Flying Blind: Creating a Best Practices Model for Museum Mergers

Editor's Notes

• #3: Intros
• #4: LSW Identify what the canal zone is. Established in 1903, Stretching 5 miles on either side of the Canal, dismantled in 1979 Zonians = a self identifier for anyone who lived in the panama canal zone Sense of Americana in Panama Typical “American” suburb with everything one would expect to find in the U.S. Functioned like a military base. Has been called, by Zonians, “Greatest American Socialist Experiment” And the important thing to note is that it no longer exists
• #5: LSW: (10 min) Merger Background Functioned more as a historical society than an accredited museum Diasporic diaspora: America to PC Zone to America Sense of place– Museum as pilgrimage
• #6: LSW
• #7: LSW
• #8: LSW You can’t have a merger without a merger of collections. Librarians were relieved to have staff with a museum background to manage non-book materials such as coffee cups, molas, milk cartons, jewelry, pottery, etc. What is the best way to continue processing collections materials– using museum accession numbers or library identifiers? Item level records vs. Collection level records. UF Special Collections prefers collection-level, while PCMC maintains the item level records started by the PCM and is standard across museum institutions. Advantages of following each? Exigencies of speed/urgency Books vs other materials Staff classical training
• #9: LSW Role of EC is advisory, although the transition of power has been difficult for all in knowing roles and boundaries In a traditional “gift”, the objects are transferred to the library by a donor. The library then takes ownership of the materials and integrates them into the rest of the collections and manages them as we would any of our materials. In our “merger”, the objects were transferred to the library by a community of donors. And we agreed to take on a shared governance of the collection. We are responsible for day to day care of the collection, but the direction of the collection and larger decisions are intended to be brought to the Friends Executive Council, the collection’s auxiliary support group, for discussion and review.
• #10: JBM: (5 min) Loss, nostalgia (and supporting volunteer corps) This project has challenged traditional library conventions in a number of ways.
• #11: JBM Objects continue to come in to the library. Typically as unsolicited donations, or what museums would consider “abandoned property”, which museums have a detailed procedure for handling. Many also come in during the reunions and other community events. It speaks to the community’s continued feelings about the collection and their desire to contribute any and all information they have. The desire for Canal history to be documented is strong and evident as items are received almost weekly. And “specimen” bugs in resin that may not represent the history of the canal, but do reflect the mindset of the Zonians who collected them.
• #12: JBM How can we develop collection processing volunteer opportunities that respect the materials and meet the needs of stakeholders? When a museum and library merge, libraries must respond by creating a formalized volunteer program, similar to those typically found in museum institutions. While we use mainly student volunteers for collections processing, the Zonian community has been very vocal about wanting to be involved in the processing of the collection. The problem is that our students are ON campus and available to participate in training sessions, and commit to a regular schedule. This was dissatisfactory to the Zonians who felt such a strong ownership of the collection and wanted to be directly involved. So I had to find a way to involve them while still being a responsible steward of the collection.
• #13: JBM To accomplish this, I created a blog that allowed Zonians to contribute informal metadata in the comments section. Student volunteers then transfer this information, correctly formatted, into the library’s digital content management system. Zonians still miss the “aura” of the physical object and we are still brainstorming appropriate ways to increase their contact with their nostalgic collection. However, for now, this process has greatly increased their exposure to digitized materials from the collection, with a new object made available on the blog 5 days a week.
• #14: JBM How do you replicate place for people without a sense of place? PCS reunion and Centennial Celebration as opportunities to be with the collection as a pilgrimage and homecoming. The museum was a physical space for interacting with the collection, which is no longer readily available at the libraries. The response to these programs has been overwhelmingly positive, with Zonians asking, When are you doing this again? The problem is that we are not always able to put on such large programs that are specific to the collection. The centennial was a one-time event and the reunions may not be something we are able to do after the grant ends.
• #15: LSW: Although not unique Having an external “assessment” person (trusted messenger) and consultants (project management implications) Both groups claim Community of practices in libraries to plug into – participatory approach – trying several different methods. Also assessment as linked to documentation and as pressure release valve
• #16: LSW: (5 min) Diversity issues: how to match a research library with a diverse user base with the focused perspective of the community-based collection. Margarita quote about SAA Ethical obligation to find the missing voices vs museum practice seeks to capture but not necessarily fill in How to bring new communities to the collection while cultivating existing stakeholders? Multiple users of collection: scholars and community members...each might want different things prioritized in digitization. SAMAAP visits illustrate the role of libraries and museums in rejoining historically separated objects We can join objects but joining interpretations is more challenging and less intuitive
• #17: SKA (20 min) Facilitated audience discussion key topics. (Ask audience members to talk about their own needs and then report back; make visible list of key themes)
• #18: SKA (20 min) Facilitated audience discussion key topics. (Ask audience members to talk about their own needs and then report back; make visible list of key themes)