Ōtaki Heritage Accessioning Team - Volunteer Story Celebration 2024

Tell us why the team of volunteers inspired you to nominate them:

The beating heart of any museum is its collection of items. Using the collection in all its forms is the principal means by which the museum tells its stories to its visitors. But to be effective in generating and telling stories, the collection must be accessioned, so that its existence is known, its location within the museum collections stores known, and its own unique story accurately recorded. This important task is detailed, at times tedious, and, as the backlog of items to be accessioned grows, the task can seem overwhelming.

On every occasion that a member of the Accessioning Team completes the accession of an item to our collection, they have made a substantial contribution to the museum's story telling capability. There inspiration comes not from one short lived flash of light, but from the illumination created by their commitment, week after week, to the task they have set themselves.

What makes the team of volunteers special?
In our museum, this work is done by a very small group of our volunteers. For some, once a week, and for others, two days a week, they contemplate the significant numbers of items that have to be transformed from a jumbled mess, into orderly order on collection room shelves - and, on occasion moved into display cabinets to support an exhibition. Because of the museum's dependence solely on volunteers to open its doors, these people also spend time on duty at the museum. They are special, not only because they enable the museum to operate, but because they demonstrate the real contribution volunteers can make in what museums would consider to be a specialist area.