You have got to be kidding me!
Of all the asinine bits of inanity around here... My boss wants me to switch out the small hands-on collect (tourist trade objects) that resides in the study center. Currently the Asian collection is up; it has 36 discrete pieces, including two wall scrolls, a fan, two jade sculptures, some laquer work, and several cast bronze pieces. In it's place, I'm to put out the African collection, which features kente clothes, hand-carved crosses, and ceremonial bead work.
First, I would like to point out that I am not a member of either the preparatory or the registration departments. I have no training, formal or otherwise, on how to properly pack away these pieces. However, I'm not a complete idiot either. So when my boss offered me a regular shipping box that some gifts for the docents came in, I declined. She then told me that some "museum" boxes had been ordered for the hands-on collection by a former member of the education department (one of the many to have held this position), and were in storage. So I went poking around, hoping for the best, but expecting to be disappointed. After all, I figured that these so-called "museum" boxes must be archival boxes (I got that one right) and I recall that while interning at the library I had to measure several very old, very delicate scrapbooks from the O. Knight collection for custom boxes, those measurements had to be accurate to within a quarter of a centimeter.
Imagine my utter disgust when I managed to find the boxes and saw that not only were there only two of them, but each one was approximately 12.5x13.5x13.5. And each one was already half-full! On top of that, the objects were "protected" by being wrapped in old tissue paper, some of which was labeled with a sharpie, some of which wasn't.
The average seven-year-old does a better job storing his or her rock collection!
I just have to remember that I only have another two weeks here, and then I'm gone. But I will be talking to registration about this, and if the education department gets flack, so much the better.
First, I would like to point out that I am not a member of either the preparatory or the registration departments. I have no training, formal or otherwise, on how to properly pack away these pieces. However, I'm not a complete idiot either. So when my boss offered me a regular shipping box that some gifts for the docents came in, I declined. She then told me that some "museum" boxes had been ordered for the hands-on collection by a former member of the education department (one of the many to have held this position), and were in storage. So I went poking around, hoping for the best, but expecting to be disappointed. After all, I figured that these so-called "museum" boxes must be archival boxes (I got that one right) and I recall that while interning at the library I had to measure several very old, very delicate scrapbooks from the O. Knight collection for custom boxes, those measurements had to be accurate to within a quarter of a centimeter.
Imagine my utter disgust when I managed to find the boxes and saw that not only were there only two of them, but each one was approximately 12.5x13.5x13.5. And each one was already half-full! On top of that, the objects were "protected" by being wrapped in old tissue paper, some of which was labeled with a sharpie, some of which wasn't.
The average seven-year-old does a better job storing his or her rock collection!
I just have to remember that I only have another two weeks here, and then I'm gone. But I will be talking to registration about this, and if the education department gets flack, so much the better.