U. of Vermont: Digitizing a Treasury of Objects at the Fleming Museum

From Seven Days:

All museums struggle to represent the full range of their holdings, and the Fleming is no exception. [Janice] Cohen, [Director of the Fleming Museum] estimates that only 5 percent of its 24,000 items are on view at any time; the other 95 percent sit on shelves upstairs, neatly labeled but as good as invisible.
That will change in January. Thanks to a couple of grants — more than $87,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and a matching grant from the 1675 Foundation — along with internal sources, the museum is beginning to photograph, inventory and research its permanent collection. The funding will support a part-time collections assistant for two years.
Simply put, the Fleming is going digital.
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The Fleming, which has digital records for less than 1 percent of its collection, is late to the technology game, but it is striving to catch up. One way it will do so is by plugging into the DIY craze that has struck museumgoers across the country.
“Everyone wants to conduct their own art experiences,” Cohen remarks. “There’s a huge emphasis on do-it-yourself museum visits, whether that means curating a digital exhibition or conducting your own site tour. That’s exciting to me because that’s really at the heart of museum work, and too few people understand how creative the process can be.”

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Learn More: Direct to Fleming Museum Web Site
 

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