Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana Collections Internship
This internship spanned the 2023-2024 school year and was a collections focused internship. I gained valuable experience in collections care and management, exhibits curation, accessioning, object handling and labelling, visitor services, preventive conservation, and much more. It has been an amazing experience that has taught me quite a bit about the museum world and what it means to be a museum professional.
Exhibit Design and Curation
The above exhibit was my first semester project. It focused on common myths surrounding Freemasonry and worked on debunking them. This was a great experience in creating an exhibit start to finish which included research, choosing objects, creating labels, and setting up the case. I also created a smaller memorial exhibit for a PAst Grand MAster who had passed away and assisted my fellow intern and museum staff in creating a large exhibit on the DeMolay organization (photo behind title box).
Masonic Library and Museum Association Conference
This internship gave me the amazing opportunity to take part in the 2024 Masonic Library and Museum Conference held in Washington D.C. Here we got the opportunity to speak with museum professionals at the George Washington Masonic Memorial and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. We were also able to sit in and participate in discussions regarding how these institutions could improve and stay relevant.
Collections Care and Management
During this internship I have had multiple opportunities to learn and improve my skills in collections care and management including the proper cleaning and storage of objects, accessioning and deaccessioning, object handling and labeling, and preventive conservation.
Accession Manual
As one of my projects during my tenure at MLMI, I was tasked with creating an accession manual. The purpose of this was to create a how-to guide to accessioning for any incoming interns or even volunteers. My goal was to not make it too technical so even non-museum professionals could understand the process to be able to accession items into the collection. This manual included information of the numbering system, how to create accession numbers, how to use PastPerfect, and the policy around loans.