Tag: collections

Making Use of the Tools We Have

Making Use of the Tools We Have

This week the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) announced that they will be closing their doors for four months later this year to complete their ongoing renovation and completely rehang their collection. When the museum reopens in the fall, they will rotate their collection more 

Open Access and Museum Collections

Open Access and Museum Collections

According to the American Alliance of Museums’ Characteristics of Excellence, a museum should, “guided by its mission, provide public access to its collections while ensuring their preservation.” Although museums protect over a billion objects, did you know that on average, less than five percent of a museum’s 

Cambridge Open Archives Tour

Cambridge Open Archives Tour

I heard from some attendees last year that these are an absolute blast. They’re certainly a rare opportunity to get behind-the-scenes.

Cambridge’s Fourth Annual Archives Crawl

 

The Open Archives Tour is a chance to go behind the scenes at a number of unique archives and collecting agencies in Cambridge. This year, twelve archives will be featured over four days, from July 9 through July 12. The tours are divided into four categories:

 

City Collections – July 9, 5:00-8:00 pm  

  • Cambridge Historical Commission
  • Cambridge Room of the Public Library
  • Cambridge Public Works Department

Harvard Collections – July 10, 3:00-6:00 pm  

  • Harvard University Archives
  • Houghton Library
  • Schlesinger Library

Cultural Collections – July 11, 5:00-8:00 pm 

  • Mount Auburn Cemetery
  • Cambridge Historical Society
  • The Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site

MIT Collections – July 12, 3:00-6:00 pm  

  • List Visual Arts Center
  • Institute Archives & Special Collections
  • MIT Museum

You can sign up for one, two, three, or four tours, but you must sign up for each tour individually: $3 fee per tour. Space is limited.

Click here to register for the 2012 Open Archives Tour.

Survey on Contemporary Objects in History Museums

Survey on Contemporary Objects in History Museums

Please take a few minutes to help a fellow museum studies student out. Leslie Howard, who’s completing an MA in Museum Studies from Harvard and is NEMA’s Membership Manager, is writing her thesis on collecting contemporary objects. Do you have an opinion on whether museums