By Sarah Dickey, Archivist/Registrar


This past month, several of my interns and I began a large project with the museum’s collection–we are performing a complete inventory of the object collection. CHA’s collection is varied, consisting of photographs, paper archives, and 3-dimensional objects. While the vast majority of photographs are catalogued and organized in our database, a percentage of the object collection (we have yet to see exactly how much) is not currently catalogued in our database.


A complete inventory of the artifact collection is important for obvious reasons. It is essential for me to be familiar with every object we have, and where it is located within our storage area. Having every artifact catalogued in our database makes the collection more accessible to researchers and the public, and also helps our staff with planning exhibits around artifacts that we have. Other reasons for doing inventory are to identify artifacts that may need attention from a conservator, to re-house or move objects that may require different storage conditions, and to recognize objects that should be researched further.


In performing the inventory, my interns and I process each artifact systematically, shelf by shelf. If an object already has a catalogue number and is already in our database, all we need to do is verify that its information and especially its location are correct. If an object is not catalogued in the system or does not have a number assigned, we catalogue it completely in the database. The entire process of cataloguing means writing a detailed description of the object, assessing its condition, measuring it, and recording its location within collections storage. Finally, it is photographed.


The final step, after the entire inventory has been completed, will be to add all of the object records to our website, www.coronadohistory.org. A few hundred records, mostly photographs, are already available for public viewing on our website. We are in the process of readying all 20,000 of our photographic records to go online. Once that and our object inventory are complete, we will transfer all of our object records online as well. This will allow researchers to see what we have in our collection without even leaving home.


Inventory can be a tedious process sometimes, if, say, we happen to open a box of hundreds of the same object and then have to catalogue each one individually. For the most part, though, it is a very exciting process. Opening box after box, and not knowing what treasures we may find inside, is thrilling and endlessly fascinating!


Collections interns Jessica McPheters and Erin Olson assist with inventory. Both are History majors at SDSU.


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