South Carolina State Museum Foundation

THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE MUSEUM WILL CAPTURE DIGITAL IMAGES FOR OVER 4,000 SPECIMENS FROM SEVERAL SPECIFIC AREAS OF ITS NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTION AND WILL INCORPORATE THE DATA INTO ITS COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT TWO TEMPORARY FULL-TIME POSITIONS, A DIGITIZATION SPECIALIST, AND A COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT. DIGITAL CATALOG RECORDS WILL REDUCE THE NEED TO HANDLE SPECIMENS, WHICH WILL ENHANCE THE LONG-TERM PRESERVATION OF THE COLLECTIONS. THE PROJECT WILL IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF MUSEUM STAFF TO SEARCH AND LOCATE COLLECTIONS FOR EXHIBITIONS, RESEARCH REQUESTS, AND INVENTORY PURPOSES. THE MUSEUM WILL ALSO MAKE THE DIGITAL CATALOG RECORDS AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR THE BENEFIT OF RESEARCHERS AND THE PUBLIC.

THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE MUSEUM WILL IMPROVE THE STEWARDSHIP OF ITS COLLECTIONS THROUGH A COLLECTIONS INVENTORY AND DIGITIZATION PROJECT OF 3,500 OBJECTS IN ITS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTION AS WELL AS 2,000 OBJECTS CURRENTLY ON VIEW IN ITS EXHIBITION GALLERIES. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE INVENTORYING, PHOTOGRAPHING, REHOUSING, AND INPUTTING COLLECTIONS DATA. THE MUSEUM WILL HIRE A FULL-TIME INVENTORY COORDINATOR AND FOUR PART-TIME PROJECT ASSISTANTS, WHO WILL WORK UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MUSEUM REGISTRAR TO FACILITATE PROJECT ACTIVITIES. ADDITIONALLY, PROJECT STAFF WILL CONTRACT WITH DIGITIZATION, CONTENT, AND EDUCATION CONSULTANTS TO ASSIST THE PROJECT. AS A RESULT OF THE PROJECT, THE MUSEUM WILL BE ABLE TO SHARE NEW INFORMATION THROUGH AN ONLINE COLLECTIONS PORTAL FOR EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH PURPOSES.

THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE MUSEUM WILL IMPROVE THE STEWARDSHIP OF ITS COLLECTIONS THROUGH A TWO-YEAR COLLECTIONS INVENTORY AND DIGITIZATION PROJECT. A FULL-TIME INVENTORY COORDINATOR AND 4 PART-TIME PROJECT ASSISTANTS WILL WORK UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MUSEUM?S REGISTRAR. PROJECT STAFF WILL 1) CONDUCT AN INVENTORY OF 5,600 OBJECTS, INCLUDING WEAPONS, ARMAMENT, UNIFORMS, HOUSEWARES, AND TOYS; 2) PHOTOGRAPH EACH OBJECT AT EITHER A BASIC OR PUBLICATION-QUALITY STANDARD; AND 3) VERIFY AND COLLECT DATA-ENTRY INFORMATION FOR 2,400 ACCESSION LOTS IN THE CULTURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS. THE PROJECT WILL RESULT IN REFINED INVENTORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY PROTOCOLS FOR DIGITIZATION OF COLLECTION OBJECTS, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND THE ACQUISITION OF A DEDICATED SERVER TO ENSURE THAT THE DATABASE HAS CAPACITY FOR FUTURE GROWTH.

THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE MUSEUM WILL IMPROVE THE STEWARDSHIP OF ITS COLLECTIONS THROUGH A TWO-YEAR COLLECTIONS INVENTORY AND DIGITIZATION PROJECT. FOLLOWING A COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION OF ITS STORAGE AND EXHIBITION SPACES AND THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, THE MUSEUM IDENTIFIED THE NEED FOR A DETAILED INVENTORY AS ITS NEXT HIGHEST PRIORITY IN COLLECTIONS CARE. THE MUSEUM WILL HIRE A FULL-TIME INVENTORY COORDINATOR AND FOUR PART-TIME PROJECT ASSISTANTS WHO WILL WORK UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE REGISTRAR. PROJECT STAFF WILL INVENTORY THE COMPLETE ART COLLECTION ACROSS THREE STORAGE ROOMS, RESULTING IN 3,500 NEW OR REVISED ENTRIES FOR THE MUSEUM'S 80,000-PIECE OBJECT COLLECTION. EACH OBJECT WILL ALSO BE PHOTOGRAPHED AS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN DIGITIZING THE COLLECTION AND DEVELOPING AN ONLINE COLLECTIONS PORTAL.