NMAH Spring 2017 Internships

Please see below for more information on the Spring 2017 internships at the NMAH Registrar’s Office

1.New Aquisitions and the Collections Management Committee and 2.Accession Record Research and Processing

New Acquisitions and the Collections Management Committee

  • Collections committee in XG
    • Process to get into XG
    • Entry into XG with linking to prior decisions
    • Review of orphan actions
  • Acquisition process/Deacession Process
  • Disposal Process
  • Deaccession entry into XG – new XG forms/views
The Registrar’s office offers an internship opportunity for a student of Museum Studies, Public History, Library and Information Science, or other collecting or information management area of study.
Goals for the project will include:
  • Practical application of best practices in collections acquisition, including experience reviewing policy, suggesting and drafting revisions and  experience drafting procedure and workflow,
  • Building an understanding of various project management and communication strategies and tools within registrarial workflows,
  • Developing experience with the Mimsy XG (XG) collections management system (CMS)including data management, communication management and reporting, and
  • Gaining experience communicating with stakeholders in the acquisition process inside and outside the museum.
Specifically, the project will involve:
  • Reviewing NMAH CMP acquisitions and deaccession policy and advising on management and implementation of required information in the Collections Information System,
  • Preparing procedural and workflow documents based on ongoing NMAH staff workshops and reviews,
  • Assisting in testing and implementation of data and communication management of acquisition process using NMAH CMS, XG, and
  •  Assisting in communication with NMAH Collections Management Committee and proposing and implementing information management plan for meeting minutes.
Our hope is this project will specifically reinforce academic training on collections management procedures through participation in the deliberate review of a central museum process. Deliverables for the project will include procedural manuals for museum acquisition data management processes and training materials for implementing processes.
  • Learning Objectives include:
  • Deep understanding of museum acquisition and deaccession policy and its relationship to professional application and procedure
  • Application of project and communication management tools to a professional museum process
  • Use of major museum CMS (XG) for information, project and communication management
  • Best practices for communication and professional relationships in a museum environment.
Accession Record research and processing
The Registrar’s office offers an internship opportunity for a student of Museum Studies, Public History, Library and Information Science, or other collecting or information management area of study.
Goals for the project will include:
  • Practical application of best practices in collections research and ownership resolution, 
  • Building an understanding of histories of NMAH collections,
  • Developing experience with the Mimsy XG (XG) collections management system (CMS)including data management, communication management and reporting, and
  • Gaining experience communicating with stakeholders in the accession and disposals process inside and outside the museum.
Specifically, the project will involve:
  • Searching for and identifying accession files of collections transferred to partner institutions, and
  • Reviewing files, creating and updating accession activity records in XG, linking object records to files.
Our hope is this project will specifically reinforce academic training on collections management procedures through participation in the deliberate review of a central museum process. Deliverables for the project will include procedural manuals for museum acquisition data management processes and training materials for implementing processes.
  • Learning Objectives include:
  • Deep understanding of museum acquisition and deaccession policy and its relationship to professional application and procedure,
  • Application of project and communication management tools to a professional museum process,
  • Use of major museum CMS (XG) for information, project and communication management, and
  • Best practices for communication and professional relationships in a museum environment.