NovaMuse Co-operative

In 2002, a group of 18 community museums sought to standardize their collections management practices and digitize Nova Scotia’s material culture and so launched the Passage Project. The grassroots initiative grew to include over 50 museums and was moved to ANSM within a few years. In 2006, the program received an Award for Outstanding Achievement in Museum Management from the Canadian Museums Association.

Now known as the NovaMuse Co-operative, participating museums receive an annual site visit, one-on-one training, opportunities to participate in group training and special projects, and remote support. Membership provides access to and usage of the CollectiveAccess database system and NovaMuse. The Co-op enables heritage institutions to connect with each other to share knowledge on collections management practices. ANSM members may apply to participate in the Co-operative through a peer-reviewed application process.

Two Levels

There are two levels to the NovaMuse Co-operative. New participants start at the Introductory Level, which enables museums to work with ANSM at their own pace toward accessing full services. Full services include the above-mentioned benefits, and the use of the CollectiveAccess database and NovaMuse. All members secure their participation in the program through an annual fee.

The Co-operative is supported by the Museum Services Coordinator who maintains regular communication with and provides support to participating museums through site visits, monthly email updates, social medial, and by email, phone and virtual chats. This blend of communication enables ANSM to share professional resources, promote museum activities and collections, and ensure that museums are always in the loop on various activities.

NovaMuse Website
NovaMuse Facebook
NovaMuse Instagram

NovaMuse

The public face of ANSM’s Advisory Service is NovaMuse.ca. Launched in 2012, the website provides access to the contributing museums’ collections as never before, and as a result received another CMA Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2013. The site currently showcases more than 279,000 objects with 136,000 images and new information is added on a daily basis.

NovaMuse is a place to share knowledge. The goal of NovaMuse is to help tell the story of Nova Scotia through its tangible and intangible heritage, by providing access to object records and educational resources. Anyone can explore NovaMuse, connecting with and sharing things that have meaning to them. This is a place for people to tell their part of the collective story of life in Nova Scotia.

Become a Member Today!