IMAGE: Writing box, thought to be Northern Italian/Venetian, about 1550-1580. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

In my day job, I work as a exhibitions curator at a museum. I spend a fair amount of time researching and also working with collections. (Note: my day job work is regionally focused and generally centered on the 1800s-2000s.) This post is being written on my own time as a personal resource and may not reflect the views of my institution.

Museums are a wonderful resource for researchers. I thought I would share some ways in which they can be useful to SCA researchers and other reenactors.

DISCLAIMER: Every museum does things differently. These are general guidelines and you may find that they do not apply to the institution you are working with.

ONLINE COLLECTIONS

Most museums these days have at least some of their objects digitized and available to the public. As museum collections grow very quickly, there are often many, many more items available than can ever be seen on the web.

Whenever you want to research a time period, person, item, etc., I recommend starting with the museum’s online collection and seeing what exists there first. (I plan eventually to write a post just about how to find things in collections – there are tricks to this.) Please remember that if you want to ask questions about an object later, it will be much easier for staff if you write down a few things. I suggest the following:

• The title of the object
• The date (if the museum knows – they may not!)
• the object number – this can be called many things based on the museum – it may be object number, catalog ID, accession number, museum number. Whatever this number is, this is the easiest way for the staff member to look it up so please get this number.
• If you can’t figure out how to find this information, just copy the web page address with the catalog record. That will help us too.

Museums don’t always put all of the information that they have about an object on the website. There are various reasons for this – it might be unverified information, the database may not pull from various fields, etc – but once in a while, you may be able to get more information from the museum by requesting more information. This can be done by reaching out to their collection staff or…

SCHEDULE A RESEARCH VISIT

This varies depending on the museum that you are contacting. Some of them allow researchers to schedule a visit. Many museums have very limited hours as this is dependent on staff availability. You can generally find information about how to schedule the visit on the website (ideal) or by just emailing their collections department.

Before you even reach out to schedule the visit, for the best experience, I recommend you do the following:

• Make a list of what you want to see or know about
• Make sure that this list includes identification numbers or website links to the things that you want to see or know about
• It is better to have a bigger list and end up having to schedule multiple visits than to send a small list and wish you had come back
• I also suggest telling the staff in your inquiry what you are researching. They may recommend other things for you to look at that you didn’t find in the catalog.
• Check their policies related to imaging. Some institutions will let you bring a camera and take photos without the flash. I have been allowed to bring an entire scanner in the past. The museum may place restrictions on the use of the devices and on the photos. Please respect these restrictions – they are there for a reason.

Things you will probably need at the visit:

• A piece of identification
• Pencils to write with – NO PENS!
• Camera, scanner, or laptop – check if these things are allowed
• Something to take notes with
• I recommend bringing your research list, just in case

I also note that if you can’t get to a museum archive in person, more and more archives are doing virtual visits. There is also often options to hire researchers to do the work for you.

While collections visits are possibly the most useful way to use museums, here are a few other ways.

REACH OUT TO MUSEUM STAFF

Most of the time, it is Collections staff who will handle research requests in a facility but sometimes they are busy. Here are a few other roles that you might consider chatting with.

Exhibitions Curators – Curators will sometimes have more current information about an object if they have recently curated an exhibition featuring the object. Most of us also retain research files for at least a couple of years after the exhibition has closed. I can’t speak for other curators but I also am always happy to suggest other museums, researchers, or resources that I worked with who specialize in whatever the researcher is looking for. Sometimes research is just about making a spiderweb of connections.

Museum Educator – This is a role I’ve also held. Museum educators also do research in museums. To teach about objects, one has to know quite a lot about them as the public will ask you every question imaginable. If you are doing research on an object that is on view in a museum’s gallery, I highly recommend reaching out to their educators as a first step. Educators can also help connect you to other staff that may have been hard for you to reach.

Please always be kind and to allow a lot of time for research involving people. There are often times when museums are undergoing budget cuts and major staff transitions. Sometimes, we may not be able to get back to a request quickly – it’s rarely due to a lack of desire, but rather to difficult workloads or other challenges that the public may not be aware of. It never hurts to send a polite reminder of your request if you haven’t heard anything in a week or so.

VISIT THE MUSEUM / BECOME A MUSEUM MEMBER

It’s always good to see objects in person where you can. When you visit museums for the purpose of researching the items in the galleries, consider doing the following:

• Mention to the front line staff what you’re doing. Maybe a curator is in who has an interest or who would like to chat with you about it. (If you don’t want this to potentially happen, maybe don’t mention this.)
• Check their policy on cameras/photos, bags (if you are bringing them), phone use, etc. before you come so that you’re prepared. If they have a “no camera” policy, you may be able to reach out to the museum staff beforehand and explain why you would like to take a photo. Museums can’t always grant these requests – we often are restricted by loan policies and/or the need to preserve very fragile objects – but they may be able to find a way to get you the image you need.
• Look at any maps or information about the exhibitions online so that you can see if there are other things that might be applicable to your area of study before you go.
• If you want a quiet gallery and you are going during the school year, consider visiting on a weekday afternoon after 1 pm. This will generally be the calmest time at most museums.
• Consider a museum membership if you plan to go more than once. An individual membership pays for itself within a couple of visits and generally offers you discounts at the store and sometimes a magazine about that museum’s particular subject matter. It’s also how you’ll get advance notice of museum programs that might be about your subject. You can generally hang out after the program and make a connection with the speaker if you have time. (Another good way to research!)
• If cost is a barrier to visiting the museum, look up if they have any discount or free programs. These are some of the ones I’m aware of:
  • Blue Star visits – these are discounts for military families generally between Memorial Day and Labor Day
  • Free days – many museums offer a free weekday evening once a month. It’s normally something like Free Third Thursday, Free First Tuesday, etc.
  • Library passes – local libraries frequently check out passes to local museums
  • EBT holder discount
  • Family discounts
  • Senior discounts
  • Reciprocal membership with other organizations/museums that you have
  • Smithsonian Museum Day – this is generally in September and museums across the country open their doors for free provided you register in advance for the pass. As of right now, I do not know if this is happening this year.
  • Community festivals or holidays – this will vary depending on the local museum but many have certain programs or holidays that are free to the public

I’m quite sure that I have forgotten many, many things about working with museums for research. Please feel free to comment or contact me with your questions and I will help as best I can!