Presented by Darlene Young, Angela Stanford, Shir Bach, and Sally Blanchard O’Brien

Launching a large-scale inventory project can be daunting, especially if you are starting from scratch, reconciling your work with existing documentation, working with finite resources, or leading a team of volunteers or interns. In this virtual webinar, we’ll hear from museum and archives professionals who will discuss both theory and practice in the real world. Eileen Corcoran, Director of Service & Outreach at the Vermont Historical Society, will open the webinar with a discussion of different frameworks for approaching an inventory project; what goes into planning for one; and different strategies for getting the project started – and finished. Eileen’s presentation will be followed by several case studies:

• Darlene Young, Registrar at the Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village in Brownington, Vermont, will present “Inventorying A Previously Unmanaged Collection,” discussing her successful multi-year initiative to gain intellectual control of the 75,000+ objects at her historic site.

• Angela Stanford, owner of Advanced Museum Services and Assistant Director/Registrar at the Madison County Historical Complex in Winterset, Iowa will present “Diving In: Inventory, Database Clean-Up, and Deaccessioning.” While at the Museum of Danish America in Iowa, Angela led the efforts to complete an artifact inventory, create or clean-up corresponding digital records, and deaccession as needed. The project involved numerous volunteers and interns as well as a wide variety of artifacts and disposal methods. 

• Shir Bach and Sally Blanchard O’Brien, Congressional Papers Archivists at the University of Vermont, will present “From Clippings to Cassettes and Beyond: Inventorying an Archival Collection Across Formats,” discussing contrasting approaches for inventorying paper records and audiovisual/digital items in Senator Patrick Leahy’s voluminous papers. Their talk will cover involving student interns, making sense and use of previous inventories, and working collaboratively across a large-scale project. 

Webinar attendees will have the opportunity to pose detailed follow up questions at a virtual Conversation with Colleagues on Tuesday, September 30th from 12:00-1:00 pm EST. All those who register for the webinar are invited to attend.

Pre-registration is required and a Zoom link for the meeting will be sent to you closer to the meeting date. Space in the workshop is limited to 100 participants. Please register by Wednesday, September 17th.

If you can’t make it to the live event, you can still register for the workshop and we will send you the recording once it becomes available.

The cost of the virtual workshop is as follows:

• $15 for any non-member of CCCA who wishes to attend

• $10 if you have applied for and been accepted as a Professional Affiliate Member of the CCCA or have made a donation of at least $25 this year as a Friend of the CCCA

• FREE if you have applied for and been accepted as an Emerging Professional or Student Member of the CCCA.

You can pay with a credit card without setting up an account. If you need to pay by check please email us at collectionscarealliance@gmail.com

Your workshop fees and additional donations help our growing community of conservation and preservation professionals aid regional cultural heritage organizations in the care and conservation of their collections and materials.  As a non-profit corporation registered in the state of Vermont, the CCCA relies on the support of our membership and community to help us develop and promote affordable opportunities for training and networking and to improve the long-term preservation of these vulnerable collections. Thank you!

WHEN REGISTERING, PLEASE BE SURE TO SCROLL UP: YOUR CART WILL BE IN THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER. CLICK ON IT TO COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION PROCESS. THANK YOU!