Cultural Collections Projects Program List
Placement, Internship and Volunteer Opportunities
2012 Projects List
The cultural collections projects listed below have individual position guides (PGs) which outline in more detail the requirements of each project – to see individual PGs click on the link after the project description.
If you are interested in any of these opportunities please complete the expression of interest form or contact:
Helen Arnoldi
Cultural Collections Projects Coordinator
University of Melbourne, tel. 8344 3103
harnoldi@ unimelb.edu.au
1. University of Melbourne Archives
The University of Melbourne Archives collects, manages and provides access to the historical records of the University, Victorian business, trade unions and other labour organisations, community and cultural organisations, as well as the personal papers of many individuals prominent within them. Records date back to the first years of the colony of Victoria up until the present-day and cover a very wide field of endeavour. The Archives were established in 1960 and to date hold some 18 kilometres of records.
Archives Collection website at: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/archives/
1.1 Archival Documentation Project - Fine Arts Department
The primary goal of this project will be to document the Fine Arts Department papers held within the University of Melbourne Archives. The Fine Arts Department papers were identified amongst the Joseph Burke collection and contain committee papers, operational records, lecture notes, correspondence and photographs. The requirements of this project are primarily appraisal, listing and documenting the existing arrangement of the records. The focus will be on Joseph Burke's public life as the Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne. The end product will be a consolidated finding aid and discoverability online.
Download position guide
1.2 Collection Management - Archival Storage, Textile re-housing
This project will involve the preparation of textiles for archival storage with a primary focus being the clothing held by UMA. The Archives collections include approximately 250 items of clothing and many large scale banners and textiles which need to be rehoused to conservation standards. Many of these textiles and banners are fragile and in order to ensure their long term preservation they must be carefully stored, with the information that they contain recorded and made accessible through the UMA's collection database. Having this information available electronically will significantly minimise the need for unnecessary handling of these items.
Download position guide
1.3 Collections Management - Cataloguing Assistant
This project will involve the cataloguing and documentation of photographs within the Commercial Travellers' Association collections. Formed in 1880, the Victorian Commercial Travellers' Association was established to improve the conditions of employment and residence of commercial travellers. This project will particularly appeal to anyone with an interest in photographs of Australian country towns and country life in the period 1920-1975.
Download position guide
1.4 Archival Documentation Project - APPM Limited collection
The primary goal of this project will be to document the Associated Pulp and Paper Mills Limited (APPM) collection held within the University of Melbourne Archives. The collection contains meeting minutes, operational records, correspondence, photographs, maps and technical reports. The requirements of this project are primarily appraisal, listing and documenting the existing arrangement of the records. The student will also assess and address the storage requirements of the collection.
Download position guide
1.5 Outreach - General Research Project, WWI Collections
The primary goal of this position will be to complete research on material held by the University of Melbourne relating to WWI and in particular, ANZAC and Gallipoli. It is anticipated that any research will result in the production of a 'Subject Guide' which will be linked to the collection management database. This project could focus on individual items or 'highlights' from the collection and research areas to be considered may include provenance, historical use and greater significance in the broader community.
Download position guide
1.6 Assistant Curator – Exhibition, Protest Collections
This project involves assisting in the development of an exhibition to be held in the Baillieu Library in 2013 which will utilise materials held in the Protest Collections held within the Archives collections. The exhibition will feature items and images from the collections which illustrate the rich history of the protest movements in Australia and explore the changing nature of these protest movements over time.
Download position guide
2. Physics Museum
The Museum comprises approximately 400 items of equipment and photographs spanning the history of the School of Physics, with an emphasis on scientific apparatus constructed in the School for research undertaken by former professors and staff. Included in the collection is equipment used in the development of optical munitions during the Second World War and ruling engines and diffraction gratings produced by H.J. Grayson in the School and the CSIRO.
Physics Museum website at: http://www.ph.unimelb.edu.au/museum/
2.1 Collections Management - Cataloguing Assistant
This project involves the cataloguing and documentation of museum objects that are housed in The School of Physics Museum storage areas. The catalogue information will be incorporated into the museum's database where it will be accessible to the public through the museum's website.
Download position guide
2.2 Collection Management – Research Assistant
Under direction, the Research Assistant will create database content for a defined group of museum objects. The text created will be written for a general audience and aim to demystify the Physics Museum's collections. This information will be incorporated onto the museum's database where it will be accessible to the public via the Physics Museum's website.
Download position guide
2.3 Collection Management – Significance Assessment
The primary goal of this position will be to complete a significance assessment on the Physics Museum's collection. The significance assessment will be used to inform the status of the collection and future collection management decisions in areas such as conservation, acquisition/de-accession, valuation and access.
Download position guide
3. Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology
Contains more than 12,000 specimens, of which more than 3,000 are on display at any one time, complementing the Faculty's curricula. Historical displays include a series of bushrangers' death masks. The museum is open to current and former students and staff for study and research.
Harry Brooks Allen Museum website at: http://www.anatomy.unimelb.edu.au/museum/
3.1 Research Project – Tramond anatomical models
The primary goal of this position will be to complete research into the background, significance and educational value of the collection of Tramond wax and skeletal anatomical models dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries held in the Harry Brookes Allen Museum. Research completed on the anatomical models will be used to increase understanding, awareness and appreciation of this collection.
Download position guide
4. Map Collection: Rare and Historic Maps Collection
The Map Collection includes approximately 15,000 rare historic maps of countries and regions from around the world, the majority representing Australia. This includes some of the earliest cartographic works by explorers of Australasia and the Pacific. Of particular significance in the collection is the large number of Victorian 1st series Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) maps (1894-1952) as they contain footprints of buildings, pathways and other details. Of international significance is the Ronald and Pamela Walker Collection of Maps of Asia Minor numbering 135 original maps printed between 1511 and 1774 and which includes some of the finest cartographers of Renaissance Europe.
Collection website at: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/maps/map-historical.html
4.1 Collection management - Preventative Conservation and Re-housing
The primary goal of this position will be the creation of custom made phase boxes to rehouse a selection of rare atlases currently housed in the Rare and Historic Map Collection. This project will aid in the long term storage and preservation of the collection.
Download position guide
5. The Henry Forman Atkinson Dental Museum
The Museum documents the history of dentistry and dental education in Victoria. It includes historic records and archival material, as well as dental surgery, workroom and laboratory equipment dating from the 18th century to the present day.
Visit the Museum's website at: http://museum.dent.unimelb.edu.au/dental/home.html
5.1 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant
The primary goal of this position will be to work on the catalogue entries for a selection of items from the Dental Museum's collections. This project will either involve the completion of manual catalogue worksheets for collection items not yet documented, or the review, updating and expansion of existing catalogue records. Once fully catalogued, these new records and the enhanced entries will be added to the Dental Museum's electronic database, Vernon.
Download position guide
6. Medical History Museum
The museum houses a research collection which documents the history of the University of Melbourne medical school, its teaching hospitals and achievements of its graduates and, more broadly, the history of medical practice in Victoria. The collection consists of medical, surgical and scientific instruments, archival photographs, academic certificates, personal papers and records, commemorative medals, art works and a fully equipped relocated 19th-century London pharmacy.
Medical History Museum website: http://www.chs.unimelb.edu.au/programs/jnmhu/museum
6.1 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant
The primary goal of this position will be to work with a selection of items from the Medical History Museum's collections and complete manual catalogue worksheets for new acquisitions yet to be documented, or to review, update and expand on existing catalogue records. Once fully catalogued, these new records and the augmented entries will be added to the Medical History Museum's new electronic database, Vernon. The project may include taking a digital image of the work for later attachment to the electronic catalogue record. The student/volunteer will be required to re-house objects as necessary to meet museum standards.
Download position guide
6.2 Collection Management – General Research Project
In consultation with the Curator, the student will be able to complete research on a particular aspect of the Medical History Museum's extensive collections. This project could focus on individual items or 'highlights' from the collection and research their provenance, historical use and greater significance in the broader community. Or, alternatively they may wish to explore the history and development of a particular collection/s. It is anticipated that any research completed on individual items within the collection will be used to augment the collection catalogue on the Museum's electronic database.
Download position guide
6.3 Collection Management – Rehousing and Inventory
The primary goal of this position will be the rehousing of objects from the collection of the Medical History Museum to meet conservation standards. This project will aid in the long term access to, and storage of this collection.
Download position guide
7. Special Collections – Baillieu Library
The Special Collections comprise some 200,000 rare or historic books, serials and pamphlets and literary archives. There are incunabula, rare and first editions, Australiana, children's books, middle-eastern manuscripts, prints, theses and the Melbourne University Press collection.
Special Collections website: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special/
7.1 Collection Management – Re-housing and Listing, McLaren Collection (Parliamentary papers)
The McLaren Collection comprises 50,000 items, including rare ephemeral pamphlet material, manuscripts, printed books and journals and realia. An enthusiastic bibliographer and former member of Parliament of Victoria, Ian McLaren assembled a large library which reflected his interests in the world of politics. The goal of this project will be the re-housing and listing of the McLaren Archive of parliamentary papers into archival boxes. This project will aid in the long term preservation of, and access to this important collection.
Download position guide
7.2 Special Collections Cataloguing Placement
Working with collections housed within the Special Collections of the Baillieu Library, this work experience style placement provides the opportunity for a student to be trained in, and gain experience using the INNOPAC cataloguing system. The student may catalogue items held within various Special Collections, including the Ian McLaren Australiana Collection and backlogs.
Download position guide
7.3 Exhibition Assistant – Printing and the Mind of Man
The student/volunteer will assist in the look and design of the Printing and the Mind of Man exhibition (working title) to be held in the Leigh Scott Gallery of the Baillieu Library. The original Printing in the Mind of Man exhibition took place in London at the British Museum in 1963. It explored the influence of print and identified the landmark books which were considered key to the development of western civilization.
Download position guide
7.4 Collection Management – Preventative Conservation and Re-housing, BX Collection
The BX Collection within Special Collections comprises the University's pre-1880 non-Australian books as well as rare book collections from other libraries around campus. The primary goal of this position will be to contribute to the preservation of volumes within the BX Collection. This project will include a conservation survey and the re-housing of items within the collection to meet conservation standards which will contribute to the longevity of this significant collection.
Download position guide
7.5 Collection Management 'Work Experience' Placement
This placement will provide the opportunity for a student, in consultation with the Deputy Curator, Special Collections, to devise their own 'work experience' related project. The placement will be developed to meet the specific interests of the student while at the same time engaging with the day-to-day priorities of Special Collections. This is an excellent opportunity for a Library Studies/Information Management student who is keen to work closely with Special Collections.
8. Baillieu Library Print Collection, Special Collections – Baillieu Library
The Collection comprises of approximately 7,000 individual prints and volumes from the 16th to early 20th centuries. It covers many printmaking techniques including woodcuts, wood engravings, copper plates, steel engravings, etchings, mezzotints, aquatints, lithographs and chromolithographs.
Print Collection website: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special/prints/
8.1 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant
The goal of this position will be to assist in checking and researching information on a selection of prints from the Baillieu Print Collection. The information generated will be added to the electronic catalogue (EMu) at a later date. Under direction, the student/volunteer will ensure catalogue details for a selection of prints from the collection are reviewed for accuracy and that information is updated where possible. The student/volunteer will be responsible for checking, updating and expanding on current print catalogue records through the close inspection of the prints and use of current records. Catalogue fields that will require particular attention include dates, attributions and print states and the student/volunteer will need to research these areas using catalogues raisonnés and other appropriate resources.
Download position guide
8.2 Collection Management – Narratives compilation
For this project, the student/volunteer will be required to compile artist biographies and to research past exhibitions and other documentation that relates to the provenance of a selection of prints. This information will subsequently be added to the Narratives module of the EMu (Electronic Museum) database which will serve to enhance and expand the collection catalogue. In consultation with the curator, there may be the possibility to pursue additional research on individual prints and collector albums.
Download position guide
9. Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library: Rare Materials Collection
The Rare Collections of the Music Library are diverse in both content and origin. Though the Conservatorium was founded in 1891, there was no library at all until 1908, and for many years members of the teaching staff provided music for their students ad hoc. Some of these items are still with the library, augmented by numerous donations and purchases over the past century. The manuscripts are chiefly of works by Australian composers from the colonial period to the present day, while the printed music includes many early and rare editions of European composers from Corelli to Stravinsky. Among both the musical scores and the smaller collection of books on musical topics there are many unusual and obscure items.
For more information on the collection go to: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/music/rare/
9.1 Collection Management – Preventative Conservation, Music manuscripts
The primary goal of this position will be to apply basic conservation practices to music manuscripts held in the Rare Collections of the Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library. The manuscript orchestral parts to Rossini's Stabat Mater and Moses in Egypt, are currently in a fragile state and require basic conservation cleaning and rehousing to ensure that the historical information they contain is preserved and accessible for the future.
Download position guide
9.2 Collection Management – Preventative Conservation, Oratorios
The primary goal of this position will be to apply basic conservation practices to early imprint masque and opera sets from the W.S. Lyster Company held in the Orchestral Collection, part of the Rare Collections of the Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library. The masque, Handel's Acis and Galatea and opera Verdi's Sicilian Vespers, are currently in a vulnerable state and require basic conservation cleaning and rehousing to ensure that the historical information they contain is preserved and accessible for the future.
Download position guide
10. Creswick Campus Historical Collection
The Creswick Campus is one of three campuses at which students and staff from the Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science are based. The campus was first opened as the Victorian School of Forestry in 1910 and is located in Creswick in regional Victoria (1 ½ hours drive from Melbourne). The Creswick Campus Historical Collection comprises of approximately 250 items which relate to the teaching of forestry and includes photographs; student registers and results lists; items retrieved from an earlier 'School Museum'; a wood collection; various pieces of early teaching and research equipment; and miscellaneous items.
For information about the Creswick Campus: http://www.land-environment.unimelb.edu.au/creswick/
10.1 Collection Management - Significance Assessment
The primary goal of this position will be to complete a significance assessment on the historical collection. Using the criteria outlined in Significance 2.0: a guide to assessing the significance of collections (Russell, R & Winkworth, K, Canberra, Collections Council of Australia Ltd, 2009), the student/volunteer will assess the significance of this collection against a set of criteria being used University-wide. The significance assessment will be used to inform future collection management decisions in areas such as conservation, acquisition/de-accession, valuation and access.
Download position guide
11. Ian Potter Museum of Art
The Potter houses the University of Melbourne Art Collection, comprising Australian art, classics and archaeology, international, Indigenous cultural material and decorative arts.
Ian Potter Museum of Art website at: http://www.art-museum.unimelb.edu.au/
11.1 Collection Management - Cataloguing and Conservation of the Herbst Poster Collection*
This project will involve the manual cataloguing and conservation flattening of a selection of posters from the Gerard Herbst Poster Collection. The collection comprises approximately 3,000 posters and contains important examples of international and Australian graphic design from the twentieth century. As part of the project, and so that the student/volunteer gains experience in various aspects of collection management, they may also assist in an inventory of the collection and other related duties.
*Please note this project will be available in second semester
Download position guide
12. Victoria College of the Arts: VCA Art Collection
The VCA Art Collection spans the entire history of the College and its predecessor, the National Gallery School of Art. Comprising painting, sculpture, photography and works on paper, most works are by students, staff or alumni. The Collection continues to grow through gifts and acquisitive awards, ensuring that each year a number of graduating students' works are added. It includes work by such notable practitioners as John Brack, John Vickery, Jan Nelson, Jon Campbell and Sally Smart. There are also many life paintings and drawings from the National Gallery School of Art by prominent alumni including Hugh Ramsay, Charles Wheeler, Grace Joel and Constance Stokes. The Margaret Lawrence Australian Ceramics Collection was bequeathed to the Collection in 2004 and comprises some 500 pieces of Australian ceramic work from the 1920s through to 2004.
For more information on the VCA see http://www.vca.unimelb.edu.au/art/about
12.1 Collection Management - Catalogue /Inventory assistant – works on paper*
The primary goal of this position will be to complete an inventory and compile basic cataloguing information on a selection of works on paper that form part of the VCA Art Collection. The inventory and cataloguing of works is an important part of standard collection management practice and ensures that the collection is well accessible, tracked and well managed. Once the inventory and cataloguing has been completed, records generated will be added to the VCA's collection database.
*Please note this project will be available in second semester
Download position guide
12.2 Significance Assessment - Margaret Lawrence Australian Ceramics Collection
The primary goal of this position will be to complete a significance assessment on the Margaret Lawrence Australian Ceramics Collection (MLACC) which forms part of the Victorian College of the Arts collections. The significance assessment will be used to inform future collection management decisions on areas such as conservation, acquisition/de-accession, valuation and access.
Download position guide
13. Grainger Museum
Established in the 1930s by the composer, pianist and folklorist Percy Grainger, to show the 'sources from which composers draw their inspirations'. The collection includes music manuscripts and printed editions by many composers, correspondence, musical instruments, ephemera, photography and fine and decorative arts.
Grainger Museum website at http://www.grainger.unimelb.edu.au/
13.1 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant
The goal of this position will be to catalogue a selection of materials from the collections of the Grainger Museum and to review, update and expand on existing catalogue records. Once fully catalogued, these new records and the expanded entries will be ready to be added to the Grainger Museum's electronic database.
Download position guide
13.2 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant, Ella Grainger Correspondence
For this project the student/volunteer will be required to list or to expand on existing catalogue records for a selection of letters from the Ella Viola Ström /Grainger correspondence collection housed in the Grainger Museum. Ella Ström was an artist and poet living in London prior to meeting and marrying Percy Grainger. She had significant relationships with Rt Hon Frederick Leverton Harris (1864 – 1926) and Shogun Prince Tokugawa Iyemasa (1884 - 1963). Once fully listed, these new records and the expanded entries will be ready to be added to the Grainger Museum's electronic database.
Download position guide
13.3 Collection Management – Programmes*
This project will require the student/volunteer to create a spread sheet that records concert program details and supplementary materials (scrapbooks, reviews, correspondence) that relate to Grainger as a performer. This project will increase research access to this material and enhance the interpretative potential of the collection.
*Please note this project will be available in second semester
Download position guide
13.4 Collection Management – Metadata project, image files
The goal of this position will be to attach metadata to image files in the museum's collection in order to optimise the interpretative and research potential of this collection. Such metadata may include descriptions, provenance, catalogue number, copyright details and other collection management information. This project may involve additional research into details such as title, date, name of photographer or artist etc which will in turn will be added to the catalogue and expand our knowledge of the collection.
Download position guide
13.5 Collection Management – Research Support, History of Exhibitions
The goal of this project is to create a database which documents in the one spreadsheet how the Grainger Museum collections have been interpreted, used and displayed over the years. This database will be a valuable record and resource for future researchers, curatorial staff and users of the collection.
Download position guide
14. Architecture and Planning Library – Rare Materials Collection
This collection includes 19th and 20th century material; seminal architectural texts; collections of major local architects and planners; original drawings, sketchbooks and scrapbooks; objects from the University's architectural atelier and theses.
Architecture and Planning Library at: http://www.library.unimelb.edu.au/libraries/architecture_library/
14.1 Collection Management – Rehousing and Inventory
The primary goal of this position will be the rehousing of objects from the Rare Materials Collection in preparation for an upcoming move. Working in consultation with the Architecture Building and Planning Librarian and the Conservation Programs Coordinator this will involve assessing the condition of items in the collection and then rehousing in archival folders, jackets, boxes and other appropriate enclosures and creating inventory lists where necessary.
Download position guide
14.2 Exhibition display - Theses Collection
The goal of this project is for the student to develop a small exhibition showcasing the Theses collection of the Rare Materials Collection for the University of Melbourne Cultural Treasures Festival to be held in July 2012. The display will focus on items from the Theses collection which is a rich resource of local architectural history and will be on display in the Eastern Resource Centre, Parkville campus. As well as generating content for the exhibition through the writing of a text panel and extended labels, the student/volunteer will have the opportunity to be involved with the layout and design of the physical installation and other tasks as directed that relate to the mounting of the display.
Download position guide
15. East Asian Collection: Rare Books
The East Asian Rare Book Collection comprises Chinese and Japanese language rare books. The Chinese material includes 7,000 volumes of works dating from the 1600s to 1935, as well as scrolls of painting and calligraphy, magazines published in the 1930s and diaries from the Cultural Revolution period. The Japanese rare collections are particularly strong in history, art, architecture, language learning and teaching and popular culture.
East Asian Collection Rare Books website at: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/asian/
15.1 Rehousing and Exhibition project, postcard collection
The key goals of this position will be the rehousing and curation of a small exhibition of a collection of Japanese postcards which date from the early twentieth century and held within the East Asian Rare Books Collection. The postcard collection comprises several themes, the majority of which are about the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the rebuilding of Yokohama after the natural disaster. The display will increase the profile of this interesting collection while the rehousing of these postcards will aid in the long term preservation of the collection.
Download position guide
16. School of Chemistry Collection
The School of Chemistry Collection comprises over 300 items used for chemistry teaching and research at the University of Melbourne from the 1850s to 1960s. It includes glassware, measuring and experimental apparatus, burners, bottles of chemicals, balances, catalogues and lecture notes. Many items are of historical significance due to their association with key figures in the history of science in Australia such as Frederick McCoy, Henry Joseph Grayson, Ernest Johannes Hartung, David Orme Masson and John MacAdam.
16.1 Exhibition Curator – School of Chemistry Collection
For this project the student/volunteer will develop a small exhibition showcasing the School of Chemistry Collection. The exhibition will focus on items from the collection and will be installed in the display cases located on the ground floor of the Chemistry Building, Parkville campus.
Download position guide