[Part 1] Multitasking as the Belkin’s Collections Assistant: Database Project

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Collaboration/ Teamwork / Collections Management / Communication / Database / Remote Work / Research/ Analysis / Time Management

This is the first post in a series of five, each building on a project mentioned in my Belkin Art Gallery poster (see my September 11, 2020 post “Reflecting on a Remote Summer: Collections Assistant for the Belkin Art Gallery”). I worked on these projects in my position as the Belkin’s Collections Assistant from June 2020 to January 2021. This first post focuses on a database project.

As the Collections Assistant for the Belkin Art Gallery, I worked simultaneously on various projects concerning the Belkin’s collections. The primary project I worked on was a joint digital initiative. One of the many aims of this initiative is to better public access and engagement with the Belkin’s collections through an open source content management system (CMS). This initiative will result in the Belkin’s migration from their PastPerfect CMS to a customised online CMS hosted by CollectiveAccess.

Fig. 1. Project team’ s working document reviewing every field in prototype 2 of the Belkin’s new online collections database hosted by CollectiveAccess. Screenshot taken December 18, 2020.

As a member of the Belkin’s project team, I assisted with numerous detail-oriented tasks that enabled me to both apply and build on my experiences with collections databases at the Murney Tower Museum, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Vancouver Maritime Museum. These tasks included:

  • Efficiently and collaboratively reviewing over 1,200 database prototype fields, which effectively moved the project forward in a timely manner
  • Conducting research on and participating in webinars about documenting diversity in collections, which contributed to informed internal discussions and ethical decisions about the Belkin’s data collection, as well as storage and disclosure by it’s collections database
  • Helping to create the Belkin’s new CollectiveAccess report templates that will aid internal workflows and user understanding (i.e. user-friendly finding aids)
  • Collectively writing data cleaning instructions and data entry hover-text for the fields in the new CollectiveAccess database
  • Participating in weekly project videoconference meetings with the project team and developers at Whirl-i-Gig, allowing me to further develop my remote teamwork and collaboration skills

Fig. 2. Prototype 2 for the Belkin’s new online collections database hosted by CollectiveAccess. Object record for Ellen Neel, Victory Through Honour, 1948/2004. Screenshot taken December 18, 2020.

Working on this project enriched my basic understanding of database functionalities—especially those of PastPerfect and CollectiveAccess. As such, this project also increased my efficiency in completing my other projects as Collections Assistant that required significant use of the backend of the Belkin’s PastPerfect database.

In sum, this database project helped me develop various technical and soft skills. I look forward to applying these in future positions.

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