Goodbye MEP, Hello TRACK!
In case you missed it, last week we announced the retirement of our Museum Evaluation Program and its rebirth as the TRACK program. TRACK, which stands for Training, Resource Development, Assessment, Coaching, and Knowledge Sharing, replaces the Museum Evaluation Program. This new program will use a hybrid-model assessment with increased focus on coaching, identifying needs, and providing more capacity building for museums. As part of TRACK, ANSM will be offering new and exciting learning opportunities. We are really excited about this shift. We are still actively working on program details and will be piloting the program this summer. You can check out the info on our new website. If you were not able to join us for the info session you can view the recording here.
Accreditation work continues as we prepare for a May announcement of this year's museums. We also know that there are a lot of questions about how TRACK will work with Accreditation. At this point we have some ideas and loose plans and will continue to work on those over the coming months. It's all good stuff, and we'll share updates as soon as they are ready.
TRACK Speaker Series Presents: Museums As Agents of Change
ANSM is proud to present the first event in its speaker series for the new TRACK program. Museums everywhere have the potential to serve as agents of change - bringing people together, contributing to local communities, and changing people's lives. So how can we, as individuals, rethink and expand the work of museums to live up to this potential? How can museums begin to enact change around the relevant issues in our local communities? How can we work together to build a strong culture of equity and care within museums? Questions like these are increasingly vital for all museum professionals to consider, no matter the size and type of the institution you work with. Through this presentation, Mike Murawski discusses the work we need to do as museum professionals to tap into the energies within all of us to make change happen and proactively shape a new future.
Museums as Agents of Change will take place April 27, 2022 at 1:30PM AST.
This is an incredible opportunity so stay tuned - registration is opening soon.
Learning Opportunities
The next course in our Museum Studies Program is right around the corner. Registration for Marketing & Revenue Generation is now open. The virtual course will explore the different ways in which museums generate income and the influence that marketing can have on all forms of revenue generation. Presented by Carrie Lunde. The course will take place Fridays from May 13 to June 10 from 2-4pm. Space is limited and this course is only offered every three years so don't miss out.
Educational Partnerships
The Fleming students are wrapping up their NovaMuse assignment so reports will be circulated to the participating museums very soon. I can't wait to read the reports and see what nifty new info they dug up.
Our new partnership with SMU is gearing up and registration has opened for the 4th year course "Museum Fundamentals and Decolonizing Collections", taught by our very own Karin. As we do the course prep work we are getting increasingly excited about this new partnership, meeting the students and the prospect of connecting them with museums and our MAP-related digitization work.
And in even more exciting news, this month we confirmed not one, but TWO summer interns. We will wait and let them do their own introductions in May, but we're very pleased to be welcoming students from Fleming College and the University of Western Ontario. Big plans are afoot for a fun and productive summer.
CollectiveAccess Updates
As the winter snow thaws and signs of spring start appearing our minds slowly shift to plans for the upcoming season. Throughout the winter months we've seen work slow down on the database however, we've still seen some great progress happening with data cleaning, record enhancement, etc. CollectiveAccess now has a total of 348,900 artifact records and 317,847 images.
Let's have a regional look at the numbers:
Southwest: 147,816 artifacts & 105,840 images
Central: 108,322 artifacts & 105,154 images
Northeast: 59,711 artifacts & 81,224 images
Cape Breton: 33,051 artifacts & 25,629 images
As we move into the upcoming weeks of job interviews and new (and maybe returning) employees coming into our museums it's important to take the time to teach or to refresh those basic care and handling techniques to help protect and preserve our collections.
Some general rules for care and handling include:
1. Handle artifacts as little as possible.
2. Do not rush.
3. Handle each object as if it were precious.
4. Cleanliness is crucial.
5. Do not use permanent ink (i.e. pens, markers, etc.) around objects.
BEFORE handling or picking up an object consider the following:
1. Are your hands protected? Are they clean? Should you be wearing gloves? Check out this fact or myth about glove wearing from the Museum of Ontario Archaeology. 3. Watch out for jewelry or accessories that can scratch artifacts (rings, belt buckles, bracelets).
4. Can you lift the object alone? If it's too heavy get help. Make sure to discuss each person's role before moving the object.
5. Plan your route. Ensure doors are open and prepare the receiving location head of time.
Now that we know it's safe to move the object let's think about some guidelines for when we pick the object up:
1. Use BOTH hands to carry ONE object at a time. If you're passing the object to another person, it's important to put the object on a solid surface. Do not pass it from hand to hand.
2. Do not pick up an object by the handle, rim or projecting part but rather from its most solid component.
3. You can move smaller objects by using a carrying tray or larger/heavier objects using a trolley. For paper or flat textiles rigid supports can be used.
4. Avoid moving dissimilar materials together (metal and paper for example).
5. Remember to LIFT not DRAG objects. Do not walk backwards.
Small delicate objects
Can be carried in a padded carrying tray. Padding can consist of acid free tissue paper or polyethylene padding materials.
Flat flexible objects (paper, textiles, beaded items)
Support these objects from below using a rigid support. Depending on the weight this might consist of a piece of fabric covered plywood, matboard, fluted polyethylene or polypropylene board. Ensure that the rigid support is slightly larger than the artifact. For lighter artifacts place a piece of mat board on top to prevent air currents from lifting the object.
Large flat textiles (quilts, blankets, rugs)
Avoid folding (which can cause creases). Roll the item around a large tube (carpet tubes work great for this) which has been covered with polyethylene sheeting and acid free tissue paper. Once rolled, secure it with cotton twill tape.
Books
Any book with a damaged spine should be tied with cotton twill tape before moving.
Furniture
ALWAYS lift furniture. Ensure that you have enough people on hand or a dolly to help with the move. Lift it by the solid parts of its framework (chairs by the seat, tables by the legs). Remove drawers and tie doors shut before moving. Keep the furniture upright. Remember to bend the knees and hold the object close to the body.
Frame Items
Carry framed items upright with the exception of those with fragile surfaces which should then be carried horizontally. Beware of decorative features that may protrude. Carry with the glass facing you with one hand at the bottom and the other hand on the side.
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