3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Exploring Digital Collections:
Creating the University of Alberta Museums Search Site

Emily Beliveau, Collections Management Advisor, Humanities, University of Alberta Museums

Jill Horbay, Communications and Marketing Manager, University of Alberta Museums

Katherine Mallalieu, Collections Management Advisor, Natural Sciences, University of Alberta Museums

About the Session

In August 2018, the University of Alberta Museums (UAM) started a project to create a single-point-of-access searchable website that would expand and revitalize the presence of UAM's online collections. The aims of this website were to help disseminate research from the UAM collections, reach new audiences, and enhance the experience for existing users, enabling them to more easily access, explore, and discover the University of Alberta's digitized museum collections. Launched in October 2020, the UAM Search Site is now live with over 650,000 museum object records from 20 museum collections.

Learn from the UAM team about the innovative approach to making this work-in-progress museum collections space accessible, about how lessons learned can be applied to other museum projects, and about searchable museum database skills.

Image courtesy of the University of Alberta Museums.

Questions to Consider

What features and functions would make a website like the UAM Search Site an asset to you?
What challenges and opportunities arise from complex data projects?

About the Speakers

Emily Beliveau she / her	Emily Beliveau has seven years of direct experience with digital museum projects, gained over 10+ years of working in small- and medium-sized institutions. Her areas of expertise in digital projects are: data wrangling, effectively communicating with developers, and establishing processes to maintain data standards. She is currently the Collections Management Advisor for Humanities at the University of Alberta Museums.

Jill Horbay she / her	Jill Horbay, Communications and Marketing Manager with the University of Alberta Museums, has worked on projects across all areas of museology including in-person and online exhibitions, project manager for the UAM Search Site, and community engagement projects and programs. With a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Alberta, and a Continuing Studies Certificate in Public Relations from Simon Fraser University, Jill spent four years working in professional sports before entering the museum field six years ago.

Katherine Mallalieu she / her	Katherine Mallalieu, Collections Management Advisor for Natural Science Collections with the University of Alberta Museums, provides collections management advice, support, and training for teaching and research collections, focussing on data and collections management systems. Her path to museums was catalyzed after completing the Master of Information and Master of Museum Studies programs at the University of Toronto. She has previous experience with the Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Centre, MacBride Museum of Yukon History, and Toronto Zoo. She is currently a Best Practices Committee Member with the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections.