WestMuse Blog

Here on the WestMuse Blog, you’ll find a variety of articles and resources to help guide you through this difficult time as we all stay home to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Check in every #WestMuseWednesday and Fridays for our latest blog posts discussing current topics from learning how to work from home to sharing social media best practices.

If you’re seeking information on a specific topic related to the museum industry or COVID-19, please feel free to reach out to us at blog@westmuse.org. Thanks!

Contribute to our blog! View our submission guidelines.

November 4, 2009
by Allyson Lazar (disclosure: I moderated this session)

Follow Allyson on Twitter

Technology seems to be a key buzz word in the museum world these days. Many people are still a little tech-shy, but that changes day by day. But while people may feel less afraid or daunted by the idea of online technologies, they still aren't always quite sure what to do with them. The session on free, shared,...
October 29, 2009
Never fear, there will be more blogs posted about specific sessions coming to WestMuse, but I wanted to take a moment to point everyone in the direction of a fantastic set of conference photos, courtesy of Lydia Johnson and to share a few of the places and moments that have made this conference so great for me. Thank you to everyone who organized a session, a pre-conference workshop, a lunch, an...
October 28, 2009
By James G. Leventhal
Rosalind Bedell

On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to be invited to be a part of a session entitled Sustainable Work Practices: Keeping the Staff Afloat at #wma09 organized by Rosalind Bedell, Human Resources and Volunteer Director, Nevada Museum of Art and Program Committee Co-chair for WMA, San Diego.
In difficult economic times how do you keep the staff sustained and on...
October 28, 2009
By Stephanie Almeida
This morning I took some time to unplug completely (no blackberry, laptop or iPod) and take a walk along the beach here in San Diego at the WMA Conference.  As I listened intently to the world around me, suddenly bereft of the continual beeps, pings and whirring that I usually have clouding my senses, the world around me became clearer.
There were surfers paddling against the...
October 27, 2009
by Allyson Lazar
No, I'm not asking about your abilities to do bird calls; I'm asking if you participate in the micro-blogging phenomenon known as Twitter. Sure, the WestMuse blog is a great way to read about exciting and informative sessions and events here at WMA 2009, but even just writing up a short blog post can take a little time and thought. But quick real-time updates about the conference...
October 27, 2009
by Allyson Lazar
Bob Welch, Keynote #wma09

This morning's keynote address by journalist/storyteller/author Bob Welch was a rousing feel-good, inspirational affirmation of all that we, as museum professionals, do and love. In his address, he answered the question, "Why is history important?" Certainly the old adage holds true that those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it, but...
October 27, 2009
by Allyson Lazar (disclosure: I moderated this session)
You're a registrar or a collection manager in a museum. Maybe you are understaffed because the administration just told you that you had to let go of a couple people--or maybe you've always been understaffed. You are hoping beyond hope that you'll have enough money in the budget for that acid-free cardboard--you really need it! The rainy...
October 27, 2009
by Allyson Lazar
all photos copyright by lidja

Ever wonder what 11 trained museum collections professionals can accomplish in one day? The San Diego Air and Space Museum found out when they hosted CSI:Registrars, the RC-WR-sponsored pre-conference volunteer event on Saturday October 24. (CSI stands for Collections Services Initiative.)
Following an introduction to the collections, library and...

Pages

Subscribe to WestMuse Blog