I have learned so much in the first few weeks at my internship, O. Winston Link Museum. I have learned how to navigate the collections database, Past Perfect. The first thing I was tasked to do was to update the status of photographs, in terms of location, the condition and confirming that it was present in the correct folder. I spent 3 days out of the week working on updating the status of the photographs. After I was comfortable working with the collections database, I moved on to adding new archival gifts and donations to the database. I was able to handle the archives which I always love doing; I get to fully understand the object by simply studying it with my eyes.
I was taught about accession numbers. First, it’s the year that it was donated. Secondly, the next number is the donator number. If a donator donates more than one item, there is an additional number following the donator number. (Ex: 2023.05.7) If there are multiple piece to one object, like shoes, they will be labeled with a letter (Ex: 2023.05.8a, 2023.05.8b) Or if it there is a nail file, buttonhook and cosmetics container, the accession number will be 2023.05.9.1, 2023.05.9.2, etc.)
Finally, I was able to work with acryloid, a liquid that is spread on a small part of the object, and is written on by a smudge proof ink pen. The accession number is labeled on the object, a place where is can be easily found, but hidden enough to where the public won’t notice it. There is white acryloid which is helpful on dark colored objects. There is also clear acryloid which is better to use on clear/glass/light colored objects.