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I am an archivist with over a decade’s experience in the GLAMR (galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and records management) sector. I have worked at Museums Victoria since 2015.

As an archivist at Museums Victoria, along with my colleagues in the Records and Archives team, I manage the Museums Victoria Archives for the purposes of collecting, registering, describing, and preserving permanent records pertaining to the history and activities of the Museum’s staff and research associates, as well as vital records about the State Collection. The historical records (1854 onwards) contained within the inwards and outwards correspondence are of great significance to researchers and enhance what we know about specimens and artefacts in the State Collection, including important provenance information.

Other key aspects of my role include raising the profile of the Archives so that members of the public are aware of the breadth of the collection; providing access to the Archives for internal and external researchers; answering research enquiries; and supervising students and volunteers working on a range of archive projects.

Prior to joining Museums Victoria, I specialised in photographic archives, working with The Duldig Studio collection, University of Melbourne Archives AMP Ltd Photographic Collection, and the ABC Archives Natural History audiovisual collection and South Australia branch photographic collection. I also worked on a short archive project at the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre and saw the potential of utilising the archives there to improve the education and rehabilitation of young offenders.

I am committed to engaging with the GLAMR community in Australia and overseas in my work as Vice-President of newCardigan, Convenor of the Australian Society of Archivists Victorian Branch, and Co-convenor of the Women at the Museum (WAM) group. Creating a strong community for GLAMR professionals in Naarm (Melbourne) and online is rewarding and bringing interesting and innovative speakers to members is a great learning experience. Current trends and future directions in the GLAMR sector are reflected in the projects we produce for our community.

Qualifications

• Master of Information Management, RMIT University
• Master of Cultural Heritage, Deakin University
• Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication), Monash University
• Bachelor of Arts (Art History and Ancient History), University of Queensland

Professional Training

• Internship, Kodak Heritage Collection, Museums Victoria (2012)
• Cultural Heritage: Challenges and Opportunities, 17th Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) University, Penang, Malaysia (2011)

Links

• BHL Blog posts
• Burlesque dancing and basket weaving: the incredible life of Aunty Veronica Barnett
• Moths are beautiful too
• On the wing
• George Lyell’s letters
• The sting of the final letter
• Butterflies of the night
• Light sheets
• Pressed Orchids
• Kindred spirits
• Our first Director’s vision for a University Botanical Garden
• cardiCast interviews

Projects

• Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage, Merchants and Museum: Reconstructing museum specimen data through the pathways of global commerce (2020-2021)
• McCoy Seed Fund, George Lyell Collection (2019-2020)

Committees

• Vice-President, newCardigan
• Co-Convenor, Women at the Museum (WAM) group
• Collection Development Advisory Group (CDAG), Museum of Chinese Australian History

Professional Associations

• Australian Society of Archivists
  2014 – 2016: Member
  2016 – 2017: Victorian Branch Committee Member
  2017 – 2018: Victorian Branch Communications Officer and Newsletter Editor
  2018 – 2023: Victorian Branch Committee Member
  2023 - Present: Convenor, Victorian Branch
• Records and Information Management Professionals Australasia (RIMPA)
  2015 – Present: Member

• I am available for student supervision.
• I am available to supervise tertiary students undertaking qualifications in archives and information studies, especially those with an interest in museum archives.

• McGrath, Nik (2021) Author Interview with Mike Jones: Artefacts, Archives, and Documentation in the Relational Museum, Archive Matters, Issue 120.
• Bollen, Rose and McGrath, Nik (2019) ‘Digital Ephemera: collecting and preserving social movements in a digital age’ in Time Based Media, INSITE Magazine, (August – October).
• McGrath, Nik (2018) Adding value to libraries, archives, and museums: harnessing the force that drives your organization’s future, Archives and Manuscripts, 46(2).
• McGrath, Nicole (2015) Is video-based storytelling the future?, INCITE, 36(4).