Project by Hayden Gregg (2018)
The purpose of this project was to create a “Sourcebook for Emerging Museums” to be used by the staff at Carnation Farms Museum to professionalize a private collection and create a public museum. In the early 1900s, Carnation Farms was the largest dairy company in the world and an influential part of the Snoqualmie Valley and Seattle area and now hopes to strengthen the bonds between the modern farm and community in a new and educational experience. The activities in this project were pooling scholarly sources on assessing and inventorying the collection, creating a project plan, developing collection management policies, basic training on object handling and storage methods, and setting future goals, and assisting Carnation Farms Museum staff with understanding the process. In order to establish best practices for Carnation Farms a survey of literature from the museum field was conducted to examine resources related to starting a museum, developing a collection management policy, best practice for object handling procedures, and analysis of similar thesis projects. The museum at Carnation Farms used the results of this project for their edification and the recommended collections management policies to establish standards for their museum. This project worked to benefit the collection at Carnation Farms but has implications for emerging museums or staff unfamiliar with museological practices.
Keywords: Class of 2018, museum studies, museology, museum, project, sourcebook, emerging museum, emerging museums, collections
Citation:
Gregg, H. (2018) Taking Control: How to turn a personal collection into a functioning museum. Unpublished master’s project, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.