March 2023 Update

What a month! As we talked about everything that's happened this month, it feels like one of the most productive and eventful months in ages. We are in a completely different place now than we were on March 1st. Here's a quick look at some highlights.

Nova Scotia Government Budget 2023-24

We were incredibly pleased to share our response to the budget last week. With increases in funding for both CMAP and NS Museum locally managed sites, we know that this will be a game-changer for museums that have been struggling so long and hard to make ends meet. We are still awaiting some more details on the $5.1 million increase for arts and culture, and look forward to sharing more when we hear more. We also recognize that as wonderful as this news is, it won't be enough to stop conversations in some organizations around continuing operations. That's why we released the Museum Life Cycle Completion Toolkit. This is something we commissioned two years ago and was led by Anita Price following her retirement from ANSM. We've been quietly working on it over the past year and hope that it will provide clarity to those asking these tough questions.

Canadian Museum Policy - Important Survey

The Department of Canadian Heritage has released a survey as part of its public consultations on developing a new national museum policy. The existing policy is older than a lot of museum employees. An update is long overdue. We are encouraging all of our members to respond to this survey in order to get a policy that reflects current museum realities rather than those of the 1960s and early 1970s. You are not limited to one response per museum, so share this link. Encourage every board member, staff member, and volunteer to fill it in. Make sure your voice is heard in Ottawa.

ANSM is Hiring Again

Our season of change continues, with Brittany deciding this month to pursue a new career. We are very sorry to see her go, but so very thankful for all she's done over the past year. We're excited for her new adventures and know we haven't seen or heard the last from her. The happy budget news puts a question mark over our hiring plans, so while we are figuring that out and waiting to hear more from government, a familiar face is alongside us and helping out. Sandi Stewart, who worked with us from 2016-2020, has been quietly helping out with various tasks. It's great to be working with Sandi again, and her familiarity with ANSM and our operations makes this collaboration easy. Her next big projects are the annual report and membership renewal, so you'll be hearing more about Sandi's work in the near future.

TRACK

We promised it last month; here's this year's training schedule for TRACK. Monthly one-hour webinars with have us exploring the eight pillars (remember that Marketing & Revenue Generation has been split out into Financial Stability and Communications). We are engaging with some wonderful experts in each of these areas to learn about different facets of the pillars. The webinars are running from April through November. Registration is now open for the April webinar and we're working on getting the other registrations open, so watch this space! 

Phillip has wrapped us his work with us on the resource library. We have a giant bin of (very old and not useful) books that have been culled, recycled reams of paper files from old workshops and training files, and have a box of paper files to update and get online (hello future intern project!). We now have 551 resources available on our website - one-stop shopping for forms & templates, books & museum literature, and tutorial videos. While we're in much better shape than before, we aren't done yet! We will continue to work on this resource library - scanning more forms & templates, getting book covers onto the website, and attaching book reviews and other helpful info. 

We are still waiting on the assessment document from the graphic designer, but it should arrive any day now, after which we will launch into the second phase of piloting. Last year the majority of pilot sites were in the central and southwest regions, so this year we will be turning our attention to the northeast and Cape Breton, but will also circle back to phase 1 pilot sites to make sure that we addressed their concerns, comments, and suggestions. 

Museums Canada Summit

Museums Canada came to town this week for their 2nd annual summit. This was the first in-person conference for many people since the pandemic started, and it was lovely to reconnect with peers from across the country, and make new connections. It was also fascinating to see all of the young, emerging professionals and how they engaged in their first conference. Lots of questions and discussions were posed to museum experts which made for a much more interactive conference than some others we've attended. Summit sessions addressed governance, HR, exhibit development, community collaborations, intangible cultural heritage, school programs, and much more.

Re-Org Workshop 

As soon as Museums Canada wrapped up, Anita and Brittany went to Tatamagouche for the Re-Org Workshop. Reports back suggest that everyone learned a lot, enjoyed the experience, and several people will be working one-on-one with Anita in their museum to try and upgrade their storage areas using the Re-Org method. 

Looking ahead, we have several upcoming learning opportunities. 

Museums 101

In May, Karin will be delivering Museums 101 online. This will be a 5-week course that takes place on Wednesday afternoons from 2-4pm, and is the only course of our Museum Studies Program that is being offered this year. Museums 101 is an excellent opportunity for new board members, staff and volunteers to learn about the scope of museum work, understand how museums have and continue to evolve, learn about ethical and other guidelines for our work, the key core functions as well as current hot-button topics such as advocacy, burnout and community-led services. If you aren't new to museums, it's a great way to update your knowledge and network with other participants. Registration is now open and spots are filling up fast, so don't miss out on this great course. 

To learn more and to register, click here.

Mi'kmaq Community Engagement Days

Building on the wonderful learning experience with the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre, this spring we are partnering with Membertou Heritage Park and Millbrook Cultural & Heritage Centre for more learning. On April 26th we will be in Membertou, and May 12th we will be in Millbrook. Facilitators will be sharing some cultural awareness training and decolonization information. Each session will be from 10am-3pm with lunch provided. To learn more and register for one or both of these sessions, click here.

CollectiveAccess

We talk a lot in the office about moving big tasks forward rather than letting them overwhelm us. We have a few analogies that we use depending on the day - sometimes we talk about eating the elephant one bite at a time, other days we talk about kicking the ball forward, and Karin's personal favourite is that we're all reading a book together and just turning pages and putting in our bookmark for the next person to pick it up again. All of these analogies fit collections work. This month there was a lot of editing of existing records, but there were also 400 new records and 2,500 images added to the databases. 

For those of you use the CollectiveAccess manual, we released an updated version this month. This is also a great time to remind everyone the importance of a training plan and ongoing supervision for summer students. Just because they're young doesn't mean they understand databases let alone museum standards. If you need help in this area, reach out! We are happy to talk to you about this, to give you some resources and tips. 

Rather than an image lesson of the month, we're going to talk about a data cleaning issue. We have a gigantic data improvement plan that we slowly pick away at (see above - eating that elephant). Right now we are nearing the end of reviewing all of the entities in Advisory Service member museums' databases. Thousands upon thousands of people, businesses and organizations are linked to collection records as donors, original owners, makers, manufacturers, and more. Unfortunately, sometimes the same person is entered multiple times which means the museum has to do multiple searches to find related items. We are trying to help fix this. So consider this your friendly reminder to be consistent when you link people to records. If John Smith sometimes goes as Johnny Smith, use the alternate name field to make note of that instead of adding a second entry for the same person. Another issue that we are seeing a lot is women not being documented by their own name. I know this sounds crazy in 2023, but one database we're working on right now has an incredible number of entries for Mrs. So-and-so using her husband's name rather than her own. Let's give these women the respect they deserve. Let's say their names. You can still make note of who they were married to or any other family-related notes you want. But let's give them back their names. 

Unlocking Collections

In cross-over CollectiveAccess and Unlocking news, we are in the final review stages of our French version of CollectiveAccess, as well as a French user manual! It feels wonderful to see so much progress on this area and be able to better serve Acadian museums in the province. 

We have also been putting in a lot of language work into NovaMuse. As we wrap up this year's MAP-funded work, we are adding a land acknowledment and commitment statement in English, French, Gaelic and Mi'kmaq. We are also doing the final review of NovaMuse's translation, which means the website will be available in both French and English. This is a huge improvement in accessibility, and one that we didn't expect to be able to release. Object records will not be translated from the language which they were entered in CollectiveAccess, but other text will be translated. 

Made in Nova Scotia work continues, and we now have 14 cultural affiliations attached to makers. This work has also brought a lot of extra and new information about our province's makers, so records are being updated and more objects are being linked to maker profiles. Yet another example of an elephant we are collectively eating. 

To end this update on a happy note, last month we mentioned that a funding application we submitted was unsuccessful. Thanks to our wonderful crew of interns and community partners, we have identified elements that we can move forward on, and also have a meeting in a couple weeks to see if we can scrounge up some money to tackle other elements. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for us!

Educational Partnerships

We were very sorry to say goodbye to Jordyn this week, who has been working on NovaMuseEd resource development with us since January. She was a lovely addition to the team and ended up developing 7 new learning activities! This is a huge boost to online resources. We will be cataloguing and adding these to the site over the coming weeks so keep your eye on our social media for those announcements. And be sure to share NovaMuseEd with your local teachers. What a great way for museums to collaborate and provide ongoing services to schools and educators. You can read Jordyn's farewell message here.

We also welcomed a new intern this month. In case you missed it, Jacob started a virtual placement with us in early March from Centennial College in Ontario. You can read his intro message here. He's been instrumental in the CollectiveAccess and NovaMuse translation work, collaborated with Jordyn on NovaMuseEd resources and has several learning activities underway, has done data cleaning for 6 museums...and much more! With three more weeks ahead of him, we have no doubt that next month's update with be just as impressive.

Fleming students are wrapping up their reports for museums on their data cleaning & enrichment assignment. They put a lot of time and effort into this work and discovered some nifty information about objects in museums' collections. So if your museum was in this year's list of participants, Karin will be in touch soon with the students' report. We continue to hear from Fleming instructors that this is an incredibly valuable learning experience for the students. It's real-world. Many school assignments are not. We are already talking about next year's assignment. If you're reading this and wondering how to prepare to participate in this initiative, all you need to do is keep eating your own collections elephant. The more work you do, the better prepared you'll be.

Phew! Now you know why it's been such an eventful month at ANSM. We're feeling good about where things are at and where they are going, and look forward to sharing more good news next month.

Farewell from Jordyn

Hello ANSM readers, 

I am excited to be wrapping up my practicum at ANSM with several new learning activities ready to make it online at NovaMuse.ca! Creating lesson plans and activities for schools consists of an ongoing research process, revisions, and finally hoping it will be seen and utilized by others. I was interested in food traditions, music, and learning personal stories through museum collections. In my lesson plans and activities I hope educators feel that they are adaptable, accessible, and enrich their students’ learning of the four founding cultures in Nova Scotia. With consultations from community members leading to the Unlocking Collections Calls to Action, I feel it is a wonderful time to join ANSM and hopefully facilitate lasting learning opportunities for children.

Alongside creating and revising lesson plans and activities, I had the chance to work with many collaborators and participate in March Break programming at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. I was thrilled by all of the learning opportunities and support I was offered at ANSM, and all of those I was able to connect with during my time here!

Any student who has completed a placement at this office can attest to how lucky we are to spend time working here. I really appreciate this opportunity from the MSVU Child and Youth Study program, and most importantly from the welcoming and engaging staff, interns, and volunteers at ANSM. The most gratitude will have to go to Karin for her incredible mentorship! I hope the best for ANSM from here on out.

With appreciation,

Jordyn Riou

Creating a Collections Emergency Kit

Hi everyone!

Today, I am bringing you another webinar review from Connecting to Collections Care. This time, I watched a webinar called Collections Emergency Kits, presented by the Smithsonian Institution's Preparedness and Response in Collections Emergencies (PRICE) Team. It presents a lot of really helpful tips for creating an emergency kit to suit the needs of your museum, so I wanted to share some of the highlights with you. 

Emergencies can happen at any time, wreaking havoc on a museum's collections and bringing panic to its staff and volunteers. Whether it be a small nuisance like a leaky pipe dripping in the storage area or a large-scale catastrophe like a fire, having a well-stocked emergency kit can help mitigate some of the stress that comes along with these situations. 

It can be overwhelming to think about all of the different supplies that could be included in your collections emergency kit, so you may find it helpful to think of it in terms of categories. The webinar broke down emergency supplies into the following eight categories: 

Container: The first thing you need to think about when creating an emergency kit is what type of container you are going to use. Depending on the size of your collections, you may wish to have a smaller, more portable container like a plastic storage bin or you may choose to create your kit within a larger, stationary cabinet. No matter where you decide to keep your kit, the important thing is that all of the supplies are in one place that can be easily accessed in the case of an emergency. 

Absorbent Materials: Water is the most common cause of damage to collections, so keeping your emergency kit well-stocked with absorbent materials is important. Examples include sponges, towels, blotter paper, and rags. 

Documentation Materials: When an emergency strikes, one of the best things you can do is document everything so that you have accurate records of the event. Keep track of accession numbers, condition notes, and treatments. It would be a good idea to include a notebook, pencil, object tags, and maybe even a disposable camera in your emergency kit. 

Instructional Documents: Any documents that might help someone in carrying out emergency plans and procedures should be included in the kit. Such documents may include floor plans, priority object locations, object tracking sheets, important contact information. 

Personal Safety: Keeping yourself and others safe in the event of an emergency at your museum should be top priority. Safety supplies may include a first aid kit, nitrile and/or work gloves, a dust mask, and safety goggles. 

Salvage & Recovery Supplies: When creating a collections emergency kit, you will need to think about what supplies will be most necessary in the direct aftermath of the emergency event. What will you use to immediately treat any damage done to objects? Depending on the kind of collections you are dealing with and the type of damage that has been done, supplies can range from vinyl erasers and dusting brushes to soot sponges and fans. 

Scene Safety & Clean Up: Not only do you have to think about how to treat objects after an emergency, you also have to consider how to create a safe work space in which to carry out salvage and clean-up efforts. Think about what would make your work easier, safer, and more efficient when responding to an emergency situation. You may need brooms, garbage bags, reflective tape, or a tarp. 

Tools: It is impossible to anticipate exactly what you will need in the event of an emergency, but having some basic tools and equipment on hand is definitely a good idea. Some tools you may want to include in your emergency kit are a flashlight, tape measure, batteries, scissors, and a screwdriver. 

Keep in mind that in the event of an emergency, there are supplies that you will need that are too large to fit inside your kit. Other helpful items to keep nearby are ladders, folding tables, dehumidifiers, and HEPA vacuums. Once you have created your collections emergency kit, all staff and volunteers at the museum should be made aware of where the kit is kept, what it contains, and how it should be used in the event of an emergency. It is also important to manage and maintain the inventory of the kit, making sure supplies are always well-stocked for when you might need them. If something is used from the kit, it should be promptly replaced. 

Being prepared for an emergency does not make unexpected disasters any less upsetting and unwelcome, but it may help make the response process go more smoothly and ease some of the unnecessary stress of trying to gather materials. Your emergency kit also does not have to be the biggest and most expensive kit in order to be effective. Gathering a few extra materials and keeping them in one place will go a long way towards preparing you for that next leaky pipe.
 

- Madeline

Introducing Jacob!

Hi everyone! My name is Jacob and for the next 7 weeks I will be working virtually as an intern here at ANSM. I am a part of the Museum and Cultural Management Program at Centennial College in Toronto, and I am so excited to be working here!

I am originally from New Brunswick, and I love history, especially being able to tell the stories of everyday people. So, being able to work with ANSM and all its member museums is a very exciting opportunity! I am especially looking forward to helping with projects that will help some of Nova Scotia’s founding cultural groups, such as the Mi’kmaq, Acadian, African Nova Scotian and Gaelic communities, tell their stories and access important cultural information.

Before I started studying museums full time, I received my BA with a double major in History and Political Science from St Thomas University, and my Master’s in History from the University of Toronto. My passion has always been food history, and I hope I will be able to bring that to bear in my time here!

In my free time, I love to read (especially science fiction and history), play role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, and cook dishes from around the world.