More Objects than Expertise: A Collaborative Housing and Access Project

Abstract

Sometimes collaboration is the key to caring for objects outside of one’s area of expertise. For example, most archivists are well seasoned in preserving paper and photographic collections, but caring for objects may fall outside their norm. To rectify this situation at the University of Kansas, Museum Studies students have written condition reports and created simple, effective housings for archival objects, resulting in better storage and greater public access. An added benefit is the students’ use of social media to document examples of innovative housings for oversize rolled textiles, hanging framed items, and metal, plaster, and ceramic objects. The collections have been better housed, are easier to use by patrons, and have gained publicity that has resulted in increased use and additional donations. The presentation will feature the logistics of the collaboration, simple housing solutions, and social media posts that other collecting institutions might replicate.