[BCMA] Managing Cross-Boundary Archival and Museum Collections

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

Dear colleagues,

I am hoping to draw on the collective experience of the museum and archives community regarding the management of collections that span both archives and museum collections.

At the Vernon Museum, archival and museum materials were originally accessioned together before being separated into distinct departments with independent accession numbering systems. Because formal criteria for distinguishing archival and museum materials were never consistently documented, we now have a number of items-particularly paintings and books-that could reasonably belong in either department.

This has become especially relevant as we inventory the museum collection in preparation for our move to the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre. The museum collection will relocate to the new facility, while the archives will remain in our current building, making it important to determine where these cross-boundary materials should reside.

I would be very interested to hear how other institutions approach similar situations. If your archives and museum collections are managed separately, how do you decide which department materials belong in when they could reasonably fit either? Have you developed policies or guiding principles for these types of collections? I'd also appreciate hearing about any lessons learned during a move, inventory project, or database migration.

Any advice, examples of policies, or experiences would be greatly appreciated and can be sent to gwyn.evans at vernonmuseum.ca<mailto:gwyn.evans at vernonmuseum.ca>.

Thank you in advance for your time and insights.

Gwyneth Evans (she/her)
Archives Manager
BAHons, MLIS
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I would like to respectfully acknowledge that I am sending this email today, as well as working, living, and playing, on the Traditional, Ancestral, and Unceded territory of the syilx People. As a visitor on this land, I strive to deepen my understanding of the local Indigenous communities, including the syilx and secwepemc People, and I commit to reframing my responsibilities to land and community.

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