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MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION OF SASKATCHEWAN

What’s Inside?

MAS News ................ 2

Meet May-Lin, MAS’s New Museums Advisor........................ 3

Another Side of the Arrowhead:Audrey Dreaver takes a cultural approach to interpreting projectile points ......................... 8

Events Calendar ...... 9

Registration Form ..11

Quick Guide to QR Codes

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Fall Calendar 2012MAS News

Standards: Tools for Good GovernanceBoot Camp for your Museum Board

The Standards: Tools for Good Governance course is designed to help your board be more effective. This five-hour session will introduce you to the Standards for Saskatchewan Museums, and explain some of the ways these guidelines can help ensure your museum runs smoothly.

Our Community Trainers are highly skilled facilitators who bring a wealth of professional and personal experience to the session. We come to your community and tailor the course to your needs and priorities. The cost depends on your institutional budget: $75 if your budget is under $10,000; $150 if your budget is $10,000 or more.

Contact us to be put on the waitlist. You can expect an engaging blend of lecture and activities that will show you how you can use standards to help plan, evaluate, and develop policy for your museum. Sessions are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

MAS News MAS Conference and AGMPlan to attend MAS’s conference and annual general meeting, to be held on May 24th, 2013 in Saskatoon. Keep an eye on E-Phemera and our website www.saskmuseums.org for all of the updates and for your opportunity to register!

May 24th at the Saskatoon Inn Hotel and Conference Centre, Saskatoon, SK

Resource Library UpdateYour membership includes the free use of MAS’s resource library! This amazing variety of books and journals covers a huge range of museum-related topics. Whether you want to know about fundraising, volunteer management, copyright, exhibit design, conservation, or just about anything else, we’ve got you covered. We’ll even ship the materials to you at no cost! Browse the collection online or stop by the office and have a look – but be sure to check back regularly: new resources are added all the time!

If you have any questions about the library, or suggestions for new materials that the library should have, please contact the Museums Advisor, May-Lin Polk, at advisor@saskmuseums.org or 780-9266.

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>> Member SurveyThanks to everyone who completed our member survey! The information will be invaluable for us as we work to serve and represent you better. By participating, you’ve given us what we need to make good decisions and back them up with solid facts. Stay tuned: in the coming months, we’ll post the survey report on our website. <<

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Meet May-Lin, MAS’s New Museums AdvisorQuestions or problems with your museum work? May-Lin Polk is here to help.

MAS’s new Museums Advisor May-Lin Polk may not have lived here long, but she’s no stranger to Saskatchewan.

“I grew up in Oyen, Alberta,” May-Lin says, “close to the Saskatchewan border. Close enough that I took piano lessons in Saskatchewan—at Alsask—every week for ten years.”

Her first museum job was at the Oyen Crossroads Museum as a summer student. They had her cataloguing, accessioning artifacts, doing maintenance, running tours—“a little bit of everything,” she says.

It was such a positive experience that May-Lin started a museum career. Since then, she’s worked at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village (near Edmonton), the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, the University of Alberta Museums, and at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. As well as her on-the-job experience, she has studied archaeology and geography at the University of Calgary, Collections Conservation and Management at Fleming College.

“May-Lin brings a lot of knowledge and skills to the table,” says Wendy Fitch, MAS’s Executive Director, “and when she runs into something she’s less familiar with, she’s resourceful enough to find the answers. In a few short weeks, May-Lin has already started making valuable contributions to MAS.”

May-Lin is eager to get out to our member museums—and not just to see the artifacts and exhibits.

“I love to meet people,” May-Lin says. “It’s always great to get out and talk, to see what’s on their minds, and to find out how I can help. Not to mention sampling the local food.”

If you have a question or problem May-Lin could help with, or even if you just want to say hello, please drop her a line. You can phone MAS toll-free at 1-866-568-7386, call May-Lin’s direct line at 306-780-9266, email advisor@saskmuseums.org, or look for her at your nearest network meeting this fall. <<

May-Lin Polk

Museums Advisor

Meet MAS’s New Museums Advisor

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Quick Guide to

QR Codes

Quick Guide to QR CodesQuick Guide to QR Codes

Brittany Knudsen Communications Coordinator Museums Association of Saskatchewan

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What are QR codes?QR codes are an easy way to link people with online content—website, text, audio, pictures, or video. You can create QR codes for free, print them out, and put them just about anywhere. When someone scans the code with a smart phone or other mobile device, they’re sent straight to your content.

Quick Guide to

QR CodesWant to use QR codes, but not sure how? We’ve got you covered. Follow these five easy steps, and you’ll be using this exciting, low-cost technology in no time!

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Quick Guide to QR CodesQuick Guide to QR Codes

1 Create ContentBefore you even start to create your QR codes you need content to link them to. Since QR codes are read on mobile devices, you have to ensure your content is formatted properly: sites that look great on your home computer can be hard to navigate on a smart phone.

Luckily, there are free sites that automatically reformat for mobile devices—sites such as Flickr (images and video), YouTube (video), Wordpress and Tumblr (blogging and text) and Facebook and Twitter (social networking).

Most QR codes are linked to a specific web page with plain text content, sometimes with a few images interspersed. This can be useful, but there’s no limit to the possibilities! Here are some ideas for other ways to grab your visitors’ interest:

Be Prepared! Have batteries, memory cards on hand before recording video or taking pictures. Be sure to back up files numerous times during the project.

>> Oral Histories feature people speaking about first hand experiences. Record a short audio clip of the person speaking (or pull one from your oral history archive) and edit it into a video with a photo of the object, exhibit or your museums logo so that the visitor also has something to look at.

>> Audio or Video Demonstrations let visitors have a peek at the item being used. Some examples that have been used are: audio of an instrument being played, demo of an item being used, demo of an art piece being created, demo of how an ancient tool might have been created. Record video or audio of the demonstration.

>> Audio Tours can be used to guide users through the museum and QR codes are a great way of doing this. Museums have even used audio tours as a way of creating scavenger hunts, leaving clues at the end of each audio clip that leads visitors around the museum.

>> Slideshows can be used to feature photos and archival photos that relate to the exhibit or item on display. Combine photos into a short slideshow. Add music or audio in the background to make it even more engaging.

>> Blogs can be used to feature a particular exhibit of artifact. They are also a great way to get conversation flowing in the comments section of the blog. Create a blog using Wordpress or Tumblr (or the program of your choice) and create a blog post discussing an exhibit or artifact. Try to elicit a question at the end of article, such as “What did you think of this exhibit?” to start a discussion.

>> Staff Explanations are also great for visitor engagement because these are the people who know the most detailed information. Start with recording a short audio clip of a staff member explaining the exhibit or object on display. Edit it into a short video with a photo of the staff, exhibit or your museums logo.

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3 Place and Promote the CodesNow that you’ve produced your codes and your content, you need to get them out there, and let people know. You can:

>> Advertise on posters displayed as you walk into the museum that QR codes are present and where to look for them.

>> Place the QR codes in well-lit, visible areas on a label or on a panel. They should be placed next to or below the exhibit or item on display.

>> Tell the user what they are going to access next to or below the QR code. A typed sentence or 2 is sufficient. Phrasing can include: “Scan the QR code to watch, listen, view ”.

Quick Guide to QR CodesQuick Guide to QR Codes

2 Generate QR CodesYou can create your code for free on sites like goqr.me, qrstuff.com, and qrcode.kaywa.com. The generator will give you a pattern of black and white squares. This image is what you’ll add to posters, exhibit labels, handbills, or anything else you want!

Creating codes might seem like the simplest part in the whole process, but there are a few important things to keep in mind when you create them.

>> Shorten URLs using a shortening service like goo.gl. This service takes a long link and shortens it, making the file size of the QR code smaller. Keep a list of these URLs as later you can use goo.gl to track who are viewing the URLs and other detailed information.

>> Generate your QR codes using a free service. It is as simple as copying and pasting your previously shortened URLs. MAS uses the generator: goqr.me. Choose the URL tab, paste the URL code into the box, adjust the size using the scroll bar to the right and hit download.

>> Test your QR codes before printing professional copies or incorporating them into other graphics. Print a draft copy of the QR code on its own and use a smartphone with a QR code scanner to test it in the area you plan to use it. It is important to test QR codes in the areas you plan to use them in to be sure a signal is available. There is nothing more frustrating for a visitor then knowing there is content but they can’t access it.

Focus on Content! People aren’t generically interested in QR codes. They are interested in the specific content they are linked to. Be sure to tell them what they’ll get when they scan the code! (See http://museumtwo.blogspot.ca/2011/08/qr-codes-and-visitor-motivation-tell.html)

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5 Extra ResourcesThe sources used in the creation of this article are helpful. For more information, check them out: QR Codes and Visitor Motivation: Tell Them What They’ll Get with that Shiny Gadget (Nina Simon) http://museumtwo.blogspot.ca/2011/08/qr-codes-and-visitor-motivation-tell.html

QR Code How-To Guide (Association of Nova Scotia Museums For the Canadian Heritage Information Network Professional Exchange) http://www.pro.rcip-chin.gc.ca/media/pro/carrefour-du-savoir- knowledge-exchange/ansm_qr/ codes_qr-qr_codes-eng.pdf

QR Codes in Museums (The Mobilists) http://www.themobilists.com/2011/08/30/qr-codes-in-museums/

QR Codes in the Museum Context: Part 2 (Dave Barr) http://innogenesis.info/2012/07/qr-codes-in-the-museum-context- part-2/ <<

4 Assess UsageNow that your QR codes are up and running, how do you know whether people are using them? This is another reason we suggest using a service like goo.gl to shorten your links: it can automatically track which QR codes are being scanned, and how often.

>> Go back to goo.gl after a period of time and check the stats on the URLs the QR codes are linking to. This can help you to see which QR codes are being used the most and more importantly which QR codes aren’t being used. This can help to show where you need to make improvements and adjustments to your codes.

Cover photo courtesy of Amanda Girardin, Visitor Experience Manager, Government House.

Quick Guide to QR CodesQuick Guide to QR Codes

Visit our website for more links and resources: www.saskmuseums.org

Ele Radbourne, MAS’s Administrative Assistant

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Another Side of the ArrowheadIn a recent workshop, museum consultant Audrey Dreaver took a cultural approach to interpreting projectile points.

Many of us have projectile points—arrowheads—in our collections, but it can be hard to find ways to convey their interest and importance. We often rely on archaeological information that’s

useful and interesting for archaeologists, but might not convey much to a casual visitor. And very often, we don’t recognize the links between these artifacts and contemporary Aboriginal people.

That’s why Audrey Dreaver, an independent curator and museum consultant of Plains Cree ancestry, presented a new workshop, Projectile Points in Cultural Perspective, on September 7. The participants learned about developing exhibits by beginning with the indigenous knowledge needed to develop, make, and effectively use projectile points.

“The indigenous cultures of the Americas did not have the same terminology or descriptions as the colonizers,” Audrey said, “but they did have a thorough understanding, vocabulary, and description of sciences as well as established methods for transferring that knowledge to their youth.”

The workshop equipped the participants to provide a stronger, more historically accurate account of the role of projectile points in Aboriginal cultures, as well as adding depth, interest, and educational value to your projectile points exhibits.

Thanks to Clayton McLain Memorial Museum for their help in organizing and hosting this event! <<

Another Side of the Arrowhead

The Instructor

Audrey Dreaver is an independent curator and museum consultant of Plains Cree ancestry. She received her education in Museum Studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she extensively researched and studied museology’s history of exhibiting “other” or “indigenous” cultures. Audrey’s curation projects are used as a tool to continue her exploration of museology’s reliance on academic scholarship in the fields of archaeology, anthropology and ethnology when developing exhibits on Aboriginal object, culture and history. Her research also looks at the impact of incorporating indigenous peoples’ perspectives in the process of developing exhibits on their own culture and history.

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Events Calendar

Fees for one-day course >> MAS members: $60 ($50 each if two or more from same institution) >> Non-members: $80 >> Student: $40 (must present ID)

Fees for two-day course >> MAS members: $100 ($90 each if two or more from same institution) >> Non-members: $140 >> Student: $75 (must present ID)

Events CalendarCertificate Program

Course times for the Certificate Program: 9:30am to 4:30pm

Museums 101 (online) >> October 1-26This one-day course will familiarize you with Standards for Saskatchewan Museums, focusing on applying the standards to your museum. It will also examine the relationship between your institution, standards, and public trust, as well as standards in a provincial, national, and international context.

Care of Collections>> TBD, 9:30am to 4:30pm (two-day course)Understand what causes objects to deteriorate, and how to respond with appropriate measures, as well as how to handle, store, and exhibit objects safely. You’ll also learn about the museum’s role in preserving collections, how to write a collections care policy.

Coming this Winter!

Museums and Community online pilot>> TBD (online)

Explore the changing place museums hold in our communities. You learn current practices for planning, assessing, and implementing museum-community initiatives. You’ll also learn skills and share ideas about determining community and audience needs, working with diverse groups, and developing a community engagement plan.

Museums and Education pilot>> TBD, 9:30am to 4:30pm (one-day course)

Learn about the role of the museum as an educational institution. You’ll also learn about responding to current issues, planning and designing audience-appropriate education and public programs, and how to write an education and public programming policy. Two in-person courses and one online course will be offered.

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Events Calendar

Other Introductory-Level Courses

Coming this Winter!

Art of Grant-Writing >> March 22 in Shaunavon with instructor Wendy Thienes, 9:30am - 4:00pm

This workshop provides you with an understanding of how to write effective and successful grant applications. You’ll learn useful techniques to help you tell your story and communicate your goals and plans to funding agencies.

Mid- to Advanced-Level CoursesCCI: Care and Handling of Photographic Materials, 9:00am - 4:30pm>> October 18-19 in Saskatoon, at the Saskatoon WDM with instructor Greg Hill

This workshop discusses photographic processes identification, and the structure, composition, and format of a broad range of photographic materials. Agents of deterioration and mechanisms of deterioration are covered, as well as proper storage and handling techniques for photograph collections. Ways to minimize potential damage and information loss in an emergency or disaster are also included.

Coming this Winter!

Mould Management and Remediation, 9:30am - 3:30pm>> March 8 in Prince Albert with instructor Jane Dalley

This one-day workshop will equip you with the knowledge and skills to help stop mould problems from occurring, and enable you to identify and remedy mould problems when they do occur.

*This workshop will be offered twice. The date and location of the second course is still to be determined.

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q Art of Grant-Writing >> March 22 in Shaunavon with instructor Wendy Thienes>> $50/$40/$70/$30

Form continues on back of page

Register early. Space is limited for all courses - please register by the registration deadline and register early to ensure your space! Registration forms can be found at the end of the calendar and on our website. We can also fax you a registration form. We accept registrations via fax, e-mail or mail. If you are mailing your form, please call us to reserve your space.

First Name: Last Name:

Institution / Affiliation:

Address:

City: Province:

Postal Code: Phone:

Please print

q Museums 101 (Online)>> October 1-26 >> $60/$50/$80/$40

q Museums and Community (Online pilot)>> TBD (Winter)>> $60/$50/$80/$40

q Museums and Education pilot>> TBD (Winter)>> One-day course: $60/$50/$80/$40

q Care of Collections>> TBD (Fall)>> Two-day course: $100/$90/$140/$75

q Mould Management and Remediation>> March 8 in Prince Albert with instructor Jane Dalley>> $80/$100/$60

q Mould Management and Remediation (2nd workshop)>> TBD (Winter)>> $80/$100/$60

q CCI: Care and Handling of Photographic Materials>> October 18-19 in Saskatoon, at the Saskatoon WDM with instructor Greg Hill>> $175/$225/$150

Certificate Program

Other Introductory-Level Courses

Mid- to Advanced-Level Courses

Fax:E-mail:

*Please provide either an e-mail address or a fax number.

Registration Form

*Pricing order: Member, If 2 or more from same institution, Non-Member, Student

*Pricing order: Member, Non-Member, Student

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Registration Form

Please send invoice to:

Same as above

Cheque Money Order / Cash VISA MasterCard

Payment:

Expiry Date: Signature:

Card Number: Cardholder:

Return one form per person to:Museums Association of

Saskatchewan424 McDonald Street, Regina, SK, S4N 6E1

Fax with credit card information to

(306) 780-9463

or email mas@saskmuseums.org

or phone(306) 780-9279

Toll free in SK: 1-866-568-7386

Payment may be made with VISA, MasterCard, cheque or cash. Please make cheques payable to Museums Association of Saskatchewan. Payments are not processed until course is completed. If you require an invoice, please indicate this on your registration form.

CancellationCourses may be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment - if you see a course you would like, please enroll right away!

RefundsThe registration fee will only be refunded if you withdraw your application five days prior to the course date or if the course is cancelled. In cases of weather conditions, illness and family emergencies, the five-day requirement may be waived by MAS.MAS reserves the right to cancel any course at any time for any reason. The Association cannot guarantee continuation of any program should funding cease. The availability, date and location of the course offerings are subject to change at any time.

Please print

Certificate Program FeesAll prices include GST.

Fees for one-day course >> MAS members: $60 ($50 each if two or more from same institution) >> Non-members: $80 >> Student: $40 (must present ID)

Fees for two-day course >> MAS members: $100 ($90 each if two or more from same institution) >> Non-members: $140 >> Student: $75 (must present ID)