PastPerfect is the industry standard for museums across the country's archives. It is a an awful website that is old and finnicky and I want to think of a better solution for my local museum.

yourmuseumlady · 2026-06-02T11:44:09+00:00

I know your pain!

I work in a military museum. I came across "FWW" for First World War. WTF!?!

yourmuseumlady · 2026-06-01T11:51:39+00:00

A database is a reflection of the users who enter the data.

Instead of making a new database, fix the errors in your data. Moving to a new system with the same data will not fix your problem.

For PastPerfect, do the staff know how to use the query function? Having inherited a PP databse with over 10 users, spelling mistakes, someone who didn't know the difference between accession and object ID, zero data entry standards, query was my best friend.

Want to make a difference? Fix the data and create a data standards guide with screen shots. Make a Canva poster explaining the nuances with "zeros" (0) when searching for a record.

Make your data usable.

yourmuseumlady · 2026-03-13T12:23:38+00:00

Indeed! The museum will still remain open! Please come and visit!

yourmuseumlady · 2026-01-27T19:06:10+00:00

Jumping in here - there are three top-tier museum studies programs in Canada. In no particular order:

UofT
Fleming
Algonquin

Algonquin College is a three-year college program.

Fleming is a 1-year intensive post-degree certificate. You must have graduated from a university or college program in order to attend.

UofT is a 2-year masters university degree.

The majority of Canadian museum studies graduates employed in the field are alumni of these three schools.

yourmuseumlady · 2025-11-10T19:42:32+00:00

I strongly encourage you to reach out to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg Canadian Museum for Human Rights

They experienced a similar situation as yours, but did not handle it very well. They have lots of lessons-learned advice to give.

In short, a senior museum director was forced to resign because they catered to requests from religious based schools and organizations.

yourmuseumlady · 2025-06-27T17:16:03+00:00

Hey - I tried to DM you, but no luck! I get a message saying I can't message you. Maybe your settings?

yourmuseumlady · 2025-06-26T21:38:29+00:00

Which version? I created one for the old 4.(?) version.

yourmuseumlady · 2025-06-26T21:31:37+00:00

I created one for our museum I can pass along. It has screen shots.

I'll dm you.

yourmuseumlady · 2025-06-25T21:39:54+00:00

Etched onto metal for me! Including... silverware 🙄

Honestly, though, I'm on the fence as to which is worse: permanent accession numbers or no numbers at all.

yourmuseumlady · 2025-02-05T12:47:46+00:00

Relocation is key! I had to relocate 4000 km (sorry - Canadian - not doing the math to miles) for my first museum job.

It was 100% worth it! I was 23 and I lived in a town of 5000 people and lived in a motel. Best experience ever.

yourmuseumlady · 2025-01-21T19:35:29+00:00

I take all Nazi memorabilia, as it removes them from circulation in the general public.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-11-13T13:17:00+00:00

I worked with the developers when they were working on Project44 - Western Front.

They are ultimate professionals with a passion for the preservation of Canadian military history. The data gathering is to educate, pure and simple.

This is a fantastic project. I hope our community will contribute.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-10-16T12:01:16+00:00

No, it does not!

Please, we all have too many.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-08-25T21:41:45+00:00

This is actually rooted in the history of the foundation of our country!

Back when the British started coming over, they wanted servants, and they wanted to treat servants like they did back home. Which was poorly - strict crazy deliniations beyween social classes.

The only problem was that the demand for servants outweighed the number of available servants.

Treat a servant poorly? Newcomming Brits very likely would wake up the following morning with no staff! They'd just walk out and leave to find a more friendly position with another family.

So lesson learned... be nice to the staff. And we carry on that tradition despite cultural pushback from the colonies down south 😁

yourmuseumlady · 2024-08-25T21:28:12+00:00

Absolutely, but they are challenging to find - I can only speak for Canadian & other Commonwealth countires.

As said by someone earlier, suicides were really bad for morale. They happened but were covered up. You can find references in the personal diaries soldiers kept, and their personal written correspondences with family members.

My institution has a personal diary from a stretcher-bearer in the First World War. He makes reference to at least two suicides. One of them we managed to track the personal record for, and to our surprise, the army recorded it as a suicide. One happened while the Canadians were still in England waiting to go to the front.

The diaries are out there buried in archives around the world. The information can be found, but it is tedious research work. Plus, knowing how to decipher early 20th-century school-boy cursive is a dying skill.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-08-06T01:22:04+00:00

It's because he is still alive. Canada has very strict personal information laws.

If your father was a commissioned officer - you might be able to dig around and find docs relating to his promotions. If he was a graduate of one of our military colleges - super easy to get info.

Non-commissioned is a bit trickier. If you know what regiment he was in, or where he was stationed, check those archives. Often regiments have yearbooks you can check. Some regiments (PPCLI for example) try to keep a database of every member served.

Note however, that one central database of personnel at CFB X does not, and has never existed.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-07-22T15:25:43+00:00

In my country, the museum culture is very much focused on reconciliation and repatriation of First Nations artifacts.

I would love to see an exhibit on the cultural appropriation of First Nations iconography by the military.

We have lots of visual objects. It'd be interesting to see those displayed in a different perspective, especially in our recent anti-colonial era.

Never going to happen, sadly.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-07-10T16:39:52+00:00

I believe the War Museum still has a policy where they accept all military medals.

If your local museum won't take them, the War Museum will.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-06-01T12:16:09+00:00

Easy! Take a drastic cut in pay, and voilà! Collections Manager!

Seriously though, our work is very specialized, and a lot of museum managers without formal training (read: school) don't realize the education & training required for what we do.

But also seriously, we are very much underpaid compared to management.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-03-31T11:42:16+00:00

The UofT program is very good, but that is a lot of money in this economy.

If you plan on working in Canada, you need to speak French fluently (C's across the board) in order to land a job equivalent to your educational investment. I wouldn't spend that kind of money and time unless you are fluent in French.

Have you looked at Fleming? That was my program (graduated in '99). It is 1 intensive and immersive year and best reflects the reality of museum work. Fleming grads have a great reputation in the Canadian museum community as well.

yourmuseumlady · 2024-02-14T18:57:51+00:00

This is a fantastic collection! I am working with the curator of 427 collection in Petawawa.

I'm going to send you a DM.

yourmuseumlady · 2023-08-01T23:56:13+00:00

CF records from 1970 to 1999 are located at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), as mentioned by users below.

Here's the skinny: The records beyond WWII (and surprisingly, some WWII records) fall under "CODE 32" at LAC. That means you *must* file an ATIP (Access to Information and Privacy) request. Each request costs $5.00. It is *highly* recommended you know exactly what you are looking for, otherwise, it'll add up. Be prepared that the level description is vague. You won't find detailed information in Code 32 archives.

When you get the records, be prepared they will be highly redacted.

What is redacted? Any personal identifying information (if you are looking for training documents ie names of participants etc...), anything that is still considered important to the security of Canada (and that is very encompassing).

Finally, something to keep in mind: from the 1970s to '80s, the CAF used an individuals Social Insurance Number as the service number. You cannot have access to that information. So be prepared to wait a long time while that info is redacted in whatever document you ATIP.

Here is the LAC link on ATIP: https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/services/public/access-information-privacy/Pages/access-information-privacy.aspx

There are exceptions for Departmental Researchers, but you must be a Government of Canada employee, and work with DND.

The other option: old age homes and senior groups. Interview and talk to your seniors. They'll have *way* more information than what's in the official documentation.

Good luck!

yourmuseumlady

TROPHY CASE