Core Skills for Museum & Heritage Work
Working in museums and heritage organizations requires a combination of technical knowledge, professional judgement, and interpersonal skills. While specific tasks vary by role and department, many core competencies are shared across the sector.
This section introduces key skill areas commonly developed through internships and early-career roles, including research and documentation, public engagement, ethical practice, digital literacy, and professional communication.
Each topic provides high-level context, examples of how skills may be applied in practice, and links to additional learning resources. These pages are intended as reference points rather than step-by-step instructions.
Active interns and staff receive more detailed training related to these areas through role-specific guidance and project work.
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Accurate record-keeping, standard vocabularies, and collection management form the backbone of heritage preservation.
Nomenclature for Museum Cataloguing – The standardized vocabulary used by Canadian heritage institutions to name and classify objects in collections databases.
STASH (Storage Techniques for Art and Science Collections) – An excellent database of innovative and practical solutions for packing, supporting, and storing specific types of physical objects safely.
RE-ORG International (CCI & ICCROM) – A fantastic resource hub packed with tips, tricks, and practical strategies for small museums looking to optimize and reorganize overcrowded collections storage areas.
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Understanding how to care for materials and recognize risk is essential for everyone handles physical collections.
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) Notes – National standard sheets for managing, cleaning, displaying, and handling historic materials.
Defining Damage and Susceptibility for Mineral Specimens – An industry-level look at introducing database workflows for identifying mineral vulnerabilities.
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Modern heritage work requires continuous learning around accountability, community care, and cultural protocols.
Setting the Bar (Heritage BC) – A foundational guide to achieving new, actionable standards for reconciliation within the heritage sector.
Working with Elders (First Peoples' Cultural Council) – An essential operational toolkit explaining respectful protocols, compensation, and relationship-building when collaborating with Indigenous Elders.
Gender and Sexuality Inclusion Toolkit (BCMA) – A thorough guide for cultural and heritage institutions to expand accessible, safe, and respectful representation for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
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Communicating heritage effectively across modern digital platforms and public educational spaces.
The Museum Hub: Digitization Strategy & Projects – Practical, self-paced guides outlining how small-to-medium museums can map out, fund, and technically manage a digital preservation or digitization project.
The Great Big Museum Exhibit Resource List (POW!) – An immense, crowdsourced repository of frameworks, guidelines, and inspiration for physical exhibition development and design.