Telephone = Twitter???

Interesting blog post HERE from Brad Rourke, recounting some main ideas from his recent read of, "America Calling: A Social History of the Telephone to 1940." Although the book was published in the early 90s - before we knew much beyond bag phones - Rourke moves past the obvious comparisons to cell phones and onto seeing social media as the new telephone. Closing the post, Rourke suggests that things we now view as utilities (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) will eventually become second nature, and people will engage as regularly as they answer their cell phone.

My question: Aren't we already there? How many people check their Facebook page daily? Hourly? Or more often. Some would say we're already moving on to the next generation of these "new" social media tools. I mean, when does something like Twitter go from being cool and new to dated and boring? When everyone hops on the bandwagon, does a social media platform become obsolete -- or is it still a great way to deliver information quickly and connect to new audiences? Where is the tipping point.

Taking Deaccessioning Public

Through some exchanges on the RC listserv a few weeks ago, some registrars submitted blogs and websites from museums and museum employees across the country that are trying new tactics to make their collections more accessible to the public. Many are making their registration processes more transparent by describing what they do: how they pack & store collections, prepare an object for transport, or diagnose pest management problems. The idea is that visitors -- maybe not all, but some -- are genuinely interested in the nuts and bolts of collections management. And registrars are getting better at sharing their vast knowledge, as social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs spread like wildfire.

Now, one example of this transparency caught my eye -- the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This museum began a systematic review of their holdings in 2007 and has since moved forward with the laborious process of deaccessioning items. Although the museum is required to publicize proposed deaccessions in the newspaper (according to state law), IMA has taken this a step further and created a portion on their homepage dedicated to this process. The site provides the basics of this process & a searchable database of items proposed for deaccession, as well as those that have already been transfered (and fills you in on "where they are now").

My questions start with this: Is this the kind of transparency that more institutions need to adopt? And beyond that, is this an engagement technique which builds greater relationships with the public -- do visitors feel more connected through the exposure of this process? What kind of response has the museum had to this initiative? I'm curious -- so i'm looking to read more about this - but would love to know what others think....

Lecture on the Multi-Platform Museum

In case you missed it, Nina Simon's talk -- "Everyone's Smithsonian: The Multi-Platform Museum" happened yesterday afternoon and it was brilliant! Great food for thought. The speaker discussed audience needs & how museums (in this case, Smithsonian) can work to meet those needs. The beauty of the talk was that her suggestions could be applied to all kinds of cultural institutions & she gave great examples of museums across the county (and across the pond) who are engaged in new kinds of outreach work in social media.

So, just click here to see the archived webcast -- or here, to click through the slides from the presentation.

Blogging with the "Technical Tourist"

Dr. Allison Marsh, the newly-hired Museums Studies professor in the Public History Program at USC is on the road this summer and blogging about her adventures. Her journey will take her through Canada, along the Alaska pipeline, and back to the east coast -- visiting cool sites along the way.

Her posts are entertaining - and will show you places i'm sure you've never heard of - so be sure and check it out here. So far she has journeyed from Richmond, VA through West Virginia and is making her way through Canada.

New Ways to Engage

Is culture getting cooler? It seems that museums are always searching for new ways to engage new audiences, keep regular visitors coming back for more, and more generally, finding means for the institution to stay fresh and cutting edge. I just came across an article and an opportunity I thought I would share...

First, this article, which profiles institutions across the country (and beyond) who are introducing innovative programming to shake their stuffy, "ivory tower" reputations. I think some of these offerings sound great - but I'm always trying to think of ways for history museums and related organizations to adapt this strategy...surely innovative programs don't just spring from art museums, right? If you know about/have experienced cool programs going on in Columbia or beyond, post a comment below!

Second, an opportunity! Nina Simon, a museum consultant who specializes in visitor engagement (and is always giving great talks & posting great blog entries) is doing a presentation for Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History on May 18th called "The Multi-Platform Museum." You can watch this presentation online here @ 3PM on the 18th. To read more about the talk (to find out what you're in for) check out her blog Museum 2.0

Post by Jan Levinson, Public History Alum '08

Project 5: What's in the Box?

Project #5: Inventory at HCF

April 30, 2009
10AM - 3PM

On April 30th volunteers returned to Historic Columbia Foundation for their second project with the organization, and under the supervision of Collections Manager Alexis Thompson. From mid-morning to late afternoon the Collections Volunteer Group inventoried boxes from the Woodrow Wilson House that were moved recently into the Hampton-Preston Mansion of HCF. Members in attendance: Halie Brazier, Nate Johnson, Amanda Roddy,
and Sarah Scripps.

Alexis began by showing us some of the storage areas, where we discussed some issues that historic houses deal with, as well as some innovative measures HCF has taken. She showed us the new period room they are developing, wherein they will recreate a girl's dormitory from Chicora College which was housed in the mansion. Afterwards, we dove into the boxes, which contained lace table runners, women's clothing, purses, even natural history specimens (???) among other things. To assist in our inventory, Alexis demonstrated the PastPerfect (collections management) database for Nate and Sarah, who had never used it before. Using the computer and our paper materials, we worked in pairs to inventory the objects and make note of their condition. After a pizza lunch provided by Alexis, we finished up our inventory around 3pm. Thank you to all who were involved!

I want to echo Jan's congrats in the last post -- we have two new student coordinators for the '09-'10 school year and they have some great ideas for this group! Amanda Roddy and Sarah Scripps, both Public History/Museum Studies students -- I wish you the best of luck!

For more images from this project, click here

Post by Halie Nowell, 08-09 Student Project Coordinator

New Leadership for CVG

After a year of dutiful service as Student Project Coordinator, Halie Brazier will be graduating this summer and moving on to the greener pastures of professional life! Thanks to Halie for all of her hard work this past year, putting together great projects and bringing volunteer opportunities to a new class of students at USC.

I'm pleased to announce that in the Fall of 2009 CVG will have not one, but two brand new Student Coordinators: Amanda Roddy and Sarah Scripps. Under their leadership, this group will move into its 3rd year of service to Columbia area museums -- and who knows what new directions they might pursue. Congrats to Amanda & Sarah for taking on this challenge!

In other news, a recap of the group's most recent project (at Historic Columbia Foundation) is coming shortly... so stay tuned for that and other updates on projects for this coming Fall semester. If you have questions or comments about the group please email ilikeeurope@hotmail.com or jllevinson@gmail.com.