I am being spotlighted in the next RC-WR newsletter. Here the questions and my responses (slightly edited by me for the purpose of my public blog).

1. How did you begin your career as a registrar?

My interest in a museum career solidified while I was earning an M.A. in Art History at the University of Cincinnati, which also offered a Museum Studies Graduate Certificate. As part of my scholarship, I worked as a Fine Arts Collections Assistant with the university’s collections. Under the direction of the Director of DAAP Galleries and the Museum Studies program, I got more hands-on experience than I ever anticipated. The coursework for the certificate was practical and aimed at preparing students for museum jobs, and the collections assistant position complimented it beautifully. I managed the loan program, completed annual inventories of artwork, packed and transported artwork, wrote about collections, and even restored frames. I also had the unusual opportunity to help open a new gallery featuring the collections. Working as a key member of a small team to accomplish a large and important project was invigorating and got me really excited to start my museum career.

As a recent graduate, I knew I would have to look far and wide for a position in my field. I was very fortunately hired at a museum in Kodiak, Alaska for a two-year registration and storage project. The project entailed collections documentation, database development, installation of new drawers for collections units, obtaining legal paperwork from donors and lenders, and even researching land ownership for archaeological collections. The position was a good fit and it became permanent. Since reorganizing the museum’s collections, I have worked on NAGPRA projects - including repatriations and the formation of the Repatriation Commission, a photograph documentation grant, exhibit curation, and researching the ownership of archaeological collections.

2. Did or do you have a mentor in the field?

Anne "edited", now Director of "edited", continues to be a guiding force. Her astute professionalism and gracefulness at balancing projects and working with others is admirable. She demonstrated ethical responsibility, dedication to the museum profession, and how to successfully work as part of a team.

Also, Amy "edited", "edited", constantly amazes me. If I can in any way learn to communicate in verbal or written form the way she does, my life will be complete!

3. What is your favorite part of registration work?

I love working with people to preserve and share material culture. I especially enjoy caring for objects - whether it’s documenting them, backing up that documentation (I am a back-up freak), or helping to physically preserve an object by improving its storage. However, sharing the museum’s collections via our programs, and even while giving tours and working with volunteers, gives me a sense of contribution and accomplishment.

4. What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

The Museum is a small repository, but we care for a very large collection – with nearly 250,000 items. Managing a multitude of projects and prioritizing my efforts are daily challenges. Sometimes my head spins at the number of responsibilities I face, but as my colleagues tell me, its job security.

5. What type of objects do you like to work with the most?

I help care for everything Alutiiq – archives, film and audio recordings, archaeological assemblages, contemporary art, photographs, and natural history specimens, and that’s one reason why my position is so rewarding. One day I am working with a 500-year-old spruce root basket, the next day I am building a storage mount for a 24-foot-long kayak, and then the next I am digitizing audio recordings. I learn something new on a regular basis, and that is what I like the most.

6. Which was your favorite exhibition that you have seen to date?

I enjoyed Giinaquq: Like a Face, an exhibit of 19^th century Alutiiq masks, as it taught me that exhibits can go far beyond objects on a wall. The Alutiiq Museum produced the exhibition in collaboration with the French owner of the collection. The community was involved in the planning the exhibit and it events. Alaska Native artists traveled to Boulogne-sur-Mer, France to view the masks, where they shared the need for the masks to be shown in Alaska. The French agreed, and then the Museum brought a selection of the masks to Alaska for all to see. Finally, the masks returned to France with new information. The French had long interpreted the pieces as artwork, which they are, but now they understand their cultural meaning too – how they were made and used and what they mean to Alutiiqs. The collaboration helped two different cultures gain an appreciation for one amazing collection, and in the process, each other.

7. What do you wish for the future of the registration profession?

Understanding. When I tell visitors and even some of my friends I am a Registrar, they don’t really understand what I do. Luckily, working in a museum with a small staff has benefits – I get to work on a variety of projects. There are not many dull moments! I hope that the public and even our own co-workers learn to further appreciate the importance of collections management and registration. After all, collections are al the foundation of all the museum work.