Today’s registrars and collections professionals wear many hats—balancing preservation with access, documentation with engagement, and analog records with digital demands. Whether you're managing a small museum collection or stewarding a campus-wide installation, building a modern, digital collection database can transform how you work, collaborate, and serve your audience.
In this hands-on, discussion-based workshop, we’ll explore how digitizing your collection empowers your institution to:
Increase internal efficiency
Improve public access
Support cross-department collaboration
Mitigate risk and prepare for the unexpected
Led by Elysian McNiff Koglmeier, Head of Partnerships at Artwork Archive and former NEMA YEP, this session will serve as a practical guide to making your collection more usable, visible, and resilient. Drawing from her work with museums, cultural institutions, and public art programs nationwide, Elysian will share best practices and real-world strategies—using Artwork Archive as a case study to illustrate what a modern, accessible collections platform can offer.
We’ll be joined by Kate Shamon Rushford, Arts, Culture and Events Coordinator for the City of Gloucester, who will share how the city is digitizing its archive to expand access and engagement—highlighting a partnership with the Gloucester Daily Times to bring the collection to the public.
Elisabeth Gordon, Art Program Manager at Boston Children’s Hospital, will also offer insights into managing a large, campus-wide collection in a healthcare setting, with strategies that extend beyond traditional museum environments.
Whether you're just beginning to digitize or looking to refine your systems, you’ll leave with tangible takeaways and peer-tested strategies to put into practice.
Presented by the Registrars & Collection Care Specialists (RACCS) PAG.
Registration Fee (includes lunch): $65 NEMA Members; $95 Non-member; $50 Student
Registration deadline: July 17, 2025
Sign up:
https://nemanet.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1966415&group=
You may also like the following events from New England Museum Association:
- This Tuesday, 15th July, 05:00 pm, NAGPRA and Repatriation Q&A Session in Arlington, Massachusetts
- This Wednesday, 16th July, 09:30 am, Environmental Community of Practice Field Trip: Historic New England's Pierce House in Mattapan
- This Thursday, 17th July, 04:00 pm, Historic Sites PAG: The Important Work Archivists and Librarians Do! in Arlington, Massachusetts
Also check out other
Arts events in Lexington,
Workshops in Lexington,
Fine Arts events in Lexington.
