Social Media and Museums

This is waaaaaaayyyyy cool! Check out what 41 different museums are doing with social media (much of which is still free and/or inexpensive) here. I think it is empowering to see these museums using these devices in such novel and creative ways and really find a way to connect with their audiences.

Enjoy!

Quick Survey

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming is conducting research for an IMLS Connecting to Collections planning grant.  For part of their research, they are investigating the biggest collections care needs for small, local museums and libraries.  If you have a moment, please email answers to their quick survey below to Laura Fry at lauraf@bbhc.org. Thank you! 

 

 

Connecting to Collections Survey

 

With regards to collections care, which of the following does your museum or library need the most?

 

1. Collections storage funding

2. Disaster planning and networking

3. Digitization of collections

4. Cataloguing collections

5. Education for board members

6. Education for museum staff

7. Other __________________

 

Please send your response to: lauraf@bbhc.org

 

      

This survey is conducted as part of an IMLS Connecting to Collections Planning Grant at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody , Wyoming .  If you have any questions, please contact Laura Fry at lauraf@bbhc.org, or Beverly Perkins at beverlyp@bbhc.org.

 

The Historian's Code

On H-Net (the Public History listserv), this Historian's Code was posted courtesy of historian Glenn Williams of the National Museum of the U.S. Army, and I thought it was useful to all of us who are involved in history in any such way. The code was written by Dr. Richard Stewart. May it guide you and inspire you.

A Historian's Code (1)

1.     I will footnote (or endnote) all my sources (none of this MLA or social science parenthetical business).

2.      If I do not reference my sources accurately, I will surely perish in the fires of various real or metaphorical infernal regions and I will completely deserve it.  I have been warned.

3.      I will respect the hard-won historical gains of those historians in whose steps I walk and will share such knowledge as is mine with all other historians (as they doubtless will cheerfully share it with me).

4.      I will not be ashamed to say "I do not know" or to change my narrative of historical events when new sources point to my errors.

5.      I will never leave a fallen book behind.

6.      I will acknowledge that history is created by people and not by impersonal cosmic forces or "isms."  An "ism" by itself never harmed or helped anyone without human agency.

7.      I am not a sociologist, political scientist, international relations-ist, or any other such "ist."  I am a historian and deal in facts, not models.

8.      I know I have a special responsibility to the truth and will seek, as fully as I can, to be thorough, objective, careful, and balanced in my judgments, relying on primary source documents whenever possible.

9.      Life may be short, but history is forever.  I am a servant of forever.

(1)     Stewart, Richard, Ph.D., "Historians and a Historian's Code," ARMY HISTORY, No. 77 (Fall 2010), p. 46.

Small Museum of the Month: Virginia Center for Architecture

  

Museum Information
The Virginia Center for Architecture
2501 Monument Avenue
Richmond, VA 23220

(804) 644-3041
www.virginiaarchitecture.org
 

Hours of Operation
Tuesday–Friday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday 1–5 p.m.

The VCA is a great small museum:

As home to exhibitions, discussion forums, student programs, and a museum shop, the Virginia Center for Architecture provides an important cultural resource

 

The Center’s comprehensive exhibition program exposes the community to the importance and power of architecture, landscape architecture, and other aspects of design in our lives. Visitors discover how, of all the arts, architecture is the most public, most visible, and thus, the most defining — and how it shapes our communities and, in doing so, helps shape our citizens. 

   

The Center — located in the historic Branch House, a home with equal stature to Monticello, Mount Vernon, and the James River plantations — offers exhibitions and programs to engage visitors in considering the built environment that surrounds them. By presenting the best architecture of all eras, including promising designs for tomorrow, the Center for Architecture nurtures a society that distinguishes architecture from mere building and understands the value of well-designed places.

Want to be a Small Museum of the Month? Learn more here!

Photo of Museum of the Month will be added to the front page of the SMA website shortly. All photos courtesy of the Virginia Center for Architecture. 

Employment Opportunity with the El Paso Museum of Art

Site Name and Address: City of El Paso, 2 Civic Center Plaza 3rd Floor, El Paso, TX  79901
Position Title: Art Museum Senior Curator
Educational Requirements:  Candidate must have a Master’s degree in Art History or Museum Studies.  
Experience Required:  Six (6) years of museum exhibit staff supervision, exhibition development, design, and curatorial experience.
Position Description:  The City of El Paso seeks a highly motivated and experienced leader to serve as Art Museum Senior Curator at The El Paso Museum of Art.  The ideal candidate under direction, plans and directs the activities of a special curatorial department of the museum; plans, assigns and supervises the activities of subordinate personnel engaged in assisting with such work; and is responsible for the administration of the registration, art storage and general planning function of the curatorial department.
Other pertinent information:  Please visit our website at www.elpasotexas.gov to see complete job description
Application Requirements (resume, cover letter, salary requirements, writing sample?): Please visit our website at www.elpasotexas.gov to apply online.
Contact Name: Nuria Valdez       
Title:  Senior Human Resources Analyst
Where to send application packet (e-mail address, street address, fax?): n/a
Is there a closing date? When should this listing be deleted from the site?  10/25/10

Interview with Small Museum of the Month: Dumbarton House

Dumbarton House

Earlier this month, we announced our August Museum of the Month, Dumbarton House. SMA recently conducted an interview with their director, Karen Daly. Check out what Karen had to say! (All photos courtesy of Dumbarton House/The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America.)

SMA: What is your name and position at the museum?

DH: Karen L. Daly, Executive Director 

SMA: What is the most surprising/interesting thing in your collection?

George Washington Beaker

DH: We have a copy of the first printing of the Articles of Confederation, with marginal notes from James Nourse—the father of our early resident Joseph Nourse, and a leader in colonial Virginia. We also have a silver beaker, or camp cup, used by George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Both are very exciting links to our nation’s founding over 200 years ago. 

SMA: What do you hope people take away with them after visiting your museum?

DH: I hope they leave with a better sense of the effort and determination of early Americans—the idea that our nation was a great experiment, and the building of our national capital here in Washington and our national identity overall took many years and countless patriotic Americans to make a lasting reality. 

Articles of Confederation

SMA: What are some of the programs/exhibitions/services you offer at your museum?

DH: We offer a regular calendar of temporary exhibitions, school & Scout programs, and public programs for the community.  This fall, for example, we’re hosting monthly walking tours of our historic Georgetown neighborhood, Jazz in the Garden during extended evening museum hours, theatrical performances, and Cotillion Classes for pre-teens. 

SMA: Are there any fun stories about your museum?

DH: Absolutely!  On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, Dumbarton House served as first point of refuge for First Lady Dolley Madison as she fled the threatened White House.  When she received word from the President about where to meet in Virginia later that day, she travelled on and escaped to safety across the Potomac.  The British only hours later would arrive in Washington, setting fire to the Capitol and then the President’s House. 

SMA: Besides your own, what is your favorite small museum and where is it located?

DH: I love Riversdale in Maryland.  Home of the Mistress of Riversdale, Rosalie Stier Calvert, the historic site has lovely grounds including a working kitchen and period-appropriate gardens. Their interior has undergone exciting restoration efforts in recent years and staff are always hosting new and interesting public programs.  To me, the site reflects exactly what is best about small museums—a real connection to the local community and a personal feel to tours and programs. 

SMA: What do you think small museums can do to become better and/or stronger?

DH: I think working with each other and collaborating is the key to our future success.  We can accomplish far more as a group than any one institution can accomplish on its own, and SMA is a great organization working to foster that kind of camaraderie.

Want to be a Small Museum of the Month? Learn more here!

SMA at AASLH

Two SMAers rock out at AASLH's event at the Oklahoma History Center. Is that former board member Kristen Harbeson singing and last year's plenary speaker Kate Marks with the white guitar? Why, yes... Yes, it is!

So, how was the conference itself? SMA Board Member, John H. Verrill, gives a great report, highlighting sessions of particular relevance to small museums. Take it away, John!

"The annual meeting of the American Association for State & Local History was held in Oklahoma City last week. The meeting was really very well organized for the 900+ museum staffers that attended. Because it was held in the West a special series of programming was offered for Native American museums. The keynote speaker was NPR's own Susan Stamburg who spoke of her long association with and appreciation of museums and the work they do. Gerard Baker, a Mandan-Hidatsa indian from North Dakota also made a keynote address. As the recently retired superintendent of the Mount Rushmore National Park, he spoke of his long association with the Park Service and his fight to include Native voices in the interpretation of our National Parks. Mr. Baker's talk was the highlight of the "Tribal Track" presentations.

"All of the sessions that I attended were well organized and offered good information. I helped facilitate a session on "which history, whose history" which offered participants an opportunity to discuss what truths their visitors would like to know and whether they are the same as those that we offer in our interpretations. It was a lively and thoughtful discussion that helped participants think about what is important to their visitors. Following this same theme I attended a strategic planning session for small museums which uses survey and other forms of communication with audiences to help formulate the vision of the museum. And then attended a session on money vs mission which discussed staying true to one's mission while developing new sources of funding.

"A session called "small museums, big impact" talked about using social media, school programming and high quality public programming to increase the exposure and to improve the community support for small museums. The General Tommy Franks Museum in Hobart, Oklahoma was used as an example as they have programming that extends far beyond the doors of their small town museum and have even built a travelling trailer that visits schools around the country to introduce school children to the concepts of leadership.

"I attended two other sessions that dealt with cyberspace, one talked about the use of cell phone technology to provide interpretive information to visitors via their cell phone and the other was on the usablity of web sites. Technology was talked about quite a bit among the participants and it is generally accepted that a web site is or should be a priority for all museums as the first line of introduction to one's mission.

"As a graduate of the Seminar for Historical Administration, I attended a reception for graduates and those interested in participating in this 3 week intensive museum training program sponsored by AASLH, AAM, the National Park Service and others which is held at the Indiana Historical Society each fall. It's new director, John Durel, was introduced and it was a great time for graduates to enthusiatically inform those interested in the program all of the merits of this "museum boot camp."

"I have worked on the AASLH Mentor Committee for the last year, the program had faded away and our committee sought to revive the program which is so helpful, especially for those new to the field who need a "leg up." The program was reintroduced at the meeting and information about it is available on the AASLH website (www.aaslh.org).

"There were programs to fit every need, but as you can see I tended to seek out those programs most important to small museums. I was impressed by their content and the fact that the presenters were small museum workers who are in the trenches every day producing quality programming  and great interpretation with small staffs of both paid and unpaid workers. Next year the annual conference will be held in Richmond, Virginia, I would recommend attending both for the quality of programming but also for the networking opportunities."

Any other SMAers at AASLH and want to share? Email us at conference@smallmuseum.org!