• Casey Salinas
• Kaitlyn Barnett- Curator & Supervisor
• Executive Director- Danelle Houck
• Work Hours 9am-5pm

Introduction: As a graduate student studying information science with a concentration in archival studies, I am interested in pursuing a career as an archivist/curator or in some type of collections management role at a history or natural science museum. This professional has a heavy focus on preserving, organizing and providing access to records, artifacts and other resources. Through this interview, my goal is to gain a better understanding of the day to day responsibilities of the curator through the lens for their director and understand the key qualifications needed in this field.

Questions:

• What skills/qualities do you think are most important for someone to succeed in museum collections, archives, or curatorial work?
  • My interview took was completed  by myself and the Executive Director of the museum, Danelle Houck. It was discussed that these questions were geared towards the role of her curator, and answered through her perspective and expectations for her curator.
  • Some of the key skills needed in the role of curator at The Williamson Museum included, researching, strong organizational skills, clear expectations and communication, thorough documentation and a growth mindset due to expected staff turnover and changing systems. The museum has had many curators before their current curator, it was strongly highlighted that there had been many issues in the past with maintaining accurate records from one person to the next. Collection management, and strong organization skills was the main take away.

• What does a typical day look like in your Curators role (kaitlyns Barnett), and what tasks take up most of her time?
  • Danelle emphasized that no two day are exactly alike for her curator. Out of all staff members she spends the most time inside the museum and daily responsibilities depended on the current project and collection priorities. The curator balances administrative work and collection work, this can look like responding to donors, researchers or community partners. Some days she is conducting research for the public or for future exhibit changes. There is also a lot of collaboration happening between the curator and the education staff. The curator at times will work outside the museum to help local organizations with their own preservation efforts, like digitizing historical materials.

• What are the biggest challenges facing museum collections professionals today, and how do you adapt to those challenges?
  • Speaking in terms of their organization, there was a strong emphasis on the rapid change in technology. Collection management software had once been available as a perpetual software that you can download locally and storing data in an on prem server. This is not the case anymore, collection management has moved into cloud based and subscription based services and this can be hard on a small museum, especially one that does not have an admissions fee and majority of their educational services being free, they rely heavily on grants and donations and maintaining this can be costly. The transition and data migration to cloud based systems was difficult for them as well. AI was also mentioned, determining whether or not this is a positive or negative was highlighted as well.

• How important is networking in this field, and what professional organizations or conferences would you recommend joining?
  • When asked about networking it was expressed that it was possibly the most important aspects of building a successful career in museums and archives. Professional relationships are valuable at all stages, it creates opportunities for collaboration, mentorship and possible career advancement. There is frequent collaboration among museums, and in most cases people in the field are willing to share resources and best practices. When asked about organization to get involved the below list was shared.
    • Austin Museum Partnership
    • Texas Association of Museums
    • Mountain-Plains Museum Association
    • American Association for State and Local History

• What advice would you give someone who is just starting a career in museums or archives?
  • Advice for starting a career in museums was given based on the experience of some of their full time staff. The Executive Director and Education Director both started at The Williamson Museum as volunteers, and both worked in varying capacities once hired before landing the role they are in now. It helped them with hands on experience but it also helped them build relationships within the organization. Keeping an open mind about different roles was shared, one role might lead you down a path to a different position you hadn’t considered within a museum, this happened to their education coordinator who has a background in museum studies. Willingness to adapt to change, try new things, and wearing multiple hats was a take away.

• Looking back on your career, is there anything you wish you had known or done differently when you first entered this profession?
  • Out of all my questions, this one might have gone astray from the actual question at hand but there were still some valuable insights that tie into most of the other questions. There was a strong message as to what they would have done differently but what should be done in general as someone looking to get into this profession.
  • Exploring different types of museums, you might not know what interests you without experiencing them. Education and practical experience are both important, so many people that have come through the museum have had one but not the other and has led to negative outcomes. Working for an organization with strong leadership matters and they should also understand their collections and local history, knowledge transfer is very important.

Conclusion: My interview with Danelle reinforced what success in a museum/archive requires. One of the biggest take aways is the importance of strong organizational skills, clear communication through collection planning with thorough documentation, especially when multiple staff members will be managing the collection over time. Gaining practical work experience through internships and volunteering is essential. A clear example of this at The Williamson Museum since many full time staff members started as volunteers. Technology is constantly changing and Ai is on the rise. Networking as a museum professional is important but just as important as a new comer to the space. This interview also expanded by understanding from the perspective of my director on what makes a good curator, and the expectations set for by her prior to hiring and what the day to day work load of her current curator entails. There was a clear and realistic view of the profession, with an emphases on organization, continuous learning and careful stewardship.