between tables to answer any questions. At the end of the afternoon, volunteers were given a quick tutorial on HCF's collections database, Past Perfect, and had the opportunity to enter a few of their paper reports into the system. This project instructed volunteers in how to handle/what to look for when condition reporting ceramic and metal objects, photographing objects, and entering information into a collections database.

Project Recaps

Since we've started this blog a little late in the game, the next few posts will give recaps of the projects carried out thus far...starting with our first project in February 2008!

Project 1: Inventory at McKissick Museum

Saturday, February 2, 2008, 9:00am - 1:30pm

In the coming months, McKissick will loan out thirty baskets from their collection of nearly 300 to a touring exhibit on African basket weaving traditions organized by independent curator Dale Rosengarten. Jill Koverman, McKissick's Curator of Collections, asked our group to help in conducting an inventory of the entire basket collection as a means of getting more organized for the loan process ahead. Before beginning the inventory, Jill will gave a quick talk on the upcoming exhibit, the necessity of regular inventories, and provided instructions for the day's tasks (ex.how to handle the objects, what to look for when noting the object's condition.) We broke into four teams of two, with one person handling the objects and the other recording the information. After a few hours of work we were able to finish the tasks and take a quick tour of the museum's textile storage. Everyone had a good time and got to see McKissick's amazing collection of baskets up close.

Business First - What is the CVG?

The Collections Volunteer Group (CVG) is an organization started in the fall of 2007 by graduate students in the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina with an interest in collections management. The goal of the group is to supply extra hands to museums located in or near Columbia, South Carolina for collections-based projects. As an independent student initiative, a designated student coordinator contacts local institutions, develops feasible projects, and schedules volunteers. Though still in its early stages, the group has enabled emerging museum professionals to gain more hands-on experience in their chosen field and to provide help for institutions in need.

What Can Volunteers & Participating Institutions Expect?
Volunteer members in the CVG participate in several projects every semester, each taking 1-2 days to complete. Projects range from conducting inventories to documenting collections with digital photography to assisting in re-housing and condition reporting. Tasks sometimes originate from an institution's desire to further an on-going project with a boost of man/woman power. In other instances volunteers will tackle small-scale projects that can be accomplished using 5-10 volunteers for a single day. The activities of each project are at the discretion of the hosting institution and their supervising staff members but will be negotiated by the student coordinator prior to the beginning of the project. Ultimately, volunteers work to accomplish the needs of their host within the established timeline.The collections staff from the hosting institution is always on-hand to supervise the activities of the project. If the institution does not have a professional/volunteer collecions staff member, the student coordinator will seek the participation of other local museum professionals. Each project, regardless of length, begins with a brief talk from the supervising professional. The individual provides information on how to execute the task at hand, how the project fits into the larger work of museums, and will provide resources on the activity for future reference. Additionally, the student coordinator will collaborate with the supervising professional to describe the activities accomplished in terms that will help students to strengthen their resumes and prepare for future interviews.

Our Larger Goals...
In the end these projects serve as both volunteer activities and learning experiences. They provide students with membership in a service organization and hands-on collections experience. Although not all volunteer activities will involve direct handling of collections, the activities will ensure an enhanced knowledge of collections stewardship and best practices that will benefit the students in their professional development.