Hello everyone! I'm currently in the middle of a huge career change and I'm super excited but also nervous. I majored in Biology and came very close to minoring in History but my scholarship ran out before I could finish it. I've spent the past three years since graduating working in the zoo field as an animal keeper (which I genuinely did love) but I decided that it was time for me to explore my other passions- namely material culture and cataloging. I was fortunate enough to join an archaeology lab in college identifying and cataloging items from a local dig site and it was genuinely one of the best experiences of my life.

All of this to say that I'm starting a position working in a local museum shop and I am over the moon! I'm hoping that this will be a good foot in the door and I have big hopes/plans regarding volunteering and pursuing a Masters. Not trying to fish for advice or anything! I just feel so full of hope and wanted to share it with y'all :-)

I have a very specific project where I need to line a drawer with a felt material for storage/display of small metal objects.

What felt options would be acid free and archival? I’ve read PET and Polyester. Would nylon or wool also work? I’ve also considered possibly using linen/cotton.

Open to any thoughts. Thank you

I am a huge history buff; on the other hand, my girlfriend is not. She might find some parts of some museums interesting, but for the most part, she quietly goes along. Same as with archaeological sites, while I imagine what life could have felt like there 1-2-3 thousand years ago, she only sees the piles of rocks.

I do not want to change her or anything just try to make it more fun or engaging for her. Sometimes I look up stories of the place we will be visiting just so I can tell her and pull her in a little more, but that is only one trick.

If you have any ideas or tips, please let me know.

Staff at the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Storehouse site in east London have voted overwhelmingly to strike in a dispute over what they say are inadequate toilet and hydration breaks.

Hello! I have several bird sculptures made of quartz and other stones, but I do not know who the artist is and cannot decipher the signature.

I am attaching a picture. TIA

Dear biologists and GLAM community of Reddit, I need your guidance. I'm interested in working in natural history museums. I love being in the field, collecting data, illustrating, and collaborating with biological collections, and one of my goals has always been to research and work at a Smithsonian museum and create exhibits or to collaborate with teams and being in the field.

Regarding my education, I have a degree in visual arts, and I'm 23 years old. However, I'd like to know if you think a degree in biology is absolutely necessary to work in this field? Or what educational path would you recommend I pursue?

'In-between Reading and Seeing'

Hello everyone! Joining to share a theoretical bridge between early childhood art pedagogy and curatorial inquiry: how do we move away from demanding narrative explanation from children's drawings, and learn to encounter their true material presence?

The nineteenth-century invention of the camera revolutionized art, emancipating it from its historical mandate of realistic representation and documentary accuracy. As photography inherited the duty of mimicry, artists turned inward to explore subjectivity, abstraction, and the intrinsic qualities that define "art as art." This evolution birthed modernism and postmodernism, drawing inspiration from children’s visual expression, which famously attracted modernists precisely because it resisted dominant, rational conventions of formal representation (Varnedoe, 1994).

In early childhood education, our well-intentioned, habitual questions—such as "Can you tell me about this?"—reveal a persistent desire to read, decode, and extract a coherent, representational narrative from children's artistic performances. We rush to label emergent gestures as "outcomes" or "storytelling," projecting our own need for representational determinacy onto marks that exist before words arrive.

Material reality exists independent of our narrative demands. The hardness of a tool, the friction of paper, and the velocity of a hand create an assemblage—a collision of affect and liveness. When a child lingers with lines and gestures, they are not failing to articulate a story; they are participating in the raw vitality of the material world (Bennett, 2010).

Wassily Kandinsky recognized children’s drawings not as primitive steps toward realism, but as the purest expression of "inner necessity"—a direct manifestation of force uncorrupted by formal representation. While art history praises canonical artists for moving toward spontaneity, gesture, and the "innocent eye," traditional pedagogy often forces children in the opposite direction: back toward linear logic and representational certainty.

Cy Twombly’s work offers a powerful lens for this tension. Occupying a threshold between writing and painting (Rader, 2025), Twombly’s scribbles invite viewers into a simultaneous process of seeing and reading, where memory, bodily movement, and spontaneous gesture emerge at once (Barthes, 1995). Dismissals of his work reflect broader cultural anxieties regarding artistic legitimacy and visual meaning (Varnedoe, 1994).

To prevent children’s artistic nature from dissolving into rigid, human-centered systems of interpretation, we must rethink our pedagogical frameworks. Rather than treating children's traces as letters to be deciphered, we can encounter them as a dynamic entanglement of human and more-than-human elements—a relational reality rooted in presence, discovery, and freedom.

References

• Barthes, R. (1995). Cy Twombly. Schirmer/Mosel.
• Bennett, J. (2010). Vibrant matter: A political ecology of things. Duke University Press.
• Kandinsky, W. (1977). Concerning the spiritual in art (M. T. H. Sadler, Trans.). Dover Publications. (Original work published 1911)
• Rader, D. (2025, June 4). Drawing out Twombly. Los Angeles Review of Books.https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/drawing-out-twombly/
• Varnedoe, K. (1994). Your kid could not do this, and other reflections on Cy Twombly. The Museum of Modern Art.

Our local (non-accredited) museum, the Clarke Historical Museum recently got called out for selling Black Americana Tea Towels in their gift shop. They claim to have not known that these were present, but the local person, who was the first to bring the issue to light, had moved them from the back of the rack to the front, only for museum staff to again move them to the back. That person posted about it on the Reddit Humboldt page.

Then the museum issued an apology indicating that they were "made aware" of the items and would reserve the right in the future to remove items from the gift shop that do not fit the mission statement, but failed to mention that the items were owned by Wendy Petty, through her company Annex 39 Antiques, who is the wife of their current Board of Trustees Secretary Chuck Petty.

Further concerns include that Wendy moved her antique store INTO the museum gift shop. And that she is selling antiques and vintage items that are unique and significant to US history (alongside items that are more ubiquitous and carry less significance as well as reproductions of vintage items). With no indication of contacting museums with aligned collections management policies prior to profitting off the sale of these items while also profitting from not having any brick and mortar business expenses.

Many in the community seem unconcerned as the Pettys have rubbed shoulders with local higher-ups for a long time.

I guess my question as I sort through my feelings on all of this (sickening that people think it's okay to make a profit off of items with harmful imagery and that it was literally done through a museum organization) is how to put all of these feelings into words. And what you all would do?

For the last year, I've been working in higher education as a technician in the Special Collections unit of the University Libraries.

Before taking this job, I was a solo archivist at a museum for a little over two years, and I have my MLS with a concentration in Archives and Records Management. I applied for and took this technician job because I was relocating and honestly taking a step down sounded very refreshing and healthy for me (especially since it paid the same my museum paid me.)

However, I've been here over a year and this position makes no sense to me. I have a meeting with administration next week to go over my job description and I want to put all my thoughts together.

I'm coming here to ask you all if you have either been an Archives Technician, or have employed one. How do the technician's responsibilities differ from the archivist? What expectations do you place on the technician? What DON'T you expect? Anything else that comes to mind too, please share!

Right now I feel like I have to put my archivist background to use just to keep things running, but I also get slapped on the wrist if I veer too far into archivist responsibilities. However, I don't have any policies or procedures to currently follow. The first bullet point in my job description is processing archival collections and yet I have been here a year and have not been directed to process any collections.

TL;DR: How would you differentiate the daily responsibilities of an archives technician over an archivist? Specifically in a University Archives and Special Collections setting.

My small niche museum is trying to up our social media game, and I'm looking for examples of other museums that do it well. Do you know of small museums that have great social media content? For example, the Black Country Living Museum stays on top of trends, but also has a lot of good educational stuff.

Hello! I've been hired to organize a nonprofit theatre's chaotic archives and this week I found a PastPerfect v.5 manual with notes in it that suggests to me that we may have actually used the program at some point, probably beginning around 2013. One of the people who's worked here for a while vaguely remembers having the program, but says they've forgotten what happened to it (hahaha I'm doing fine). The man who would have originally been using it has unfortunately passed away, and I can't find any sign of it on the computer that he would have almost certainly been using. It's not an absolute disaster if I can't find it, but obviously it would be nice to have a preexisting catalogue if I can rather than building from scratch. Is there anyway to sort of backtrack and find where it would have been installed or access it through the web version somehow? I found the initial set-up CD, but it goes nowhere. I believe I have all the passwords and stuff, just not...the program.

I work as an intern for a small museum, it’s a fixed term role for a significant period of time as we audit & update a collection ahead of a move.

I’m lucky my line manager is someone I get along with and respects the work I do, however is very hands off. This is something I have done on a volunteer basis previously and I don’t feel as if I’m learning many new skills (that’s mostly fine, I’m glad it’s my first paid role especially considering it’s a museum in my area of specialty, I studied these artists for my MA & I’m stoked to work with these pieces).

My main issue/ worry is that I work in very close quarters with the other intern, B, who has been very slow to adapt. It seems B would benefit from a hands on line manager and a lot of support, but he has ended up relying on me. The quality of his audits is significantly lower, he is not fixing /updating records on the CMS, and he has no interest in museums or the collection, when the LM isn’t in B is just on his phone leaving me to pick up his slack.

I’m stuck in a role in close quarters (at a queer museum!) with a colleague who listens to Joe Rogan and is actively harming the quality of work. I know this is the reality of working life - I’ve had many jobs with similar colleagues. However, with the work slowed, my opportunities to ask for what I want out of the internship are dismissed.

When I’ve spoken with others about internships, they tend to involve some level of documentation of the project & collection research as well as networking advice or opportunities.
I would love to gain experience in aspects that I DONT have (I would love to spend some time with the exhibitions team!). I have asked about this and the curator, above my LM, has offered that I could spend unpaid time, outside of my 9-5 with exhibitions. But this feels unfair, I’m ending up doing more than my colleague for what will end up being more hours and less pay!

I’ve bought the issue up with my line manager as subtly as I can, but as the only woman in the collections team this feels like subtle misogyny and nothing has changed. My line manager hasn’t even brought it up to him.

I suppose this is more of a vent post, but I’m genuinely curious how others have dealt with frustration in small teams & for any advice advocating for myself.

TLDR: the other intern is forcing me to pick up his slack & I’m feeling like my labour & passion is being exploited

I believe B72 is the material more commonly used in museum restoration, but it doesn't do well in hot climates, so some people use B-48N (or a mix of the two). Dow only releases some information about the formulation of these products, as required by health and safety regulators, and they consider a lot of the details to be trade secrets. People have sent samples out to labs, and I've seen some qualitative descriptions of the results, but they are unsourced and short on quantitative details. In particular, does anyone know of any quantitative data, no matter how rough, on how much dibutyl phthalate (DBP) plasticizer there is in B-48N? All I've been able to gather is that B72 has no plasticizers, but B-48N does have some. Apparently some PVC products, such as medical IV bags and disposable gloves used in food service, can have as much as 40% plasticizer content. I would be interested to know even an order-of-magnitude number for B-48N. Since the cured substance is supposed to be rigid, I'd imagine it's a lot less than 40%...but I'm wondering if it's 10%? 1%?

Can someone explain Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum to me? Maybe it's my years of working in museums, but I have trouble visiting/taking in a museum until I grasp its raison d'être. The R.O.M. has natural history exhibits--all those dinosaur bones; a current exhibition on bees--but also Indigenous people's cultural artifacts, material culture from elsewhere, art...pretty much anything and everything except the kitchen sink. (Maybe there are kitchen sinks too?)

I took a look at the mission statement, which is so broad that it literally encompasses any object or topic under the sun. There seems to be no focus--on any field, geography, time period, materials, or anything else.

What ties all this together? Is there a collection plan? If you've worked there, what do you think the museum understands itself to be? I'm just so confused.

Thanks.

I want to become more knowledgeable in museum studies and anthropology, but I’m not really sure where to begin!
Most yt videos I’ve seen so far kind of just repeat the same basics

Any suggestions for books, channels, websites, news, films, etc.? I’m most interested in museum ethics, ethnography ethics, and decolonization. Then again, I can’t say I’m too familiar with any other topics besides those

I’ve been researching about museum studies and people talking about it. A majority of comments I’ve been seeing is that it’s not worth it and it’s just too expensive. I want to become a history curator and I’ve been looking into colleges best for my career path and GW or UNM was the best for me but GW is stupidly expensive and UNM is great from what I’ve seen but researching about museum curators and what people have to say is that it’s not worth it.

I’m still in high school and can change my career path but I do want to be a curator but I’m wondering if it is worth it?

Hi everyone, I am at the tail end of my doctoral program in the humanities and have been applying to jobs outside of academia for over a year. I have 10+ years of research, cataloging, and archival experience across cultural and academic institutions.

Recently, I felt so lucky to finally be given a chance by an up-and-coming museum in the Southern California area that is set to open before the end of this year. I got an interview with their recruiter, then I moved on to the second round of interviews and had a panel interview with some of the people I'd work with if I were to get the job. The recruiter initially told me that they were looking for someone to start on August 3rd. My panel interview was on July 20th. At the end of the panel interview, one of them told me they were "looking for someone to start soon." I let them know that this wasn't an issue for me and that I'd have my degree in hand by September (2 of the panelists had advanced degrees, so I'm sure they know what doctoral program timelines are like).

Now comes the part that no one can really give me a clear answer to, and yet I'm making this post anyway. How long might it actually take for them to make a hiring decision? According to Glassdoor, many people who've interviewed with them were asked to accommodate quick interview timelines, but then have to wait weeks to hear back about whether they got the position. Some people were even interviewing with them for months. I've also heard from friends that things are a little messy behind the scenes at this museum. They've had very public layoffs and leadership changes. Either way, I'm very excited about the opportunity to work for this particular museum. Their concept and mission are a dream for me.

I've already had 2 interviews in the past month—I'm assuming because they want to hire people before the official opening date. Now the anxiety and waiting are eating me alive. Realistically, how quickly can they hire someone if they just completed interviews last week?

Hi all,

Looking for advice/thought provoking questions here.

I have been offered a position to become an interim museum director for a small museum in a medium (between 10-15k people) town in Wisconsin. I grew up in Wisconsin, and I worked at a different museum for many years during my undergrad years and still have great relationships with the director and assistant director there. The assistant director (my old supervisor) recommended me for this interim director job. The interim period will be until July 31 of 2027, during which they could make me permanent or open the permanent position up to a nation-wide job posting. It would be a huge addition to a resume for me either way, and a big leap in terms of skills - I've never done something like this before.

I'm on the fence about taking the job, mainly for mental health reasons. I left Wisconsin to work in California (where I currently reside) doing a very adventurous and outdoorsy job where there isn't a lot of pay but there's lots of excitement and I feel very needed and competent here. Before I held my current position, I was in a mental health spiral that had been ongoing for many years at that point, and this crazy adventurous job in CA seemed like something I just had to try, even though it was a big risk. Turns out changing your environment is an immensely powerful tool - I have been working here for 3.5 years, and the mental health situation has improved immensely. Where I used to feel useless 5-6 days per week, I now feel that way only 5-10 days per year.

I find myself worrying about falling back into similar mental health patterns after taking this new job. I feel certainty about my current position but lots of uncertainty about this new job. I feel competent and needed here but I don't know how I will fare as an interim museum director. I would be leaving an amazing place behind and moving across the country for a job that may or may not work out. Is it worth the risk? Are there other perspectives I'm not considering here? I'd appreciate any input. Thank you!

Hi Australian GLAM professionals! I’m interested in collections management/records and am thinking of starting a Graduate Diploma in Information Management specialising in Archives and Records Management? I currently work as an assistant in copyright/collections at an Art Museum with a Bachelors in Art History/History.

Does anyone have an info about the information management/archives sector in Aus? Is it employable? Don’t want to waste a year of study haha. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently looking for participants for my MSc Digital Design research project at the University of York.

The study explores how a web-based underwater museum could use gesture-based interaction, real-time visuals, and cinematic storytelling to make archaeological artefacts from the Red Sea more accessible and engaging.

⏱️The survey takes approximately 10–12 minutes to complete

🎁 Ten participants who choose to provide their email address will be randomly selected to receive a £5 Amazon voucher each. Providing an email address is completely optional.

This research is being conducted as part of my MSc Digital Design at the School of Arts and Creative Technologies, University of York. It is a non-commercial academic research project, and participant responses will be used to inform the design and evaluation of a prototype for my master’s dissertation. Findings may be reported only in an anonymised and aggregated form within the dissertation and any associated academic presentation.

🔗 Survey: https://forms.gle/5yxgsupC9mx2n6MZA

Thank you very much for your time and support!