On Sunday, Touchstones Nelson launched an online portal into the society’s permanent collection. Providing unprecedented public access, the portal can be used by anyone to research more than 5,000 artifacts and artworks currently posted online.
“The online collection portal represents our commitment to making the collection more accessible to the public and to highlight the quality and scope of this significant community asset,” said executive director Leah Best.
Viewable records include an object photograph, a brief description, the date, and the history of the object when available. Portal users can send feedback on individual records to museum staff. “In effect,” explained archivist and collections manager Laura Fortier, “the online portal allows us to open source the information we have on the collection. We understand there’s room for improvement and we hope the public will help us in that process.”
To access the online portal go to nelson.pastperfect-online.com.
The online portal project was made possible with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage Museums Assistance Program and the Columbia Basin Trust.