Rewriting the Narrative: Collections Management in the Time of Pandemic and Global Transition

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Adaptation and Alteration: The New Realities of Archaeology during a Pandemic" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

As the general population learns to adjust to the “new normal,” the University of West Florida (UWF) Archaeology Institute Collections Management team has adapted to face new and old challenges alike. The initial closure of the UWF campus and subsequent limited access to curational facilities prompted an internal review of policies, approaches, and modes of collections management to facilitate access to collections and associated paperwork for new, continuous, and ongoing research during Covid-19. Faced with these new challenges, the unforeseen pandemic and lull in unceasing productivity simultaneously acted as a benefit in disguise and provided an unexpected opportunity to address old issues left unattended. This paper will discuss the innovative approaches taken to counter the various challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the unpredicted opportunities for improvement in collections management at UWF.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Adaptation and Alteration: The New Realities of Archaeology during a Pandemic   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology