MAKING MUSINGS PART 1: REFLECTIONS FROM A PAST EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Letter from the Editor | Jaime Clifton-Ross

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This is the first post of a five part series in celebration of the Master of Museum Studies program at the University of Toronto's 50th anniversary (MMSt50). To reflect on Musings' past, present, and future, we invited all previous Editors-in-Chief to return to Musings to write special Letter from the Editor posts. These articles will highlight the significance of Musings both within the MMSt program, and for writers' professional careers. Jaime Clifton-Ross was the first Editor-in-Chief of Musings from 2013-2015. 

I remember this one humid day quite well. It was late August in 2013 and I had just moved to Toronto a couple of weeks before. I nervously entered the iSchool to meet Dr. Mihalache to discuss my research assistant position. She greeted me warmly and I instantly felt at ease. I was incredibly surprised to find out that the sole project for my assistantship was to transform the existing MMSt blog into a thriving platform that served as the voice of the Master of Museum Studies students.

I began this somewhat daunting task by researching other blogs and obsessively tinkering with the back end of blogger (Musings’ Content Management System). I scoured the internet in hopes of learning as much as I could about web design and I also taught myself some basic coding. I spent the next few months developing content, writing the preliminary mission/vision/mandate, and researching blogging best practices. While I couldn’t put my finger on it, this project had ignited something in me.

By January 2014, I had convinced 4 other students to join me as contributing editors. Together we came up with a series of columns and created a rigorous content calendar that included a new post every weekday. Despite how challenging it was to maintain this busy content calendar, everyone managed to post one blog a week. I credit the team’s commitment and collaborative spirit as the reason why Musings took off so quickly.

“The Original Musings Team”. From left: Brittney Sproule, Meaghan Dalby, Alexandra Jeffrey, Jaime Clifton-Ross, Lauren Williams, and Katherine Hannemann. Photo courtesy of Jaime Clifton-Ross.

After two semesters of working on Musings, I secured an internship in the web department at the Royal Ontario Museum. My task was to conduct an environmental survey of museum blogs and identify best practices. I also wrote a series of blog posts and learned a lot about social media. This helped energize me for my second year as Editor-in-Chief, which had become an elected role with student council rather than an assistantship. Equipped with far more knowledge about blogs and web engagement, I set out to recruit the second year of contributing editors and guide them in best practices. Much to my surprise, we had several new students join the team, increasing our number from 6 to about 20. Musings was no longer a small operation, but rather an organized and vital part of the MMSt program.



My experience working on Musings first and foremost helped guide me towards a career in online communications and engagement. It helped me uncover my natural skillset and gave me the confidence to pursue my current professional pathway. The hands-on experience I gained in leadership, project management, writing, community engagement, web design, and social media marketing is what has shaped my career the most. It also broadened my knowledge and experience, which helped me to transition from the museum and non-profit sectors to the field of sustainable community development.

Upon reflecting on the blog posts I wrote during my time with Musings, one in particular stood out. The Curated Garden: A Museum? showcased Butchart Gardens, a historic site in Victoria, British Columbia. In this post, I recounted the history of the site and reflected on how museums come in different shapes and forms. While re-reading this post, I was reminded of how certain museum practices, namely interpretive planning and marketing, are adapted from other sectors. This also made me think about how other sectors can learn from museums, namely on how to communicate important subjects such as climate change, social justice, biodiversity loss, etc.

“Butchart Gardens” by Jenna Lee. Source.

I currently work as the research curator for a small research team in the School of Environment and Sustainability at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC. Our research spans many subjects under the umbrella of sustainable community development—including climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity conservation, community vitality, social capital and agency, as well as communications. I wear many hats in my role, however my main task is to develop effective methods to communicate our research findings beyond traditional academic channels (i.e. peer-reviewed journals and conferences). Academic research is not often circulated to the public widely nor is it often formatted into accessible mediums, which is why I think academia can learn a thing or two from the museum field. To tackle this gap and to develop best practices for academics, I draw on museum practices while experimenting with visual communications, social media content curation, web content development, and video production. I’ve even had the opportunity to curate two research exhibits, one of which just opened at the Royal Roads University Library Showcase space last week.

“Wind Turbine in Field of Sunflowers” by Gustavo Quepón. Source. 

While my experience with Musings certainly helped me secure my master’s internship and my first job in the field, the biggest reward were the lifelong friendships I formed. I am also so thankful to all the wonderful contributing editors who made, and continue to make Musings what it is today.