Guest written by Anne Jones, Curator of Collections
During our national accreditation process, we learned that the public values learning about the professional practices and standards we maintain as a field. This not only contributes to the high level of trust the public has in the museums, it is also fun. So, today we’re pulling back the curtain on just how we manage the museum’s collections with the Johnson County Museum’s Curator of Collections, Anne Jones.
The Johnson County Museum’s collections staff’s obligation is to collect, preserve, and share the collections with the public. That includes a lot of hands-on work, but also specialty software that helps us track and link information associated with the Museum’s 20,800 objects (and their associated images), 39,000 plus historical photographs, 157 archival collections, and 975 title reference library.
In March 2023, the Johnson County Museum purchased Collector Systems LLC, a cloud-based collections management software program. With this purchase, collections staff are in the process of transferring all of those individual records from the current collection software to the new cloud-based program. Project staff include collections manager Liz Lumpkin, Emerging Museum Professional intern Jessica Sapien, a small group of trained and dedicated museum volunteers, and me.
Migrating 70,000 plus collection records from one database to another can be a slow and tedious process. But fortunately, it is also a good time for staff to review and clean up current data (i.e. remove duplicate records, correct spelling errors, etc.). Since March, project staff and volunteers have focused on two categories within the current database that needed attention:
- Object and photograph titles
- People biographies
Adding a concise and accurate title to each object and photograph does not involve research, but it does require the use of consistent terminology. For example, of the 39,000 images in the photograph database, 9,213 were taken between 1990 and 2009 as part of the Historic Preservation Survey. These images represent structures (houses, barns, etc.) that were built in Johnson County before 1950. Adding consistent terminology to the title of each image will enable users to conduct searches for specific buildings in specific areas of the county. Using the search parameters “House” and “Roeland Park” will produce a complete list of houses in Roeland Park that were photographed for the survey. Any records that might have used “Home” instead of “House” when the data was originally entered would not come up in that search, and a simple misspelling of the “Roeland” name could leave out search results as well.
The biographies category represents the most extensive clean up challenge as it involves correcting spelling errors, removing duplicate records, and ensuring consistency in how names are entered. Prior to this effort, the current database included over 22,400 individual name records mainly associated with the photograph collection. As this part of the cleanup comes to an end, that number has decreased to 19,321 names, as staff has removed over 3,000 duplicate records including those where the individuals were listed as “unknown.”
The second step involves connecting people to objects and images. With the help of Ancestry.com, staff reviewed or created family trees to provide more in-depth biographical information, including women’s original last names when they can be found. For example, in 1994, Merriam resident Margaret Frazier donated objects and photographs associated with the death of her brother Henry Miller, Jr., whose plane was shot down over the Pacific in 1945. She was listed in the current database as Margaret Frazier, but, in the new database, she will be listed by her full name, Edith Margaret Miller – Frazier. That new record will also include the full names of her husband, her parents, and her children, along with birth and death dates if known.
Project staff anticipate that the records and images in the current database will be migrated over to the new software by the end of the year. In addition to data cleanup, all physical records associated with the collections – donor forms, condition and conservation reports, and written histories – will be scanned and attached to the appropriate object/photograph record, resulting in a more complete picture of the collections owned by the Museum.
Ultimately, the cloud-based program will improve collections access for staff. Through a cohesive metadata strategy, attention to detail, and user-friendly software, the museum’s educators, exhibit makers, and engagement teams will bring the collections to the public in meaningful and engaging ways.
You can access much of the Museum’s photograph collections and other materials, such as maps, newspapers, and historical newsletters, by going to www.jocohistory.org. You can support the Museum’s collections work and other work the Museum does by becoming a Museum Member. Visit www.jcprd.com/Museum to learn how!
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