Read Write History | The future of history.

One family’s contribution transforms our understanding of an historical artifact nearly 150 years later

By Lee Wright | Published: March 16, 2009

The recent well-publicized opening of Lincoln’s watch by the Smithsonian is another reminder of the challenges in connecting individuals to collections and providing a platform for sharing information about historical artifacts and events.

Darius Abbassi, a friend and colleague through many ventures (for both of us), pointed to this interview with Harry Rubenstein, Chair and Curator of the Division of Politics and Reform at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. Near the end, the curator answers the question of why didn’t they know about this before:

” . . . it was only a family story and not a story that was out among the public and a larger audience. . . [T]he public often knows things that we don’t, and they can share this information with us.”

And my friend’s question and observation:

Lincoln's watch, which was opened recently to reveal the engraving made minutes after hearing the news of the firing on Fort Sumter on April 13, 1861.

“Okay, but how, pray tell, do they ’share’ anything with ‘us’ if there is no means to do that?

“Also, he refers to the ‘public’ as a mass, a group, a single entity. In the Roman sense of the world, Popolus. In the world of crowdsourcing, that is an interesting point. Implicit in his comment is the notion that this group has a collective ‘knowledge’ that can be leveraged if there is a means by which a many-on-many communications mode can be established.

“In the field of history in particular, folk history, folk stories (Volk, PoPolo, Pluribus, Public) are the items that encode the meaning behind the facts, and this is a critical insight. The facts are dead without the lives and intentions of the people who lived those ‘facts.’

“The Lincoln watch story beautifully illustrated the point: A watchmaker inscribed a story or message inside Lincoln’s pocketwatch at the first firing on Fort Sumter in 1861. Lincoln, unbeknownst to anyone, carries this Pro-union message around with him for the duration of the war and has the watch with him the night he is assassinated.

“The tale is told and retold, handed down within the family for generations. However, it isn’t until one of the descendants approaches the museum, which was putting on a Lincoln exhibit, and says, ‘By the way, do you have Lincoln’s pocket watch? I have a story to tell you about it . . .’”

If it hadn’t been for this special exhibition and the persistence of one of the descendents now, nearly 150 years later, how would we have learned of this interesting historical fact?

And as the curator observed in the AP story,

“I think it just captures a bit of history that can transform you to another time and place.”

Preserving a tall ship tradition–and tall tales

By Lee Wright | Published: March 13, 2009

Two news items out of Massachusetts are reminders of the importance of preservation and the challenges faced today:

March 13, 2009

BOSTON, MA—It has been a majestic rite: tall ships from across the world dotting Boston Harbor in July, recalling

Tall ships in Boston in 2005.

the city’s maritime history in a parade of billowing white sails and crisply attired sailors. Twice in the last two decades, the event known as Sail Boston has drawn millions to the city.

But in what could be a particularly cruel blow to the region’s recession-addled psyche and economy, the tall ships extravaganza could be scaled back or even canceled this summer, another victim of the vicious economy.

Municipal officials have said they might have to scrap the event unless Sail Boston 2009, the nonprofit group that organizes the event, can come up with a plan by the end of the month to reimburse the city for an estimated $3 million to $5 million in public safety costs.

Read the rest of the story and add your comments

GREAT BROOK FARM STATE PARK, MA—In a surprising development that has confirmed a number of longstanding local rumors, authorities discovered the 32nd Regiment of His Majesty’s Royal British Army still fighting the Revolutionary War in a small wooded area outside of Carlisle, MA Monday.

The disoriented foot soldiers—who in the spring of 1776 survived a barrage of Patriot cannon fire at Dorchester Heights only to become lost during the subsequent British retreat—were found by park rangers . . .

Read the rest of the story

Posted in Friday (usually) | Tagged Revolutionary War, Sail Boston, Tall ships, the Onion | Leave a comment

Sharing insights from state Connecting to Collections efforts

By Lee Wright | Published: March 12, 2009

When the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced the latest round of Connecting to Collections grants, they included brief descriptions of each. However, the full text of the submissions is not available online.

In an effort to share knowledge and insights among all of us working in this area, we can rectify this situation by making this public information available online. One free, widely-used service, Scribd, includes an Historic Preservation group. Anyone can upload a document and assign it to this group.

If you do, please add a comment below. Or contact me and I’ll lend a hand or upload it for you.

Update (April 15, 2009): Thanks to a successful Freedom of Information Act request, all grants awarded for the 2009 and 2008 cycles are now online. The process and the result are described in this post.

Once your document is uploaded to Scribd, you can link to it or embed it on your site as has been done here. The process is simple. And it’s free.

This is the narrative from the submission for Massachusetts:
IMLS Massachusetts Collections Planning Grant Narrative

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Periodicals & Report museum massachusetts

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners IMLS Connecting to Collections Planning Grant Proposal Developing and Expanded and Enhanced Statewide Preservation Program for Massachusetts’ Cultural Heritage Collections 1. Need and Rationale The documentary and material heritage of Massachusetts is essentially intact from its founding. Throughout the Commonwealth, repositories and museums house irreplaceable collections of monographs, pamphlets, manuscript material, records, ephemera, statuary, paintings, and three-dimensional objects of all types, which serve as rich resources for researchers. Librarians, archivists, curators, and other staff have long collected materials that document their immediate and adjoining locales, as well as focusing on specific collecting areas. Many of these people need training in preservation activities, and many collections are in need of conservation work to prolong their lives and to enable them to be consulted. Institutions in Massachusetts have a long history of working for the preservation of cultural resources. The New England Museum Association (NEMA) was founded in 1919 to provide support and assistance to museums. In 1973, the Northeast Document Conservation Center, Andover, MA (NEDCC) was founded “in response to growing alarm about the monumental scope of the paper deterioration problem facing collectionholding institutions in New England.” Also in 1973, legislation was enacted (Acts, 1973, c. 711, s. 1) providing that the Archivist of the Commonwealth shall prepare and administer a “comprehensive statewide documentary preservation plan.” The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) became involved in the preservation of library and archival materials in 1988. The MBLC is the state library development agency for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As such it supports, improves, and promotes library services throughout the Commonwealth. The MBLC was established in 1890 under Chapter 78 of the Massachusetts General Laws; the first such agency in the United States. The MBLC administers a number of major programs and services that impact libraries and library collections throughout the Commonwealth. The following are applicable to this grant proposal: Preservation, Emergency Assistance, and the administration of the federal Library Services and Technology Act (L.S.T.A.) program. NEMA is the only museum service organization in Massachusetts. NEMA sponsors Professional Affinity Groups (PAG) for Conservators, Curators, Registrars and those who work in Historic Sites and Libraries and Archives. The PAG meetings and ongoing program evaluation have further informed the profession of the challenges facing collections. PAG Chairs and NEMA staff also monitor and respond to the questions and concerns presented on NEMA’s Collections and Administration discussions lists. NEMA has held an annual conference for more than seventy-five years, where museum professionals and volunteers receive training in collections care and conservation. In response to NEMA’s evaluation that the training needs of small and all-volunteer museums and historical societies were not being met, it partnered with Massachusetts Humanities to present a highly successful pair of introductory-level workshops that include the basics of collections care and management. Efforts to gauge the extent of preservation knowledge and needs of cultural heritage institutions have been undertaken on several occasions. The results of these surveys have helped focus the efforts of several organizations in addressing these needs during the past thirty years. • • Salary and Benefits Survey, New England Museum Association (NEMA), since the 1970’s. This provides data on the education, tenure, salaries and benefits of museum curators, conservators and registrars at various stages of their careers. Historical Records in Massachusetts: Prospects, Programs, & Plans, Massachusetts Archives, 1983. Funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), this survey assessed the preservation and storage conditions of records in Massachusetts. Preservation Needs Assessment Survey, MBLC, 1989. A survey of some 1,100 libraries, archives, historical societies, and town halls (958 responded (87%) to assess the preservation needs and disaster preparedness of Massachusetts institutions. Subsequently, the MBLC received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Statewide Preservation Planning Grant in 1990, resulting in the publication of Preserved to Serve: The Massachusetts Preservation Agenda that has served as the basis for Massachusetts’ preservation efforts for the past twenty years. Heritage Health Index (HHI), Heritage Preservation, 2005. Approximately 130 institutions responded to this survey yielding a comprehensive collection of preservation data about institutions in Massachusetts. This data will serve as one of the sources in developing a baseline for the proposed data gathering efforts. Assessment of Emergency Preparedness for State Archives and Records Management Programs, Council of State Archivists (CoSA), 2006. A statewide self-assessment tool that focused on the state of emergency preparedness for records in all fifty state archives and records management programs. • • • The results of the Massachusetts surveys consistently indicate a need for help with preservation and emergency preparedness. In addition, because of the rapid proliferation of digitization programs and electronic data systems, none of the surveys provides information on digitized collections or “born digital” materials. The MBLC survey touched only briefly on audio-visual materials. Fortunately, the HHI survey was distributed to a wider variety of cultural institutions than the MBLC survey. By necessity, the HHI survey looked at cultural repositories in a broad way. As a consequence, it does not provide the necessary detail needed to develop, enhance, or expand a statewide preservation program. Therefore, to expand and enlarge the current program, it is necessary to collect current data on institutions and their collections in Massachusetts at a more detailed level and across a broader spectrum of institutions than was accomplished in either the MBLC survey or the HHI. During the past twenty years, working in consort with a number of other state agencies and non-governmental organizations, the MBLC has developed an active, multi-faceted statewide program to address the preservation needs of the Commonwealth’s cultural heritage. The MBLC’s program includes: • • • • Providing information and referral on preservation and disaster-related inquiries to all types of institutions; A Continuing Education Program that provides workshops on a wide variety of preservation topics; An Environmental Monitoring Program that lends dataloggers to libraries, archives, historical societies, town halls, and museums for periods of five months at a time and produces substantial reports for the institutions based on the data collected; An Emergency Assistance Program that provides training, recovery supplies at sixteen locations, technical assistance, support for packing, freezing and drying of library and archival materials, and an email weather alert for inclement and threatening weather; A close alliance with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency starting in 1996 as a member of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Team, the InterAgency Hazard Mitigation Committee, and the Massachusetts Recovery Alliance to ensure that cultural heritage collections are considered and provided with appropriate prioritization for their protection and recovery during and after a disaster; and A grant program using L.S.T.A. funds for Preservation Surveys, the Preservation of Library and Archival Materials, the Digitizing of Historical Resources (for access), and Manuscript Arrangement and Description. • • In addition, the MBLC has partnered with the NEDCC on two occasions. In 2001, the NEDCC received an IMLS National Leadership Grant to create an online disaster planning tool. The NEDCC and the MBLC created dPlan: The Online Disaster Planning Tool, which is now being used by over 1,900 institutions across the country. In 2006, the NEDCC received another IMLS National Leadership Grant to develop a framework by which states could create a statewide disaster plan for cultural resources. The MBLC and the Massachusetts Archives are currently spearheading a pilot project to test the Comprehensive Statewide Emergency Preparedness framework (COSTEP). While the MBLC’s preservation program has had success in addressing many of the preservation needs in libraries, archives, historical societies, and to some extent town halls, a major gap has been the lack of contact with museums and the lack of focus on the preservation of three-dimensional objects. It is for this reason that it is important that this grant provides the information necessary to expand the statewide preservation program to include those media and collections that have been addressed only by NEMA in the past. Moreover, there are other gaps that need to be identified and addressed such as the preservation of audio-visual media and the need to move ahead with preserving digital and born-digital collections. 2. The Planning Process Interested parties met initially on August 15, 2008 to identify potential partners and to discuss ideas for the focus of the proposal. This group included the Massachusetts Archives, the MBLC, NEMA, and the Sturgis Library, a participant in the initial Connecting to Collections Conference in Washington, D.C. It was decided that a comprehensive survey of the cultural heritage community was necessary for a number of reasons. NEMA has the data from its triennial salary surveys and program evaluations. The MBLC has the data from the 1989 survey of libraries, archives, historical societies, and town halls. The HHI (2003) identified a number of problems in similar areas, but the majority of Massachusetts’ respondents to the HHI were museums. In addition, since the MBLC’s preservation program has been well-established for two decades, it is important to measure the progress that has been made in as many areas as possible as well as identifying areas and institutional types that have not been addressed or included in this program such as museums. The survey will be based on those components of the HHI that need resurveying and that also mirror the questions used in the 1989 survey. In addition, audio-video and museum collections were not included in the original survey and others such as digitized collections and “born-digital” materials, whose preservation will become more and more pressing in the years to come, have become more prevalent and will need to be addressed. Survey. The plan is to develop and distribute a comprehensive web survey to obtain information and investigate the range, volume, and needs of Massachusetts collections; including threats, resources, staff to manage them, and challenges facing cultural heritage institutions. In addition, the survey will measure progress that has been achieved in addressing the preservation needs identified in the original MBLC survey in 1989. In both the MBLC’s 1989 survey and the HHI, disaster preparedness and education were identified as pressing needs. The analysis of the data gathered in this survey will result in a new statewide preservation action agenda with measurable outcomes to refocus, expand, and enhance statewide preservation efforts, including the museum community and formats that were not included in previous planning efforts or were not heavily in use at that point. With our consultant(s), the MBLC and its partners will analyze the survey data, produce a report documenting the conditions and preservation needs of cultural heritage collections in Massachusetts repositories, and develop recommendations for action with timeframe, institutional responsibilities, outcomes and outputs, and budget identified to address the identified preservation needs of these collections throughout the state. 3. Project Resources: Budget and Personnel MBLC staff: The MBLC will coordinate and manage the project. The project director will be Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, Preservation Specialist. Michael Comeau, Assistant Archivist at the Massachusetts Archives will serve as the liaison to the archival community, and Katheryn Viens, Executive Director of NEMA will serve as the liaison to the museum community. These three individuals will have responsibility for working with the consultant(s), survey development and data analysis, developing the preservation plan based on the survey results, and reporting to IMLS and Massachusetts institutions. The MBLC fiscal staff will assist with the budgeting and accounting issues. Consultants: We plan to engage the services of experienced consultants to work with the project staff, create the survey content, draft the survey instrument (to be vetted by the Advisory Committee), administer the survey, provide an analysis of the results, and prepare a report including recommendations based on the survey results. In addition, an intern will be hired to assist in data entry when necessary and in the administration of the survey including developing final contact lists, answering questions from survey recipients, encouraging recipients to complete the surveys, and other clerical issues. Partners: To develop as broad a preservation program as possible a number of institutions and organizations have agreed to serve as partners for this grant. They will participate in vetting the survey instrument, planning its delivery, serve on the Advisory Committee, promote the survey among their constituents, and assist the consultants in drafting a statewide preservation plan. Partners Museum of Fine Arts New England Museum Association Massachusetts Archives Northeast Document Conservation Center Massachusetts Conference of Chief Librarians of Public Higher Educational Institution Boston Public Library Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System Advisory Committee: Project staff will appoint an Advisory Committee to provide advice on the development of the survey’s content and assist in developing the mailing lists to reach as many institutions as possible with the survey, promoting the survey to their constituencies, reviewing the final survey results, helping develop recommendations for future activities, reviewing reports, and approving the final written report and recommendations. Results: The project’s final product will be a report documenting the conditions and preservation needs of cultural heritage collections in Massachusetts repositories. It will also identify priorities and provide recommendations for future statewide preservation activities. The report will serve as a basis for implementing these recommendations and developing an enhanced, expanded, and sustainable statewide preservation program for all types of cultural resources in Massachusetts.

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Posted in Collaboration tools and case studies, Digitizing collections, Friday (usually), Heritage Health Index, IMLS, National Register of Historic Places, Surprising discoveries, The Smithsonian Institution | Tagged Connecting to Collections, grang, Massachusetts, scribd | 1 Comment

Digital photo policies for state historic preservation nominations

By Lee Wright | Published: March 11, 2009

The recent request by the National Park Service for comments on the proposed update to the National Register photography guidelines, which omits geotagging, raises the question of the way in which states handle digital photography.

North Carolina, for example, requires the use of digital photography:

North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office

Digital Photography for Historic Property Surveys and National Register Nominations: A Guide for HPO Staff, Survey Consultants, and Nomination Preparers

Policy and Guidelines–Revised November 2008

The State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) requires the use of digital photography for all grant-funded survey and National Register nomination projects. While the HPO prefers and encourages the use of digital photography for all survey and National Register projects, regardless of the funding source, the HPO will continue to accept, process, and print traditional black and white film as long as we are able to equip and maintain a darkroom. We will also continue to accept color slides for presentations (which we will scan), though we no longer process slide film in-house.

Read the entire policy.

State Historic Preservation Offices

Posted in Collaboration tools and case studies, Heritage Health Index, National Register of Historic Places | Tagged digital photography, National Park Service, North Carolina, photography guidelines, SHPO, state historic preservation office | 1 Comment

Correcting Heritage Health Index problems in state IMLS Connecting to Collections grant studies

By Lee Wright | Published: March 10, 2009

The Heritage Health Index, published in 2005, was a major effort to assess the state of the collections in institutions across the country. The recent state-level IMLS Connecting to Collections grants are based on this work.

With the recipients just announced and planning getting underway, this is the time to ensure that these state-level efforts don’t repeat one of the major problems with the Heritage Health Index: Significantly under-representing small historical societies, often the sole local history archive for their communities.

The Heritage Health Index (HHI) was created and developed by Heritage Preservation, a national non-profit organization, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency. They in turn drew on 35 associations and federal agencies that cover collecting institutions.

The study (below) included this breakdown for historical societies:

Size classification for historical societies based on their annual budget

Large: $1.5 million and above
Medium: $1.5 million to $500,000
Small: Less than $500,000

Although “small” institutions made up 74% of the entire study population, my research on historical societies in New England shows that very, very few institutions have budgets of even one tenth of the lowest threshold. As a result, the vast majority of local historical societies were grouped with institutions ten times their size in the “small” category.

The studies that are getting underway at the state level should include state-specific size categories that capture the very small, and usually all-volunteer, historical societies by using a much lower threshold for “small” institutions.

This is critical in order to accurately assess the state of the collections and collection management at these institutions, which often hold the entire historical archive for their village or town.

This can be challenging in even the most basic way: Identifying the institutions. In Massachusetts, for example, there is no authoritative comprehensive list, and securing a timely response from an all-volunteer organization is also challenging.

This is underscored by the HHI study, which was distributed to more than 14,500 archives, libraries, historical societies, museums, archeological repositories, and scientific research collections in every state and territory. Overall the response rate was 24%; the response rate for the 500 largest institutions was 90%.

The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Reports Periodicals & Report museum archives

Posted in Heritage Health Index, IMLS | Tagged Connecting to Collections, grants, HHI, historical societies, IMLS | 2 Comments

Wyoming institutions collaborate online for successful IMLS grant

By Lee Wright | Published: March 9, 2009

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is the lead institution.

The libraries and museums in Wyoming used a free blog to coordinate their successful efforts to secure an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Connec ting to Collections Grant. They posted drafts, made revisions, and ultimately r eport the news that they were awarded a $39,943 grant online out in the open for all to read and comment. And it was all done using one of the many simple, free tools that are widely available. It’s a great example of opening up the process, reducing costs, and speeding collaboration.

About this grant cycle:

Twenty-three states will receive $908,206 in federal funding, which will be matched with $621,073. The breakdown by institution type: Eight museums and museum associations, five state libraries, two historical societies, five state agencies that oversee museums and libraries, and three universities and service organizations. The full list is below; Wyoming’s is listed at the bottom.

Recipients of 2009 IMLS Connecting to Collections Grants

Announced on February 19, 2009

Alabama

Alabama Historical Commission – Montgomery, AL
Award Amount: $39,611

Contact: Ms. Clyde Eller
Chief Curator
(334)230-2668; clyde.eller {at} preserveala(.)org

Project Title: “Building an Alabama Alliance for Collections Care”
The Alabama Historical Commission, in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the Alabama Museums Association, the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries, and the Society of Alabama Archivists, use its grant to build an effective alliance among stakeholders who share a common interest in preserving and conserving both two-dimensional and three-dimensional artifacts. The partners will expand a directory of 1,186 archives, libraries, museums, and other collecting organizations; conduct a survey of Alabama collections-holding organizations and disseminate these results; develop a statewide collections plan in a series of focus group sessions and meetings; conduct training in emergency preparedness; and create a plan to raise public awareness and marshal public-private support for collections care, addressing two recommendations of the Heritage Health Index.

Arkansas

Amigos Library Services – Dallas, TX
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Gina Minks
Imaging and Preservation Service Manager
(972)340-2825; minks {at} amigos(.)org

Project Title: “Preserve Arkansas Heritage Project: An IMLS Connecting to Collections Planning Grant”
The Arkansas State Library, the Arkansas History Commission, and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism will work with Amigos Library Services to conduct 25 one-day site surveys of collections-holding organizations throughout the state and five regional preservation workshops to provide training to staff of museums, libraries, and archives. This initiative will provide a basic understanding of the condition of the physical collections throughout the state while providing basic preservation training.

Colorado

Colorado Wyoming Association of Museums – Golden, CO
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Laura Douglas
Principal
(303)594-7767; educationalacarte {at} yahoo(.)com

Project Title: “Colorado Consortium State Planning Grant: statewide surveys and dissemination of results”
The Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums, in partnership with the Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists; the Colorado State Library; the State Historical Society of Colorado; and the Bibliographical Center for Research, Rocky Mountain Region, will conduct a statewide electronic survey and two-hour on-site surveys that build on the findings of the Heritage Health Index. Sessions will be held at professional conferences to disseminate the survey results and offer basic emergency preparedness. Additionally, a workshop will be offered in multiple regions of the state to address the most urgent of collections care/preservation needs as identified by the surveys.

Guam

University of Guam – Mangilao, GU
Award Amount: $38,484

Contact: Mrs. Monique Storie
Archive Librarian
(671)735-2150; mstorie {at} guam.uog(.)edu

Project Title: “Connecting to Collection: Guam Statewide Planning Grant Application”
The University of Guam will partner with the Guam Public Library, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library, and Guam Community College to create a comprehensive profile of the island’s collecting institutions to develop programs for professional development and guide collection care from routine maintenance to large-scale preservation projects. Findings from this project will strengthen institutional ability to prioritize and undertake preservation and conservation activities.

Illinois

Illinois State Museum Society – Springfield, IL
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Dr. Bonnie Styles
Director
(217)782-7011; director {at} museum.state.il(.)us

Project Title: “Development of the Illinois Collections Preservation Plan and Network”
The Illinois State Museum Society will partner with eleven diverse organizations to establish the Illinois Collections Preservation Plan and Network. The partnership will hold a series of meetings across the state and accessible by teleconference to consider critical preservation topics with government organizations, large public and private institutions, and small and mid-sized collections-holding organizations. The meetings will focus on four themes: providing tools and assessing needs for improving conditions and collections care; disaster training and cooperative response; building public preservation awareness through training and programming; and integrating existing preservation grants for statewide benefit. The project partners will establish the statewide plan and network to carry out the recommendations of The Heritage Health Index.

Iowa

Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium – Iowa City, IA
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Nancy Kraft
Head, Preservation Department
3193355286; nancy-e-kraft {at} uiowa(.)edu

Project Title: “Developing a Statewide Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan for Iowa”
The Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, the Iowa Museum Association, and the State Library of Iowa, will develop a formal, coordinated emergency response plan at the local and state level. The project activities include surveying institutional preparedness and knowledge of resources, geo-referencing location of cultural repositories, raising awareness of the need for disaster response plans, developing a strategy for establishing “first responders,” and developing a simple, broadly applicable disaster response planning tool.

Kansas

State Library of Kansas – Topeka, KS
Award Amount: $34,983

Contact: Cynthia Roupe
Director of Public Services
(785)296-5437; cindyr {at} kslib(.)info

Project Title: “Sustaining Kansans’ Commitment to Collections by a Focus on Emergency Planning”
The State Library of Kansas, along with seven partner organizations, will establish an online statewide resource guide for library and museum emergency planning. The project director and a consultant will work with the planning board to develop the resource guide and obtain feedback through a series of regional workshops led by preservation experts and a professional moderator. Follow-up review sessions by the consultant and planning board will refine and update the resource guide, establish a permanent Collections Emergency Coordinating Council for its maintenance, and produce a report with recommendations for future collections care activities.

Kentucky

Kentucky Historical Society Foundation – Frankfort, KY
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Christopher Goodlett
Community Services Coordinator
(502)564-1792; chris.goodlett {at} ky(.)gov

Project Title: “Kentucky’s Cultural Heritage: A Statewide Plan for Collections Assessment and Care”
The Kentucky Historical Society will partner with the Historical Confederation of Kentucky and the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives to assess the collections care needs of the commonwealth and develop a plan to provide training, support, and capacity to ensure the ongoing preservation of the state’s heritage. The partnership will develop a needs survey for collecting institutions in Kentucky; develop and implement a pilot project with three to five collecting institutions for a statewide collections management plan; and conduct a series of disaster planning and preparedness workshops that will provide instructions and guidelines for writing a disaster plan and inform a process to develop a statewide disaster response team.

Maine

Executive Office of the State of Maine – Augusta, ME
Award Amount: $39,485

Contact: Dr. Paula Work
Registrar
(207)287-8109; paula.work {at} maine(.)gov

Project Title: “Preserving Maine’s Cultural Heritage: A Statewide Initiative”
The Maine State Museum, in partnership with the Maine State Archives, Maine Historical Society, Maine Humanities Council, Maine Archives and Museums, L.C. Bates Museum, Bangor Public Library, and University of Southern Maine, will create a statewide consortium to raise public awareness about collections care and marshal public and private support for these collections. The consortium will compile, organize, and analyze existing collections-based information across the state; create associated databases to assist in comparing the information; conduct a feasibility assessment of existing organizations; and create a values assessment ranking system to assist organizations with prioritizing the collections needs across the state.

Maryland

Maryland Department of Planning – Crownsville, MD
Award Amount: $35,830

Contact: Nichole Doub
Head Conservator – MAC Lab
(410)586-8577; ndoub {at} mdp.state.md(.)us

Project Title: “Maryland Connecting to Collections Project”
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, along with 11 partner organizations, will assist in improving the disaster plans for museum, archival, art, historical society, and library communities across the state of Maryland. The partners will identify the hazards and collections care challenges that face Maryland institutions and will develop a set of tools for disaster response including a modified version of an established online disaster-planning template, augmented to incorporate salvage steps for object-based collections, and a pocket response guide containing a state-wide list of disaster recovery and rehabilitation resources in conjunction with planning and response checklists. These steps will provide support to cultural institutions across the state and build relationships between cultural heritage and emergency management communities that are necessary and invaluable when disaster strikes.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners – Boston, MA
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Mr. Gregor Trinkaus-Randall
Preservation Specialist
(617)725-1860×236; gregor.trinkaus-randall {at} state.ma(.)us

Project Title: “Developing and Expanded and Enhanced Statewide Preservation Program for Massachusetts’ Cultural Heritage”
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, along with its seven partners, will use its grant to hire a consultant to develop, administer, and analyze a survey directed at the cultural heritage institutions in the state. The results of this new survey will be compared with data from a 1989 preservation needs assessment survey and the Heritage Health Index to determine progress that has been made in addressing previously noted needs and to identify new areas of concern for future action. This intensive survey will allow Massachusetts to prioritize and develop a plan of action to address current preservation needs across the state.

New Hampshire

State of New Hampshire – Concord, NH
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Janet Eklund
Administrator of Library Operations
(603)271-2393; janet.eklund {at} dcr.nh(.)gov

Project Title: “New Hampshire Connecting to Collections: From Awareness to Funding”
The New Hampshire State Library will partner with the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources, the New Hampshire Department of Secretary of State, the Historic Preservation Office, and the New Hampshire Historical Society to survey the state’s unique collections housed in over 500 libraries, museums, and archives. A steering committee comprised of members from major public, private, and academic collecting institutions in New Hampshire will guide the survey process and the development of an online database that will serve as a portal to the state’s cultural resources, emphasizing the need for protection of imperiled and hidden collections.

New Mexico

Museum of New Mexico Foundation – Santa Fe, NM
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Mr. Mark MacKenzie
Director of Conservation/Chief Conservator
(505)476-1236; mark.mackenzie {at} state.nm(.)us

Project Title: “Creating a Collections Care Plan for New Mexico”
The Museum of New Mexico Foundation, along with six partner organizations will survey institutions with collections holdings; compile and report on collections care statewide for libraries, archives, and museums; and hold one-day collection care workshops at six museum locations throughout the state. Capturing this information through a comprehensive survey is essential for producing a baseline, statewide needs assessment report that will ultimately address the recommendations made by the Heritage Health Index.

North Carolina

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources – Raleigh, NC
Award Amount: $39,963

Contact: Ms. Andrea Gabriel
NC ECHO Project Manager
(919)807-7414; andrea.gabriel {at} ncmail(.)net

Project Title: “North Carolina Connecting to Collections”
The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources will partner with the North Carolina Museums Council, the North Carolina Preservation Consortium, and the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies to identify, coordinate, and assess collections preservation and disaster preparedness activities in the state’s cultural heritage community. This project will facilitate lasting partnerships among individual entities and professional associations and build relationships with community representatives and political supporters to plan for sustainable, long-term success in these activities.

North Dakota

Museums in North Dakota – Bismarck, ND
Award Amount: $39,997

Contact: Mr. Mark Ryan
Vice President Collections and Registration
(701)232-3821×104; mryan {at} plainsart(.)org

Project Title: “North Dakota Cultural Heritage Initiative”
Museums in North Dakota will partner with eight organizations to host eight regional assessment meetings to determine how each museum, library, and archive throughout the state deals with the four primary Heritage Health Index recommendations. At each gathering, trained facilitators will identify the types and conditions of collections in order to prioritize action steps and provide a variety of collections-based resources and reference materials to attendees. The findings will be compiled in a database and shared statewide to highlight what assistance will be of most value to cultural organizations in the state.

Ohio

State Library of Ohio – Columbus, OH
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Missy Lodge
Head, Library Programs and Development
(614)644-6914; mlodge {at} sloma.state.oh(.)us

Project Title: “Ohio Heritage Partnership: A Statewide Initative”
The State Library of Ohio, partnering with the Ohio Historical Society, will conduct a needs assessment of Ohio cultural heritage institutions. The steering committee will collect data that is representative of all of the state’s cultural heritage organizations, compiling a directory of contact and institutional information and a report detailing the findings of the needs assessment. A summit entitled State of the Historical Record in Ohio will be held, followed by a series of regional meetings that will form the basis of the Ohio Cultural Heritage Strategic Plan.

Oregon

Oregon Museums Association – Portland, OR
Award Amount: $39,923

Contact: Mr. Kyle Jansson
President
(503)986-0673; kylej53 {at} minetfiber(.)com

Project Title: “The Oregon Preservation Assessment and Education Planning Project”
The Oregon Museums Association will partner with seven organizations to identify the preservation needs of the state’s libraries, museums, and archives. After conducting a survey, evaluating the information, and staging regional forums, leaders of the state’s cultural organizations will collaboratively create a statewide preservation plan addressing the recommendations of the Heritage Health Index. This plan will address the need for more workers trained in collections care and emergency preparedness, outline steps to improve the quality of collections care throughout the state, and raise awareness of and generate support for the preservation needs of the state’s cultural collections among the public and decision makers.

South Carolina

Clemson University – Clemson, SC
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Emily Gore
Head of Digital Initiatives, Assistant Librarian
(864)656-3622; egore {at} clemson(.)edu

Project Title: “Building South Carolina’s Heritage Health Index”
Clemson University Libraries in collaboration with partners across the state, including the South Carolina State Library,; the South Carolina Department of Archives and History; the Confederation of South Carolina Local Historical Societies; and the Palmetto Archives, Libraries, Museums Council on Preservation, will identify and perform onsite surveys of cultural heritage organizations based on the Heritage Health Index. This information will be used to create a database of all South Carolina repositories with corresponding photographs of the institution, publish a directory of institutions and collection strengths based on this database and establish an informed baseline from which to develop improved condition of collections, develop viable emergency plans, improve staff training, and build stronger partnerships between identified cultural heritage agencies.

South Dakota

South Dakota Heritage Fund – Pierre, SD
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Helen Louise
Museum Director
(605)773-3798; helen.louise {at} state.sd(.)us

Project Title: “South Dakota Connects to Collections Project”
The South Dakota Heritage Fund, along with the Association of South Dakota Museums, will use grant funds to do a comprehensive assessment survey of the historical collections within South Dakota. The project will develop an overall picture of the state’s collections, set up a method for sharing expertise and resources to care for them, and plan for emergency and disaster training. Collections data from on-site and electronic surveys would be compiled into a database for future reference and planning.

Utah

University of Utah – Salt Lake City, UT
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Mr. Randy Silverman
Preservation Librarian
(801)585-6782; randy.silverman {at} utah(.)edu

Project Title: “Utah Connecting to Collections”
The University of Utah’s Marriott Library will oversee a project designed to responsibly improve the long-term care of Utah’s material culture. Coordinated with six partners among Utah’s community of libraries, archives, and museums, the project will develop and implement the state’s first formal preservation assessment. In keeping with the findings of the Heritage Health Index, the results from this survey will be disseminated through four preservation forums held in strategic geographic locations. These forums will present an opportunity to improve preservation education opportunities statewide, and will help in the development of plans to improve preservation funding.

Virgin Islands

Planning and Natural Resources – Charlotte Amalie, VI
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Ingrid Bough
Territorial Director of Libraries, Archives & Museums
(340)773-5715; ingrid.bough {at} dpnr.gov(.)vi

Project Title: “Strategic Plan for Preservation of Virgin Islands Collections”
The Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums of the Government of the Virgin Islands, with the assistance of its fourteen grant partners, professional consultants, and advisors, will form and direct a team of collections caregivers and custodians to conduct conservation surveys, perform needs assessment evaluations, and promote best practices for conservation and preservation. Survey and analysis results will provide the scaffolding for action plans and a professional approach to collections care management, and information will be shared throughout the territory in order to educate and raise awareness.

Virginia

Virginia Association of Museums – Richmond, VA
Award Amount: $39,987

Contact: Ms. Margo Carlock
Executive Director
(804)788-5821; mcarlock {at} vamuseums(.)org

Project Title: “Statewide Planning Proposal for Virginia”
The Virginia Association of Museums, along with the Library of Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic Archives Conference, the Virginia Conservation Association, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, will undertake an assessment exercise for small museums, present a two-day intensive training experience in collections care for staff of small organizations, extend local emergency support groups throughout Virginia, develop easy disaster plan templates for museums of different sizes and capabilities to be used in a series of workshops, and develop a comprehensive strategy to raise public awareness with internal and external audiences of the importance of collections care issues.

Wyoming

Buffalo Bill Memorial Association – Cody, WY
Award Amount: $39,943

Contact: Ms. Beverly Perkins
Conservator
(307)578-4029; beverlyp {at} bbhc(.)org

Project Title: “Connecting to Collections Statewide Planning Grant”
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center and five partners will identify and address the most pressing preservation needs for Wyoming’s cultural institutions. This process will include identifying the state’s collecting institutions and assessing their stewardship concerns; holding regional conferences for networking, collections care training, and disaster response; developing and maintaining a statewide database of all collecting institutions; and organizing workshops that address Heritage Health Index concerns. The partners are Colorado-Wyoming Museum Association, Wyoming State Library, Sheridan County Historical Society Museum, Western Wyoming Community College, and Nicolaysen Art Museum.

Posted in Collaboration tools and case studies, IMLS | Tagged collaboration, Connecting to Collections, grants, IMLS, Wyoming | 3 Comments

Proposed National Register photo requirements omit geotagging

By Lee Wright | Published: March 8, 2009

The comment period for the new photo requirements for National Register submissions ends March 18. Despite the fact that these requirements will likely be in place for the next several years, the draft from the National Park Service does not require that photos be geotagged.

The omission was intentional, but here’s our chance to rectify this in the final proposal.

Read the draft and send comments on the National Register site.

More resources:

The current photo policy (March 2005).
Geotagging explained on Wikipedia.
How to from Wired’s Gadget Lab.
Geotagged photos from around the world on Panoramio, including those for Washington, D.C.
A $70 solution that works with any digital camera. Note that I’ve not used this product, but for $70, it’s a small price to pay in order to have every photo geotagged.

Posted in National Register of Historic Places | Tagged geotag, National Register of Historic Places, photo | 2 Comments

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