Think Clearly: The Lucidea Blog

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Argus Turns a Museum’s Challenge into a Success; Carpe Diem

Posted by Lucidea on 7/11/2018

Image: University of Missouri’s Museum of Art and Archaeology

The University of Missouri’s Museum of Art and Archaeology exists to “advance…understanding of artistic and cultural heritage through research, collection and interpretation. [They] further their mission by preserving, enhancing and providing access to the collections for the benefit of present and future generations.” A museum staff of 12 (including part-time and student help) manage a collection of almost 16,000 objects, with a particularly strong antiquities collection.

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Topics: Museums, Collections Management

Image Description Practices for Digital Archives Projects

Posted by Margot Note on 7/6/2018

Formal standards, such as Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), Graphic Materials, and Rules for Archival Description (RAD), have been developed over time for the description of archival materials. While descriptive standards offer consistency, archival repositories employ descriptive systems suited to their holdings, not universal access, and description continues to be idiosyncratic.

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Topics: Digital Archives, Archives, Collections Management

5 Times LAMs Should Bring in a Consultant

Posted by Rachael Cristine Woody on 6/27/2018

Working with collections in a library, archives, or museum (LAM) setting requires knowledgeable professionals. Through a combination of specialized education and experience gained in the field, professionals amass knowledge and skills developed for a very niche area. Most positions found within a LAM will require a high level of education and experience, but not every professional position needed can be funded.

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Topics: Museums, Archives, Collections Management

Selection for Digitization – Best Practices

Posted by Margot Note on 6/25/2018

The development of selection policies is a core component of digital projects, and many selection guidelines and criteria have been developed by institutions, national governments, and international organizations. Institutions need to validate their selection procedures for digitization concerning external criteria, especially with the increase of collaborations for digital projects.

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Topics: Digital Archives, Collections Management

When Your Archives and Special Collections Aren't Special

Posted by Rachael Cristine Woody on 6/20/2018

As discussed in a previous Library, Archives, and Museum (LAM) post, archives and special collections are often found within museums. While “special” is indicated in the name, the specialness can cause heartache and extra work for staff members who aren’t used to working with Archives and Special Collections (ASCs). This post will help define what ASCs are and identify common areas where ASCs aren’t special.

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Topics: Museums, Archives, Collections Management

In-house and Outsourced Archives Digitization

Posted by Margot Note on 6/18/2018

Digitization can be performed either in-house or outsourced. In-house implies that a department of the institution captures the images—supplying hardware and software, trained personnel, and overhead. Outsourcing requires entering into a contract with a vendor who will receive the images, convert them, and return the originals with the required digital files. Both in-house and outsourced alternatives should be considered when embarking on a digitization project.

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Topics: Digital Archives, Archives, Collections Management

Navigating the Museum | Archive Relationship

Posted by Rachael Cristine Woody on 6/13/2018

At any given time, museum visitors only see 10% of a museum collection. When I was working at the Smithsonian, I believe the statistic was even lower—a whopping 1% of collection materials were on display! Now consider the possibility of a related but differently categorized collection – that of the museum’s archives. Archival materials rarely make it onto the museum’s exhibition floor and yet they are critically important to correctly interpreting the museum’s objects.

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Topics: Museums, Archives, Collections Management

Best Practices for Planning a Digitization Project

Posted by Margot Note on 6/11/2018

As archivists, we take our responsibilities seriously as stewards of the collections entrusted to our care, ensuring that our assets remain safe and accessible to users. The demand for increased online access to collections, coupled with limited fiscal and staff resources, makes balancing the two a challenge.

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Topics: Digital Archives, Archives, Collections Management

Staffing and Collaboration for Digital Archival Projects

Posted by Margot Note on 6/4/2018

Staffing needs for digital projects depend on the project’s size and complexity. Training existing staff members to work on digitization projects is a critical component of change management within the institution because digital projects require new skills. The digital age is moving memory institutions into new paradigms of delivering both services and content, and this alteration brings with it a need for training in managing information in a hybrid environment.

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Topics: Digital Archives, Archives, Collections Management

The Intersection of Libraries, Archives & Museums

Posted by Rachael Cristine Woody on 5/16/2018

There’s no one model for libraries, archives and museums to coexist and interact. Each entity can be a stand-alone repository, a mixture of two entities, or contain all three entities. Library, Archive, and Museum (LAM) professionals are trained in organizing and categorizing items in their respective collections. Since this is their specialty they’ve applied the same principles to classify LAM entities separately, due to the LAM's slightly different functions and collection materials.

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Topics: Museums, Special Libraries, Digital Archives, Archives, Collections Management