Introducing Naomi and the Unlocking of Made in Nova Scotia

Good morning everyone,
As many of you are aware, last summer a new initiative began to Unlock Collections. The conversations between museums and cultural communities across Nova Scotia revealed that we have much to learn, and much to do. Everyone agreed that the conversational sessions were day 1, and there is a long journey ahead. Before the holidays we gave you an update on progress, and we are very pleased to share one more way in which we are collectively, collaboratively, unlocking museum collections. 

Years ago ANSM partnered with the Museum of Industry to develop a database of Nova Scotian manufacturers, which was launched on NovaMuse as "Made in Nova Scotia". MOI began this work in the late 1980s and worked with numerous community partners and county museums on the research. We were honoured to pick up the torch on this important work, and link businesses and artisans with their works in museum collections. It has been one of our "rainy day" projects ever since, and there are now 8,456 profiles of manufacturers, artists and craftspeople dating back to the 1600s. 

Our Unlocking conversations made us recognize how difficult it is for cultural communities to identify their community members and stories within this resource. Cultural affiliations were never part of Made in Nova Scotia, and we want to correct this. Cue Naomi. She is coming on board to do some research on Nova Scotia's creative community and tag businesses and individuals' cultural affiliations. This is a monumental task, but we all agree that it will be interesting and worthwhile, and we just need to eat the elephant one bite at a time. Here's a little message from Naomi:

Hello! My name is Naomi Richards, and I am a volunteer with ANSM. I am currently in the Master of Information program at Dalhousie University and I’m really eager to become involved with the Nova Scotia museum community as well as learn more about the preservation of cultural heritage. I’m also very interested to work with the data management systems utilized by museums and get more hands-on experience working in the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) sector. I have a BSc in Biology and a minor in Classical Studies from the University of British Columbia, which has given me a broad set of interests and background experience to draw upon. I’ve previously volunteered with the Museum of Vancouver and worked as a Circulation Assistant at the University of British Columbia's Music, Art, and Architecture Library.   

Outside of school I love to read, knit, and dance! Halifax is the fourth city I’ve lived in, my favourite of which is Edinburgh Scotland, where I studied abroad in my undergraduate degree. Thank you so much to the ANSM for having me, this is an invaluable experience.