Date: 2016-2017
Supervisor: Sally Robbins, then Library Historic Officer at “Our Library” Mornington Peninsula Shire (MPLS)
Format: in person
Time: 2 hrs
(3 hours per week, at least 40 hours in total)
Organiser: Nepean Historic Society (NHS)/ Sorrento Museum, Sorrento, Victoria – https://nepeanhistoricalsociety.asn.au/
Level: Volunteer
Subject area: Archiving; documentation, administration and preservation of community heritage collections
Objective: Experience in historic collection management, exploration of systems and processes beyond the public library.
Reason for attending: To assist NHS in extending their public collection online and to ascertain interest in my future career path.
What was learnt: In 2016, as co-ordinator of 23 local historic societies situated in the Mornington Peninsula region MPLS Historical Officer Sally Robbins was eager to recruit volunteers to assist in collection management and preservation. The Sorrento Museum is located in the original Mechanics Institute (circa 1877) and has a vast collection of donated and obtained documents, images, library texts ad objects preceding Sorrento’s settlement in 1869. The Nepean Historical Society maintained numerous ledgers containing pencil scribed records originating from its establishment in 1965, requiring digital documentation and cataloguing to retain and extend their cultural value.
My role was to review and index the approximately 8000 objects in the original ledgers, to transcribe the written information including the name/ title, acquisition date, source, registration and item numbering details, provenance, general description and present location of each item. In collaboration with the digitising photographer I then sourced each object on display, measured and further described their physical characteristics and qualities/ flaws, researched the objects manufacturing/ creation origins then indexed the items according to the provided controlled authority to standardize their access within the NHS database and online catalogue.
Relationship to work/ study:
The time spent at NHS was invaluable in terms of experience and self-growth. My self-tuition in using the Filemaker Pro Digital Asset Management Database software enhanced my confidence in learning new technology skills. This tenacity has assisted me when I felt frustration and incompetence in CSU website design and publishing units in 2020 (I persevered and passed), and in continuance of new technology skills in my employment.
Access to original item records, online and research, face-to-face interview opportunities and an environment immersed in artifacts and stories revealed a previously unfamiliar fascination with the community and its history. I was excited to begin INF 318 Community Histories to utilise my experiences, and to extend my knowledge of about passive vs active preservation in INF443 Digital Preservation. Capacity for indexing and research assisted comprehension of INF209 Describing Information Resources and INF201 Collections.
My fellow NHS volunteers were passionate about their environment: every session I was immersed in fascinating and colourful narratives. The only hindrance I encountered were the ever-constant lengthy volunteer meetings (generally regarding whose turn it was to buy the biscuits) that impeded my work. My time concluded when it became impossible to juggle paid employment and child-care with the time and distance NHS required. I believe by that stage I had completed approximately 30 collection entries. Insight into archiving, community history and their collections proved immensely valuable and worthwhile.
