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

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. 

Applying Skills in Museum Exhibits

Have you ever thought about what goes into an exhibit in a museum? The skills needed working in museums varies between the exhibits you implement in your museum. Your resources play a big factor as well just as any other project. Some people have a fairly large budget while others operate strictly off of donations to their museum projects. You need to evaluate the time, manpower, and artifacts available to your group to assemble the exhibit. Some groups are blessed to have individuals or their families who have the knowledge and ability to assist with a project, they are currently working on for their exhibit. It is truly beneficial to the overall exhibit to have a resource like a first hand account person to assist with research, collecting, and organization of the overall product. In same cases there may be no one left who has affiliation, knowledge, or resources left of a particular business, organization, or family. Exhibits can be made up of numerous pieces of a community, county, or company depending on the mission of the museum. There are many steps that go in to an exhibit including the research, organization, design, collecting of artifacts and reproductions, assembling/constructing, and promoting the exhibit. It is always good to have a strong committee developed who will bring numerous ideas to the table about working on the exhibit.

Many museums rely on a strong network of volunteers to keep the doors open and to also to maintain the exhibits within their museums. It is always very beneficial to have as much insight on a project as you can from a variety of sources. I have a few pictures to share this week below of ideas of different artifacts that where collected to assemble an exhibit at the Dobson Museum in Miami, Oklahoma this past summer, when the Route 66 International Festival was held in Joplin, Missouri. The Ottawa County Historical Society displayed a Route 66 Exhibit entitled "The Mother Road of Ottawa County". An exhibit does not always have to be represented with original artifacts to be effective for the audience. Many of the photographs within this exhibit were scanned from the original negatives from the Orrick Sparlin Collection that is housed within the museum, but also many souvenirs or memorabilia was also collected to display. The Orrick Sparlin Collection is such a valuable collection and a true asset to the museum and Ottawa County. Mr. Sparlin photographed Ottawa County life from the late 1930s to the mid 1960s. Many of these negatives have not been scanned until the past couple of years. It is a project I took on as an intern for the Dobson Museum and still work on today. It will be a long process, because there are thousands of negatives yet to be scanned from this collection. Many projects assist with eachother, because of their common goals and interests. For example, the Route 66 Exhibit worked really well with the Orrick Sparlin Collection, because we were able to locate pictures from every town within the county along the route by utilizing this collection in our research and production of the exhibit.

Here is a t-shirt on display at the Route 66 Exhibit at Dobson Museum in Miami, OK.

This case is one section of the Route 66 Exhibit at the Dobson Museum in  Miami, OK.

 



 

Texaco Truck on display in Route 66 Exhibit at Dobson Museum in Miami, OK.

 

Route 66 Flag at Dobson Museum in Miami, OK.

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Training in Museums: How do Museums work?

The ability to work in a museum is just like any other field or profession. It varies on the museum you work with to see what areas you need to focus on and what background you have going into the position. I just attended the Oklahoma Museum Association (OMA) Conference last week. They had a great turnout and excellent presenters for the sessions, workshops, and programs for the three day conference. Berkeley Young was the guest speaker and he definitely informed and entertained the conference delegates about how to focus and connect with museum visitors throughout the year.

I definitely learned a lot from attending the conference and this was my first conference to attend with OMA. I have been to some district meetings prior to this conference. The sessions covered a wide variety of materials and tasks throughout working in museums. One of the sessions I enjoyed the most was a peer to peer breakout session for emerging professionals in the museum field. The speakers shared experiences from working in museums and interviews they have completed to get to where they are now working in the Oklahoma History Center. I was also able to visit with some of them afterwards to get more information about one of the museums I work in and how better to handle preserving research materials for the future. It is always a crucial part of any field to continue to learn and grow in being offered training opportunities like these to network with individuals who have been in the field for many years and those who are emerging into the field with less than 3-5 years experience. I always think you gain a better understanding when you step back and look at both sides of the situation at how someone with thirty plus years says about a situation and someone with less than five years.

The methods are always constantly changing and new techniques and technologies are being presented all the time for more efficient ways to perform tasks. I also had the opportunity to listen to some graduate students from the University of Central Oklahoma Museum Studies Program present about their research and what internships, they had participated in this past summer. The theme for this year's conference was "Connecting to Museums". I have a few pictures below taken from this summer when we hosted the traveling exhibit "The Way We Worked" at the Miners Hall Museum at Franklin, Kansas. There are many ways to connect your museums and reach out to you communities by hosting different events and reaching multiple groups at the same time. It was a worth while conference and I am looking forward to next year's conference in Idabel, Oklahoma.

 Antonio and Holly Martinez at unveiling of artwork at Smithsonian Preview Evening on May 10, 2013. 

 Crowd beginning to gather for Smithsonian Exhibit Grand Opening at Miners Hall Museum on May 11, 2013. 

Visitors inside the museum during the opening day of "The Way We Worked" at Miners Hall Museum.