Rethinking Cataloguing
Museum Development East Midlands and West Midlands Museum Development are running three Midlands-wide workshops with Collections Trust.
This first session will explore the Spectrum Cataloguing procedure and discuss Collection Trust’s recent changes to the procedure, including the reasons for change, process of consultation and outcomes.
We will be considering themes that include: how we gather, record and prioritise information; who contributes and is responsible for information; access and users; capturing alternative perspectives; building documentation histories.
There will be opportunities to discuss with colleagues and ask questions throughout, as well as signposting to further guidance and examples online.
Attendees will learn:
- How to understand and apply the Spectrum Cataloguing procedure
- What the changes to the Cataloguing procedure are
- How to take a critical approach to cataloguing, to make it a more open, ongoing, multi-layered process
- How to think about internal and external users
- Where to find more information and guidance
Before the session attendees should look at:
- The Spectrum Cataloguing procedure Think about how the organisation stores information and meets the needs of users
- Their organisation’s Documentation Policy. Is there a section about access? What does it say?
Who should attend?
Those responsible for cataloguing and/ or decision making. This session will be particularly helpful for beginners or those looking for a refresher.
Maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
If you would benefit from live captioning or any other form of access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.
Rethinking Cataloguing
Wednesday 18 January, 2pm-4pm
Online
If you can’t see the booking button this event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
What’s Eating Your Collections? Day 2
Do you know your furniture beetle from your biscuit beetle? Have you spotted some unusual holes in an object? Are you worried that something might be lurking in a dark corner of your collections store?
Join Jane Thompson-Webb, Conservation Team Leader at Birmingham Museum Trust, for a two day delve into the world of identifying and dealing with museum pests.
The Integrated Pest Management course is a hands-on training event. It is an opportunity to learn about the risks from insect pests and how to mitigate them. It is ideal for anyone working directly with collections, carrying out routine collections care or cleaning, or anyone in need of a refresher in this vital and fascinating area of collections management.
Please note that participants must attend both days of the training.
This training event directly supports areas 6.1 an approved collections care and conservation policy and 6.2 a collections care and conservation plan of the Accreditation Standard.
Places are limited, maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
Tea and coffee will be provided but participants are asked to bring their own packed lunch. We will be working in the collection stores for part of the session. Please bring some warm clothing, sensible shoes.
If you would benefit from any access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
Free parking is available on site. The nearest railway station is Duddeston (about a 10 minute walk to the venue).
What’s Eating Your Collections?
Wednesday 25 January and Thursday 26 January 2023, 9.30am-3.30pm
Museum Collection Centre, 25 Dollman Street, Birmingham B7 4RQ
This event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
Managing Museum and Archive Collections Together
This event is part of a series of collaborative workshops organised by The National Archives (TNA) and the regional Museum Development teams. This event will be facilitated by staff from TNA and Museum Development teams in the West Midlands and East Midlands.
The course is aimed at those who are managing museum and archive collections together and may not have the professional skills to care for and make the best of both types of collection effectively. It will help museum managers and archive managers to understand more about the challenges of managing mixed collections. It will include relevant case studies, power point presentation and break-out sessions.
The course will include an interactive element where participants can contribute to discussions via Mentimeter. Please ensure that you can access Mentimeter alongside Zoom on your device, or bring along a second device, so that you can join the discussions on the day.
Who should attend?
- Museum and Archive professionals responsible for managing services
- Workforce (staff or volunteers) with responsibility for managing collections
Course Objectives
- to help museum and archive managers to understand more about effective management of mixed (museum and archive) collections
- to demonstrate where managing archives and museums are similar and where there are differences
- to highlight how both Accreditation schemes run alongside each other and can dovetail
- to demonstrate how a complete mixed collection can be managed using the best of each sector
- to highlight the TNA ‘Managing Mixed Collections’ guidance and AIM ‘Successfully Managing Archives in Museums’ guidance
Outcomes
At the end of the session participants will:
- have a basic knowledge of how to manage archives and museums alongside each other.
- understand where practices diverge and where they can use the best of each sector tradition.
- know where to go for more information on managing archive and museums collections together
- recognise the connections between the Museum and Archive Service Accreditation schemes
- feel more confident in managing museum and archive collections together
Book Managing Museum and Archive Collections Together
About the trainer
Janice Tullock is an Archives and Heritage consultant, working with archive services, museums and organisations outside the cultural sector, to manage collections and develop audiences for services.
Following experience in local authority archive and museum services and in policy development, her consultancy practice has focused on developing audiences for archives, managing collections, supporting the development of archive services and undertaking national strategic projects. Over a 15 year consultancy career clients have included local government, universities, charities, sporting organisations, museums and libraries across the UK. In 2021 she was lead consultant on the development of The National Archives guidance, Managing Mixed Collections. Janice is a member of the Archives Accreditation Committee and an expert mentor on behalf of the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation. Any remaining bookings will be allocated to services in other regions on a first come, first served basis.
If you would benefit from live captioning or any other form of access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.
What’s Eating Your Collections?
Do you know your furniture beetle from your biscuit beetle? Have you spotted some unusual holes in an object? Are you worried that something might be lurking in a dark corner of your collections store?
Join Jane Thompson-Webb, Conservation Team Leader at Birmingham Museum Trust, for a two day delve into the world of identifying and dealing with museum pests.
The Integrated Pest Management course is a hands-on training event. It is an opportunity to learn about the risks from insect pests and how to mitigate them. It is ideal for anyone working directly with collections, carrying out routine collections care or cleaning, or anyone in need of a refresher in this vital and fascinating area of collections management.
Please note that participants must attend both days of the training.
This training event directly supports areas 6.1 an approved collections care and conservation policy and 6.2 a collections care and conservation plan of the Accreditation Standard.
Places are limited, maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
Tea and coffee will be provided but participants are asked to bring their own packed lunch. We will be working in the collection stores for part of the session. Please bring some warm clothing, sensible shoes.
If you would benefit from any access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
Free parking is available on site. The nearest railway station is Duddeston (about a 10 minute walk to the venue).
What’s Eating Your Collections?
Wednesday 25 January and Thursday 26 January 2023, 9.30am-3.30pm
Museum Collection Centre, 25 Dollman Street, Birmingham B7 4RQ
If you can’t see the booking button this event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
In Case of Emergency: Practical salvage training
Disasters can come in many shapes and sizes. Are you confident that you know what to do?
This practical training will be led by Emma Dadson from Harwell Restoration Ltd.
Participants will have the opportunity to get hands-on, look at effects of water on collections and practice the decision-making that would be required in a real recovery situation.
The training will cover
- practical techniques for treating damage to objects and stabilisation methods for major incidents
- how to respond to an escape of water incident safely whilst minimising damage to collections
- impacts of water on different object types
Places are limited, maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
Please wear suitable clothing for dealing with wet objects. Tea and coffee will be provided but participants are asked to bring their own packed lunch.
If you would benefit from any access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
If the booking button isn’t visible the event is fully booked. If you’d like to join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
Working with Legacies of Colonialism in Museums Meet Up
Social History Curators Group is hosting an informal meeting for people engaging with the legacies of colonialism in our museums.
It’s an open discussion group to:
- enable peer mentoring
- share and test ideas and experiences in a friendly space
- provide opportunities to be creative
- build our knowledge and confidence in this area of emerging practice
Register here by 5pm, Wednesday 24 August.
Coffee and Chatter
Your networking opportunity
Join the WMMD team at 10.30am for half an hour as we focus on the current challenges facing the sector.
Grab your morning cuppa and hear what our speakers have to say and exchange ideas with colleagues from across the region.
There will also be an opportunity to share what’s happening at your museum, learn what your colleagues across the sector are doing, ask the WMMD team for advice and hear about the latest sector guidance and news.
Zoom details:
https://zoom.us/j/99254865285?pwd=R2xiUlUzOFdWMGJFQXpyL0E4cHpNQT09
Meeting ID: 992 5486 5285
Password: 579046
Coffee and Chatter will be auto-captioned.
Coffee and Chatter
Hear about the THREADS project which engaged with new and underserved communities.
Your networking opportunity
Join the WMMD team at 10.30am for a half hour of Coffee and Chatter.
It’s your chance to share what’s happening at your museum, learn what your colleagues across the sector are doing in their heritage organisations, ask the WMMD team for advice and hear about the latest sector guidance and news.
Grab your morning cuppa, exchange ideas and catch up with some friendly faces.
We will be joined by Tara Johnston-Comerford and Emma Gibbons from Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) talking about the THREADS project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
THREADS’ primary objective was to engage new and underserved communities in the RSC’s costume-making heritage. They targeted new audiences; children, young people and families; people with mental and physical disabilities; people from the global majority, and people from working class and non-working backgrounds. Tara and Emma will share their successes and learnings, reflecting on how what they have learnt through delivering such a programme during a pandemic can inform the work they continue to do.
Zoom details:
https://zoom.us/j/99254865285?pwd=R2xiUlUzOFdWMGJFQXpyL0E4cHpNQT09
Meeting ID: 992 5486 5285
Password: 579046
Coffee and Chatter will be auto-captioned.
Introduction to Spectrum 5.0
A workshop in partnership with the Collections Trust.
Suitable for those new to the Spectrum collections management standard or in need of a refresher, this online session will offer an introduction to Spectrum 5.0.
We will discuss how a Spectrum 5.0 procedure works, how Spectrum might be applied within your own organisation and briefly introduce the primary procedures for Accreditation. We will also look at the difference and relationship between plans, policies and procedures.
There will be opportunities to ask questions throughout. You will also be invited to submit questions in advance.
By the end of the session, delegates will:
- Understand what the Spectrum standard is, and how it might be applied within their museum
- Understand the role of the Spectrum standard in relation to museum Accreditation
- Understand the difference and relationship between plans, policies and procedures
- Know where to find more information and guidance
Before the session:
- Read the Spectrum 5.0 introduction https://collectionstrust.org.uk/spectrum/spectrum-5/
- Think about how you do things in your museum, referring to your in-house procedural manual if you have access to it, although we appreciate you might not right now. You might also find it useful to have it with you to refer to during the session.
Priority will be given to delegates to delegates participating in WMMD’s Banish the Backlog cohorts, but it is also open to museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation. Maximum two delegates per organisation.
The webinar will be live captioned through StageText and MyClearText.
All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.
If the booking button isn’t visible this event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk.
Introduction to Spectrum 5.0
Thursday 17 February, 10am-12noon
Online
Collections Essentials: Making your Collections Care Green
Helena Jaeschke, Conservation Development Officer at South West Museum Development will lead this 2 hour session exploring the ways in which museums can improve the care of their collections and reduce their impact on the environment. The session will include:
- The risks affecting museum collections
- How to assess the materials and methods you use and their effect on the environment
- What changes you can make in collections care without adversely affecting your collection
- Discussions about specific issues
Who should attend?
This session is suitable for anyone working in a museum (paid or volunteer) who wants to know how to look after and protect the collection whilst reducing the museum’s effect on the planet. No previous experience or training is necessary.
This training session was created as part of the museum development programme delivered by our partners South West Museum Development.
“It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being better”
Maximum of two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
The webinar will be live captioned through StageText and MyClearText.
All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email by the day before the event please contact us.
Collections Essentials: Making your Collections Care Green
Wednesday 23 February 2022, 10.30am-12.30pm
Online
If the booking button isn’t visible, this event is fully booked. Please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk to join the waiting list.
