Museums are established to tell the life, history, art, culture, stories of people, places, or events. The only way for museums to thrive successfully is to have a great support from donors and the surrounding communities. It is a mission of museums to entertain, educate, and inform their patrons of cultures, individuals, and many stories that have been untold for a long time. It opens up a world for those young and old to understand and appreciate the arts and humanities. There is no other field I could think of that is so rewarding to go to work everyday. The stories and lives displayed in museum exhibits around the world are remarkable, but it is hard to find ones like those in small town museums.
It is crucial part of museums to have donors when they are wanting to give their items to be thorough with museum paperwork. This is a beneficial step to all collections. A museum has a mission for a reason to serve a goal and purpose to its patrons to provide exhibits and activities that fall into a specific time period, region, or category. Many museums including the ones I work with have Collections Committee that evaluate all donations. These committees discuss what has been brought in over the past few months, because usually these committees will meet monthly or bi-monthly. It varies depending the institution and their policies.
No one museum is the same and not all donations are appropriate for every museum. For example, the two museums in the area I work with are the Dobson Museum at Miami, OK and Miners Hall Museum in Franklin, KS. The Dobson Museum was established in 1972 after the passing of Miss Nellie Dobson in 1968. She left funds in her will to construct and maintain the museum. The original Ottawa County Historical Museum was opened in 1963 on the 2nd floor of the Dobson Building/Old McWilliams Opera House in Downtown Miami. After completion of the museum all collections were moved to the new museum, because many of the volunteers and patrons could not climb the stairs to get to the museum being on the 2nd floor. The mission of the museum to collect, preserve, and exhibit Ottawa County History. The museum only collects items that pertain to Ottawa County History, not other counties, states, or people who never lived in Ottawa County. The collections committee assesses the relevance of the artifacts and makes recommendations, which go before the board for final decisions. Some cases it may not be the only reason an item could not be accepted by a museum. A museum may not have the funds, space, or time to care for a particular artifact. Many museums are limited with storage and exhibit capacities. The Miners Hall Museum collects, preserves, and exhibits the coal mining history of Cherokee and Crawford Counties in Kansas. Their mission is to preserve a certain type of mining for a certain region. This museum opened in 2012 after being a dream for many which turned into a reality in the Spring of 2012. The museum was host to a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit in the Summer of 2013. The museum has grown so rapidly, that it is working on a fundraising campaign to construct a new addition on the west side of the existing building, which is the Franklin Community Center.
A great question to ask when being interested in donating to a museum is asking what the mission of the museum is and if they have a collections policy available. Some museums may not have a collections policy. Most collections policy are drafted by paid employees, but however some cases it occurs with volunteer collections committees. A greater understanding to know a scope of collections and the overall mission and vision allow you to find a suitable institution to place artifacts, documents, and images into a preserved collection.
Museum forms often used with processing of collections are: Deed of Gift, Loan Agreements, Background History, Inventory Form, or Condition Reports to name a few of the forms used within museums. A crucial part of operating a museum is to have appropriate paperwork for artifacts and collections within a museum. A Deed of Gift is used as it speaks for its self as a form filled by a donor to deed an artifact or group of artifacts to a museum, repository, or institution. The donor has responsibility when completing paperwork to be thorough by making sure all their contact information is correct and a detailed listing of what is being deeded or loaned, if they are completing a loan agreement. Background History form is used to gain as much information on the artifact, owner, and donor as possible. Did this item come from the donor's great-grandparents, an auction, garage sale, the attic, or did the donor actually build the artifact being contributed to the museum. The museum, repository, or institution is better able to care for and preserve the artifact if they know exactly what it is, where it came from, and any and all stories associated with the artifact. An inventory form or in some cases a catalog record form keeps a listing of where to locate an artifact when inside a museum, whether it be in exhibition or storage. A condition report is used in cases of traveling exhibits or damage to a collection based upon fire, natural disaster, etc. The condition report is filled out to give the status an artifact based on being destroyed or broken within a collection. There are certain cases where museums will loan exhibits to other museums if they are assembling a special exhibit. A condition report is to be completed upon, loading, unloading, exhibiting of the artifact from its home museum and the host museums.
There are rare cases where a museum will loan a collection to another for an extended period of time in most cases it would be between six to nine months. A museum does not exist without donors, but a museum would not be able to function if it did not provide accurate and efficient measures to preserve and collect with proper paperwork for the museum collections.
If you are interested in donating or have any questions about the Dobson Museum in Miami, OK or Miners Hall Museum in Franklin, KS, please contact me I would be glad to visit with you about these fine museum establishments in the Four States. Please visit their websites and keep updated on events by liking them on Facebook to follow the latest news.
Dobson Museum
110 A SW
Miami, OK 74354
(918)-542-5388
ochs@dobsonmuseum.com
www.dobsonmuseum.com
Hours: Wednesday-Friday-Sunday - 1-4 pm
Miners Hall Museum
701 S Broadway
Franklin, KS 66735
(620)-347-4220
minershallmuseum@gmail.com
www.minershallmuseum.com
Hours: Monday-Saturday - 10am-4pm
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Any questions about museums or anything about my blog feel free to contact me at jordan_boyd@live.com.
Showing posts with label Crawford County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crawford County. Show all posts
Friday, March 28, 2014
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Special Exhibits
Special Exhibits are another way museums can connect to their patrons. One example is recently a collection was put up at the Miners Hall Museum at Franklin, Kansas by a local JFK collector. Mr. Louis Nicoletti had been a collector of JFK memorabilia for many decades and was very excited to have his collection on display at Franklin right down the road from where he grew up in Arma, Kansas. Special Exhibits do not have to meet the mission always for a museum. The reason being they are usually loaned to a museum on a temporary basis. The Miners Hall Museum is a museum which works to preserve the rich mining history of Southeast Kansas. Mr. Nicoletti's family was involved in mining and he had a some items to donate to the mining section of the museum. It was a wonderful collection for the museum to display with the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy approaching on November 22, 2013. Mr. Louis Nicoletti was tragically taken from us on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 as the result of a traffic accident, but his legend will live on in Southeast Kansas. We are so very fortunate to have known Louie while he was here. Anyone wishing to see the collection of President John F. Kennedy will still be able to view it through the end of the year.
Items of Louis Nicoletti's on display at Miners Hall Museum.
A hat on display at Miners Hall Museum. It belonged to Louie's Father-in-law, Ted Skahan, who meet Kennedy at the Joplin Airport and handed him this hat in 1962.
Area residents have also contributed other items on display at the museum for the week of JFK celebration in late November to compliment Mr. Nicoletti's collection.
I know all of the board members and staff at the Miners Hall Museum are very blessed to have known Mr. Louis Nicoletti. He was truly an asset to our museum and leaves behind numerous family members and friends who loved him dearly. All thoughts and prayers go out to the Nicoletti family.
This blog post is in Memory of Louis Nicoletti (1923-2013).
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Maintaining Museum Galleries and Artifacts
There are numerous tasks, that go into maintaining a museum and the collections within it. The work is continuing with acquiring new collections, exhibiting collections, storing collections, and preserving collections. There are many questions to be asked when a museum acquires a new collection. Does this collection represent our mission? Do we have space and resources to properly care for this collection? Is it damaged? Is there more items to be collected, which could compliment or enhance this collection?
Most museums do have Collections Committee to oversee the incoming of artifacts and collections, which is where most of the initial questions are asked to see if this fits the museums mission and ability to care for the collection. It goes through a final process before it officially becomes property of the museum, which is being approved by the Board of Directors. Once a museum or institution owns a collection there are some areas of preservation that need to dealt with by the Preservation or Collections Care Committee.
These are some steps and processes that are dealt with by the Preservation/Collections Care Committee:
1) Condition of Collection Overall and piece by piece
2) Environmental Controls (Temperature/Lighting)
3) Proper Documentation and Paperwork of the Collection.
4) Storage Capacity
The items above just show a variety of items that have been donated in the past few months to the Miners Hall Museum in Franklin, Kansas.
The first step to take into account is the overall time spent if something needs restored or conditioned for a collection. I am not talking about physically changing the artifact, but making sure it is able to withstand and hold up for future exhibition/storage. Museums should not always have items on display either. It does more damage than good to the artifacts within a collection. There are also needs to be a rotation within a museum of how collections and exhibits move from storage to display. The patrons visiting the museums want to see new displays and most recent collections. Some artifacts deteriorate with constant exposure to light and air. It is preferable to keep temperature within a museum between 68 and 72 degrees. There needs to as minimal fluctuation in temperature as possible to reduce in damage to an artifact. It is just like the human body adjusts to temperatures, so do artifacts. Anything like fabric, books, tools, furniture, etc. it compress in cold weather/air and expand in hot weather/air. It is extremely important to monitor controls in galleries or storage spaces. If you have a priceless, old family bible, family photo albums, Grandpa's fiddle, or any other family heirloom; you may want to think about where you store it. It will eventually deteriorate over time if it is left in an attic, storage shed (with temperature/humidity controls), or basements all year round. Another important condition is to keep artifacts away from any contact with direct sunlight as it will harm and fade artifacts over time if not with a matter of hours depending on the artifact.
A museum cannot always accommodate all donors collections into their facilities collections. All museums run into the continuing issue of collections storage. This is why it crucial for the Collections Committee to ask do we have enough space to appropriately care for this collection? This is why so many museums truly benefit from the generosity of donors. Museums always have to be focused on the future and scoping how much they accession (items acquired to their permanent collection) in a given year or time period. It is crucial for them to assess the storage facilities they could possibly need to care properly for all collections. No one item is the same and ever category of item differs on how to care for the items properly. A book needs total different care than a quilt. There are also tools and containers used by museums to properly store artifacts in the best manner possible for future generations to enjoy. Many museums budgets do not allow them to properly buy all they need to operate their museums, which is why donor fund are always greatly appreciated, so museums may be enjoyed for future generations.
There is also special considerations for museums which accept items for outdoor displays. Museums have to take many conditions into consideration when trying to accept items for outdoor display. There needs be a level place outside for the artifact(s) or item(s) to be permanently placed, how will be protected from weather, and what maintenance costs will there be overtime.
Most museums do have Collections Committee to oversee the incoming of artifacts and collections, which is where most of the initial questions are asked to see if this fits the museums mission and ability to care for the collection. It goes through a final process before it officially becomes property of the museum, which is being approved by the Board of Directors. Once a museum or institution owns a collection there are some areas of preservation that need to dealt with by the Preservation or Collections Care Committee.
These are some steps and processes that are dealt with by the Preservation/Collections Care Committee:
1) Condition of Collection Overall and piece by piece
2) Environmental Controls (Temperature/Lighting)
3) Proper Documentation and Paperwork of the Collection.
4) Storage Capacity
Porcelain Decanter donated to Miners Hall Museum at Franklin, Kansas.
Books donated to Miners Hall Museum at Franklin, Kansas.
Diploma donated to Miners Hall Museum at Franklin, Kansas.
The items above just show a variety of items that have been donated in the past few months to the Miners Hall Museum in Franklin, Kansas.
The first step to take into account is the overall time spent if something needs restored or conditioned for a collection. I am not talking about physically changing the artifact, but making sure it is able to withstand and hold up for future exhibition/storage. Museums should not always have items on display either. It does more damage than good to the artifacts within a collection. There are also needs to be a rotation within a museum of how collections and exhibits move from storage to display. The patrons visiting the museums want to see new displays and most recent collections. Some artifacts deteriorate with constant exposure to light and air. It is preferable to keep temperature within a museum between 68 and 72 degrees. There needs to as minimal fluctuation in temperature as possible to reduce in damage to an artifact. It is just like the human body adjusts to temperatures, so do artifacts. Anything like fabric, books, tools, furniture, etc. it compress in cold weather/air and expand in hot weather/air. It is extremely important to monitor controls in galleries or storage spaces. If you have a priceless, old family bible, family photo albums, Grandpa's fiddle, or any other family heirloom; you may want to think about where you store it. It will eventually deteriorate over time if it is left in an attic, storage shed (with temperature/humidity controls), or basements all year round. Another important condition is to keep artifacts away from any contact with direct sunlight as it will harm and fade artifacts over time if not with a matter of hours depending on the artifact.
A museum cannot always accommodate all donors collections into their facilities collections. All museums run into the continuing issue of collections storage. This is why it crucial for the Collections Committee to ask do we have enough space to appropriately care for this collection? This is why so many museums truly benefit from the generosity of donors. Museums always have to be focused on the future and scoping how much they accession (items acquired to their permanent collection) in a given year or time period. It is crucial for them to assess the storage facilities they could possibly need to care properly for all collections. No one item is the same and ever category of item differs on how to care for the items properly. A book needs total different care than a quilt. There are also tools and containers used by museums to properly store artifacts in the best manner possible for future generations to enjoy. Many museums budgets do not allow them to properly buy all they need to operate their museums, which is why donor fund are always greatly appreciated, so museums may be enjoyed for future generations.
There is also special considerations for museums which accept items for outdoor displays. Museums have to take many conditions into consideration when trying to accept items for outdoor display. There needs be a level place outside for the artifact(s) or item(s) to be permanently placed, how will be protected from weather, and what maintenance costs will there be overtime.
A Miner's House was donated to Miners Hall Museum at Franklin, Kansas in November 2012.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Miners Hall Museum at Franklin, Kansas
The Miners Hall Museum Foundation was founded in 2011 and the museum held its grand opening on May 1, 2012. The museum has vastly grown since that day with a massive collection and has hosted numerous temporary exhibits in its first couple years of operation at the Franklin Community Center in Franklin, Kansas. The small community of Franklin was struck by an EF4 tornado at 5:13 p.m. on May 4, 2003. Anytime a natural disaster strikes a community it takes awhile to get the community back and operational, but the community Franklin bounced back that a lot of larger cities who have been through natural disaster. Franklin, Kansas is quite a community with strong love and support and show anything is possible if you believe and put your time and effort into the project. In ten years after this natural disaster I don't think the town would ever imagine what happened to them next. In 2011, the Miners Hall Museum Foundation received notification they would be hosting a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit in 2013. From May 11-June 23, 2013, the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit: The Way We Worked was on site with a companion exhibit from the Big Brutus Museum at West Mineral, Kansas. The museum had over 6,000 visitors in 6 weeks from 38 states and 5 countries!!
Miners Hall Museum is open Monday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Check out our Quarterly Exhibits on display July-September 2013: The American Civil War: A Nation Divided and October-December 2013 Slovenian Heritage. We also have a John F. Kennedy Collection, that will be coming soon to be temporarily on display at the museum.
"The Way We Worked" Exhibit at Miners Hall Museum
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Union Hall in Franklin, Kansas sat were the Miners Hall Museum is today. The Union Hall has been gone for many years now. This land has a lot of history to tell as it is not only important to Franklin, but Crawford County, Southeast Kansas, the State of Kansas, and the United States. The location of the Union Hall in Franklin was where the Amazon Army organized in December 1921. This was a group of women who were daughters, mothers, wives, cousins, grandmothers, sweethearts, fiancés, friends... of coal miners who joined in the protests against the unfair labor practices and laws being implemented in the Southeast Kansas coalfields. They made newspapers all across the state and the nation.
Photograph Union Hall at Franklin, Kansas
North Side of Miners Hall Museum Main Gallery
West Side of Miners Hall Museum Main Gallery
This museum has quite a story to tell and what a story it is for all patrons to enjoy and many spend hours in our gallery admiring the artwork, artifacts, research library, and stories of the miners and their families who made their lives and homes in Crawford and Cherokee Counties in Southeast Kansas. We have two recently donated coal buckets, which one you see in the picture above. These coal buckets from the SEK Art Fest, which lined downtown Pittsburg and where auctioned over Labor Day Weekend. We are very proud to have these coal buckets to add to our collection. Many talented artists expressed their creativity in the SEK Art Fest. The coal buckets lined the streets of Broadway in Pittsburg, Kansas from June 1-September 1, 2013.
The following artwork was donated on May 10, 2013 to the Miners Hall Museum at the opening of the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit by Antonio and Holly Martinez of Phoenix, Arizona. They own Sinfin Studio in Phoenix and truly captured the lifestyle and story of Southeast Kansas mining. I am also proud to say they are my sister and brother-in-law. Their pieces have made a wonderful addition to the museum.
Antonio Martinez. Working for the Man. Charcoal. 2013
This artwork embraces the entrance of Miners Hall Museum.
Holly Boyd-Martinez. Outspoken Persistence. Acrylic. 2013
Holly Boyd-Martinez. Outspoken Persistence. Acrylic. 2013
The 6 Panels that make up Outspoken Persistence tell the story of mining in Southeast Kansas and include some key figures in the changes in the Southeast Kansas coalfields.
Miners Hall Museum is open Monday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Check out our Quarterly Exhibits on display July-September 2013: The American Civil War: A Nation Divided and October-December 2013 Slovenian Heritage. We also have a John F. Kennedy Collection, that will be coming soon to be temporarily on display at the museum.
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