CMC Workshop Archive, 2008-Present
2015-Present
Oral History Workshop
Friday, July 24, 2015
presented at the Mayborn Museum, Waco
Does your museum have an Oral History Collection? Are you thinking about starting one? Then don’t miss this workshop on July 24 at the Mayborn Museum, Waco. Oral History for Museum Professionals, a one-day workshop co-sponsored by TAM’s Collection Managers Committee (CMC) and the Baylor University Institute for Oral History (BUIOH), will cover multiple facets of the oral history interview process. This workshop is designed for museum professionals interested in learning how to conduct their own oral history interviews. Topics include managing an institutional history, oral history project design and legal concerns, tools of the trade for digital recording and digital preservation, and interview skills.
Instructors:
Lead instructor for Oral History for Museum Professionals is Steven Sielaff, BUIOH Collection Manager. A graduate of Baylor University’s Museum Studies master’s programs, Sielaff joined the staff of BUIOH in June 2014. Since then he has gained considerable expertise in Oral History and currently serves as president of the Texas Oral History Association. Also sharing in the presentation is Jessica Roseberry, University Researcher at BUIOH.
Co-sponsored by TAM’s Collection Managers Committee (CMC) and the Baylor University Institute for Oral History (BUIOH)
Digital Long-Term Access of Collections: Theory and Practice
Thursday, April 9, 2015
presented at the TAM Annual Meeting, Fort Worth
This double session will focus on digitization topics including pre-planning, digitization
philosophy and basics, material selection, metadata, equipment, and online
presentation. The first session will cover the basics of digitization as well as the
philosophy. Is digitization worth it, and if so, why? Learn how to make a plan and why
planning for long-term access of collections is necessary. The second session will focus on the practical application of a long-term access plan and methods of promoting digital access. We will consider various platforms such as Omeka, Collective Access, Flikr, and ContentDM. This portion of the workshop will be informal and hands on. Topics such as metadata, material selection, and discussing current challenges will be included.
Chair:
Amanda Dietz
M.P. and Gov. Bill Daniel Processing Archivist, Baylor University, Waco
Presenters:
Eric Ames
Curator of Digital Collections, Baylor University, Waco
Dreanna Belden
Assistant Dean for External Relations, University of North Texas Libraries, Denton
Liza Talbot
Digital Archivist, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, Austin
Friday, July 24, 2015
presented at the Mayborn Museum, Waco
Does your museum have an Oral History Collection? Are you thinking about starting one? Then don’t miss this workshop on July 24 at the Mayborn Museum, Waco. Oral History for Museum Professionals, a one-day workshop co-sponsored by TAM’s Collection Managers Committee (CMC) and the Baylor University Institute for Oral History (BUIOH), will cover multiple facets of the oral history interview process. This workshop is designed for museum professionals interested in learning how to conduct their own oral history interviews. Topics include managing an institutional history, oral history project design and legal concerns, tools of the trade for digital recording and digital preservation, and interview skills.
Instructors:
Lead instructor for Oral History for Museum Professionals is Steven Sielaff, BUIOH Collection Manager. A graduate of Baylor University’s Museum Studies master’s programs, Sielaff joined the staff of BUIOH in June 2014. Since then he has gained considerable expertise in Oral History and currently serves as president of the Texas Oral History Association. Also sharing in the presentation is Jessica Roseberry, University Researcher at BUIOH.
Co-sponsored by TAM’s Collection Managers Committee (CMC) and the Baylor University Institute for Oral History (BUIOH)
Digital Long-Term Access of Collections: Theory and Practice
Thursday, April 9, 2015
presented at the TAM Annual Meeting, Fort Worth
This double session will focus on digitization topics including pre-planning, digitization
philosophy and basics, material selection, metadata, equipment, and online
presentation. The first session will cover the basics of digitization as well as the
philosophy. Is digitization worth it, and if so, why? Learn how to make a plan and why
planning for long-term access of collections is necessary. The second session will focus on the practical application of a long-term access plan and methods of promoting digital access. We will consider various platforms such as Omeka, Collective Access, Flikr, and ContentDM. This portion of the workshop will be informal and hands on. Topics such as metadata, material selection, and discussing current challenges will be included.
Chair:
Amanda Dietz
M.P. and Gov. Bill Daniel Processing Archivist, Baylor University, Waco
Presenters:
Eric Ames
Curator of Digital Collections, Baylor University, Waco
Dreanna Belden
Assistant Dean for External Relations, University of North Texas Libraries, Denton
Liza Talbot
Digital Archivist, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, Austin
2010-2012
A Museum Primer on Copyright and Rights & Reproductions
October 2012, Houston
In this day of online collections, marketing, and art themed merchandise, how do museums know what can be used or not? Does the museum own the copyright if they own the piece? Can I use this film archive in the next exhibition? More and more the people responsible for the care of collections now must be responsible for managing copyrights and rights and reproductions.
Leaving Your Mark on History: Marking and Labeling Historical Artifacts and Documents
March 2010, College Station
A hands-on workshop covering labeling and marking techniques and materials to mark historic artifacts, works on paper, ethnographic collections, and scientific collections and much more. Ever wonder which pen or barrier coat works best on what materials or how to mark on plastic? Are there items that just shouldn’t be marked? Learn about these techniques and how to identify different materials, take home some samples, and learn various numbering systems as well as learn about newer inventory techniques including RFIDs and barcoding.
Featured Speakers:
Lindsey Richardson, Collections Manager, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Sally Baulch-Rhoden, Curator, Austin Curatorial Services, Interpretive Services Branch. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Donna Meadows, Associate Register, Acquisitions, Houston Museum of Natural Science
Terri L. Carnes, M.A., Collections Manager, Anthropology Division, Museum of Texas Tech University
Cyndi Lopez, M.A., Conservator, Museum of Texas Tech University
Heath Garner, M.A., Curator of Mammals, Natural Science Research Laboratory, Museum of Texas Tech University
Click here for some helpful resources related to this workshop.
Preserving History’s Stories: Creating, Preserving and Interpreting Oral Histories
August 2010, Dallas
As a significant portion of our population is passing away and another is reaching retirement, it is important to record their stories, family history, and perspective on historical events while it is still possible. Oral histories can provide a dimension of historical study not found in books, documents or other artifacts. Therefore, it is important that caretakers of collections understand how best to collect this source of information and provide the proper way to store and access these growing collections.
Featured Speakers:
John Versluis, Director, Texas Heritage Museum, Hill College
Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator, The Sixth Floor Museum
Dealey Campbell, Curator of Education, Dallas Historical Society
Lindsey Richardson, Collections Manager, The Sixth Floor Museum
Elinor Mazé, Senior Editor, Baylor University Institute for Oral History
J. Rhett Rushing, Oral History Program, Institute for Texan Cultures
A Workshop Review by Lindsey Richardson, Collection Manager, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza:
"CMC held an oral history workshop on Monday, August 16th at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Fifteen attendees participated, and one became a new member: welcome Carol Hanson of the Cedar Hill Museum of History!
We started the day with John Versluis, the Director of the Texas Heritage Museum at Hill College in Hillsboro. John gave us a rundown of the basic principles of collecting oral histories, including advice to be thorough in researching your topic and interviewee in advance of the interview, how to set up the interview, some useful tips for trying to keep the interview candidate on topic, and the importance of creating an outline and a transcript of the interview once it’s done.
Our next speaker, Stephen Fagin, the Associate Curator at The Sixth Floor Museum, discussed the role of oral histories in a museum setting, using specific examples from The Sixth Floor Museum to demonstrate how oral histories can be incorporated in exhibits and programs. Stephen gave examples of how thoughtful collection of oral history interviews can have a direct effect on exhibit development: his most striking example was of an interview conducted by The Sixth Floor Museum with a man wearing a black and white patterned shirt, seated in a kitchen with floral wallpaper and a brightly colored table cloth. Although the man had an interesting story, the visual impact of the recorded interview was so busy and distracting that it could never be used in an exhibit. Stephen mentioned that several interviews had been redone over the years, in order to capture a more professional looking interview for exhibit purposes.
From the Dallas Historical Society, the next speaker, Curator of Education Dealey Campbell, gave us an overview of a fascinating grant-funded project at the DHS that allowed students from local schools to learn how to conduct oral histories. The students learned interview techniques and how the cameras worked, and then conducted oral histories on behalf of the DHS with elderly neighborhood residents about the history of the State Fair.
Dealey’s overview was full of interesting details and stories – apparently the middle school students like to conduct interviews on their own, but the high school students preferred to work in groups. It was clear that all participants – DHS, students and interviewees – really enjoyed the experienced and learned a great deal from it.
After a break for lunch and time to visit The Sixth Floor Museum’s exhibits and new Reading Room, the workshop resumed. As the Collections Manager for The Sixth Floor Museum, I gave a very brief description of the way we catalogue oral histories here, how we track and store them, and what our goals are for digitization of the oral history collection.
Elinor Mazé, Senior Editor at the Baylor University Institute for Oral History, spoke to us about the ways that Baylor digitizes their oral history collection and some of the different types of analog technologies they have to work with for preservation. Baylor focuses almost exclusively on audio recordings, so these details were strictly about reel-to-reel and cassette recordings. Elinor gave us a lot of information about specific types of materials and equipment for digitization projects of different scales.
We closed the day with an activity and a program. First, J. Rhett Rushing of the Oral History Program at the Institute for Texan Cultures in San Antonio led us through some small group discussions of hypothetical situations involving oral histories. We had some lively discussions about examples such as “What do you do if the person you are interviewing tells you about illegal behavior on their part?” and “What do you do if the person you interviewed contacts you the next day and asks you to destroy the interview?” There were a wide variety of responses to almost every question! Stephen Fagin then delivered a program called “Voices: An Oral History of November 22, 1963” which is one of the public programs featuring oral histories that we offer here at The Sixth Floor Museum."
Museum and Institutional Archives
October 2011, Waco
What are Museum and Institutional archives? How are they different from each other and from 3-D collections? How do we organize them? How do we make them useful to our institutions and for the public? Come learn how professionals deal with archival collections, including, working with paper and audio-visual materials, how to catalogue and describe archives, why institutional archives are important for your organization, and how to plan and execute a digitization project for archival materials.
Featured Speakers:
Julie Holcomb, Lecturer Museum Studies, Baylor University (Julie's Presentation as a PDF)
Claudia Anderson, Supervisory Archivist, LBJ Museum and Library (Claudia's Presentation as a PDF)
Eric Ames, Resources & Collection Management Services, Digital Projects, Baylor University (Eric's Presentation as a PDF)
October 2012, Houston
In this day of online collections, marketing, and art themed merchandise, how do museums know what can be used or not? Does the museum own the copyright if they own the piece? Can I use this film archive in the next exhibition? More and more the people responsible for the care of collections now must be responsible for managing copyrights and rights and reproductions.
Leaving Your Mark on History: Marking and Labeling Historical Artifacts and Documents
March 2010, College Station
A hands-on workshop covering labeling and marking techniques and materials to mark historic artifacts, works on paper, ethnographic collections, and scientific collections and much more. Ever wonder which pen or barrier coat works best on what materials or how to mark on plastic? Are there items that just shouldn’t be marked? Learn about these techniques and how to identify different materials, take home some samples, and learn various numbering systems as well as learn about newer inventory techniques including RFIDs and barcoding.
Featured Speakers:
Lindsey Richardson, Collections Manager, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Sally Baulch-Rhoden, Curator, Austin Curatorial Services, Interpretive Services Branch. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Donna Meadows, Associate Register, Acquisitions, Houston Museum of Natural Science
Terri L. Carnes, M.A., Collections Manager, Anthropology Division, Museum of Texas Tech University
Cyndi Lopez, M.A., Conservator, Museum of Texas Tech University
Heath Garner, M.A., Curator of Mammals, Natural Science Research Laboratory, Museum of Texas Tech University
Click here for some helpful resources related to this workshop.
Preserving History’s Stories: Creating, Preserving and Interpreting Oral Histories
August 2010, Dallas
As a significant portion of our population is passing away and another is reaching retirement, it is important to record their stories, family history, and perspective on historical events while it is still possible. Oral histories can provide a dimension of historical study not found in books, documents or other artifacts. Therefore, it is important that caretakers of collections understand how best to collect this source of information and provide the proper way to store and access these growing collections.
Featured Speakers:
John Versluis, Director, Texas Heritage Museum, Hill College
Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator, The Sixth Floor Museum
Dealey Campbell, Curator of Education, Dallas Historical Society
Lindsey Richardson, Collections Manager, The Sixth Floor Museum
Elinor Mazé, Senior Editor, Baylor University Institute for Oral History
J. Rhett Rushing, Oral History Program, Institute for Texan Cultures
A Workshop Review by Lindsey Richardson, Collection Manager, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza:
"CMC held an oral history workshop on Monday, August 16th at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Fifteen attendees participated, and one became a new member: welcome Carol Hanson of the Cedar Hill Museum of History!
We started the day with John Versluis, the Director of the Texas Heritage Museum at Hill College in Hillsboro. John gave us a rundown of the basic principles of collecting oral histories, including advice to be thorough in researching your topic and interviewee in advance of the interview, how to set up the interview, some useful tips for trying to keep the interview candidate on topic, and the importance of creating an outline and a transcript of the interview once it’s done.
Our next speaker, Stephen Fagin, the Associate Curator at The Sixth Floor Museum, discussed the role of oral histories in a museum setting, using specific examples from The Sixth Floor Museum to demonstrate how oral histories can be incorporated in exhibits and programs. Stephen gave examples of how thoughtful collection of oral history interviews can have a direct effect on exhibit development: his most striking example was of an interview conducted by The Sixth Floor Museum with a man wearing a black and white patterned shirt, seated in a kitchen with floral wallpaper and a brightly colored table cloth. Although the man had an interesting story, the visual impact of the recorded interview was so busy and distracting that it could never be used in an exhibit. Stephen mentioned that several interviews had been redone over the years, in order to capture a more professional looking interview for exhibit purposes.
From the Dallas Historical Society, the next speaker, Curator of Education Dealey Campbell, gave us an overview of a fascinating grant-funded project at the DHS that allowed students from local schools to learn how to conduct oral histories. The students learned interview techniques and how the cameras worked, and then conducted oral histories on behalf of the DHS with elderly neighborhood residents about the history of the State Fair.
Dealey’s overview was full of interesting details and stories – apparently the middle school students like to conduct interviews on their own, but the high school students preferred to work in groups. It was clear that all participants – DHS, students and interviewees – really enjoyed the experienced and learned a great deal from it.
After a break for lunch and time to visit The Sixth Floor Museum’s exhibits and new Reading Room, the workshop resumed. As the Collections Manager for The Sixth Floor Museum, I gave a very brief description of the way we catalogue oral histories here, how we track and store them, and what our goals are for digitization of the oral history collection.
Elinor Mazé, Senior Editor at the Baylor University Institute for Oral History, spoke to us about the ways that Baylor digitizes their oral history collection and some of the different types of analog technologies they have to work with for preservation. Baylor focuses almost exclusively on audio recordings, so these details were strictly about reel-to-reel and cassette recordings. Elinor gave us a lot of information about specific types of materials and equipment for digitization projects of different scales.
We closed the day with an activity and a program. First, J. Rhett Rushing of the Oral History Program at the Institute for Texan Cultures in San Antonio led us through some small group discussions of hypothetical situations involving oral histories. We had some lively discussions about examples such as “What do you do if the person you are interviewing tells you about illegal behavior on their part?” and “What do you do if the person you interviewed contacts you the next day and asks you to destroy the interview?” There were a wide variety of responses to almost every question! Stephen Fagin then delivered a program called “Voices: An Oral History of November 22, 1963” which is one of the public programs featuring oral histories that we offer here at The Sixth Floor Museum."
Museum and Institutional Archives
October 2011, Waco
What are Museum and Institutional archives? How are they different from each other and from 3-D collections? How do we organize them? How do we make them useful to our institutions and for the public? Come learn how professionals deal with archival collections, including, working with paper and audio-visual materials, how to catalogue and describe archives, why institutional archives are important for your organization, and how to plan and execute a digitization project for archival materials.
Featured Speakers:
Julie Holcomb, Lecturer Museum Studies, Baylor University (Julie's Presentation as a PDF)
Claudia Anderson, Supervisory Archivist, LBJ Museum and Library (Claudia's Presentation as a PDF)
Eric Ames, Resources & Collection Management Services, Digital Projects, Baylor University (Eric's Presentation as a PDF)
2008-2009
Workshop presenters (left to right): Brad Wendt, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Susan Newlin, Masterpiece International; and John McAlpin, Houston Museum of Natural Science.
You Want Me to Send What? Where?!?!: The Imports and Exports of Complex Shipping Issues
February 2008, Houston
In the fast paced world of ever growing traveling exhibition programs and loan requests, do you have the knowledge and experience necessary to send objects anywhere? Between the restrictions of your insurance policy, dealing with the university system, or trying to stay in budget, there is a lot to consider whether you want to send a small tea set from El Paso to Houston, or a big sculpture from San Antonio to Chicago. The laws are ever changing, the objects get more and more complex, and the forms and requirements can be difficult to find let alone complete. No one wants to hear that their object made it through customs, but the crate didn’t; or worse, their sculpture was impounded because of a feather that was part of the piece. Learn the rules, regulations, and forms necessary for shipping objects, when to contact a customs broker and how to talk to shippers. If you need to ship anything across the city or across the world, then this workshop is for you!
Click here for a list of helpful import/export resources.
The Care and Handling of Photographs in Your Collection
October 2008, Fort Worth
Have you ever opened up a box of photographs in your collection and wondered just what the heck are those?!? Do the words Albumen or silver gelatin print, Daguerreotype, and tintype sound like some kind of weird foreign medication? How do you catalog, house, and display them once you figure out what it is? If you have asked these questions, then this is the workshop for you!
Did Stephen F. Austin Really Sleep in this Bed? Bringing History to Life through a Furnishing Plan
August 2009, Austin
What is your furniture saying? How can historic objects, primary sources, and props tell the story of your museum? Bring history to life by creating a furnishing plan that tells the extraordinary stories of ordinary objects. What evidence do your artifacts support? Furnishing plans make your story more tangible. Come learn why furnishing plans are necessary, how to effectively craft and implement furnishing plans, and how to sell the furnishing plan to your museum.
A Workshop Review by Stephanie Jarvis, Director, French Legation Museum, Austin:
"Like many museum professionals, I have puzzled over questions surrounding the elusive historic furnishings plan. The August 3rd CMC workshop offered three presentations on this varied and complex topic by Cynthia Brandimarte, Laura DeNormandie-Bass, and Winnie Trippet. In this one-day offering, I felt energized by the topic as each speaker brought a different angle to the table. As I attempted to process all of this information, I found it helpful to pull out some of the specifics:
· Look inside, outside and in-between with regards to historic interiors.
· Read widely-- books, newspapers, magazines, songs, short stories, plays, catalogs, and biographies all offer valuable info on historic furnishings and beyond—giving a glimpse into what life was like.
· Be careful when using historic images as sources. Don’t rely on them too much and think about what was not shown in the images—often don’t see the whole view and you must consider the reality of the scene.
· The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, and National Park Service’s Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Furnished Interiors give a framework for making consistent decisions.
· When working on a historic furnishings plan, you must consider building, landscape, and interior because all are linked.
· Big part of historic furnishings plan is research and documentation by gathering as much information as possible about the spaces and what, why, how decisions were made.
· Planning prior to treatment prevents loss of resources and informs future decisions concerning treatment. Historic furnishing reports are also a valuable part of the process.
· Selling a furnishing plan involves who, what, why---who you’re selling, what you’re selling and why it’s important to your site.
· A historic furnishing plan is a fluid document that is not set in stone.
· Ultimately you are selling change to your site through historic furnishing plan—be positive, address and work though the difficulties, and your site will benefit greatly.
· Most importantly, don’t wait for planning—get started!
With all of this great information in our hands, I would love to touch back with my fellow attendees in the coming months to discuss our progress and cheer each other on."
February 2008, Houston
In the fast paced world of ever growing traveling exhibition programs and loan requests, do you have the knowledge and experience necessary to send objects anywhere? Between the restrictions of your insurance policy, dealing with the university system, or trying to stay in budget, there is a lot to consider whether you want to send a small tea set from El Paso to Houston, or a big sculpture from San Antonio to Chicago. The laws are ever changing, the objects get more and more complex, and the forms and requirements can be difficult to find let alone complete. No one wants to hear that their object made it through customs, but the crate didn’t; or worse, their sculpture was impounded because of a feather that was part of the piece. Learn the rules, regulations, and forms necessary for shipping objects, when to contact a customs broker and how to talk to shippers. If you need to ship anything across the city or across the world, then this workshop is for you!
Click here for a list of helpful import/export resources.
The Care and Handling of Photographs in Your Collection
October 2008, Fort Worth
Have you ever opened up a box of photographs in your collection and wondered just what the heck are those?!? Do the words Albumen or silver gelatin print, Daguerreotype, and tintype sound like some kind of weird foreign medication? How do you catalog, house, and display them once you figure out what it is? If you have asked these questions, then this is the workshop for you!
Did Stephen F. Austin Really Sleep in this Bed? Bringing History to Life through a Furnishing Plan
August 2009, Austin
What is your furniture saying? How can historic objects, primary sources, and props tell the story of your museum? Bring history to life by creating a furnishing plan that tells the extraordinary stories of ordinary objects. What evidence do your artifacts support? Furnishing plans make your story more tangible. Come learn why furnishing plans are necessary, how to effectively craft and implement furnishing plans, and how to sell the furnishing plan to your museum.
A Workshop Review by Stephanie Jarvis, Director, French Legation Museum, Austin:
"Like many museum professionals, I have puzzled over questions surrounding the elusive historic furnishings plan. The August 3rd CMC workshop offered three presentations on this varied and complex topic by Cynthia Brandimarte, Laura DeNormandie-Bass, and Winnie Trippet. In this one-day offering, I felt energized by the topic as each speaker brought a different angle to the table. As I attempted to process all of this information, I found it helpful to pull out some of the specifics:
· Look inside, outside and in-between with regards to historic interiors.
· Read widely-- books, newspapers, magazines, songs, short stories, plays, catalogs, and biographies all offer valuable info on historic furnishings and beyond—giving a glimpse into what life was like.
· Be careful when using historic images as sources. Don’t rely on them too much and think about what was not shown in the images—often don’t see the whole view and you must consider the reality of the scene.
· The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, and National Park Service’s Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Furnished Interiors give a framework for making consistent decisions.
· When working on a historic furnishings plan, you must consider building, landscape, and interior because all are linked.
· Big part of historic furnishings plan is research and documentation by gathering as much information as possible about the spaces and what, why, how decisions were made.
· Planning prior to treatment prevents loss of resources and informs future decisions concerning treatment. Historic furnishing reports are also a valuable part of the process.
· Selling a furnishing plan involves who, what, why---who you’re selling, what you’re selling and why it’s important to your site.
· A historic furnishing plan is a fluid document that is not set in stone.
· Ultimately you are selling change to your site through historic furnishing plan—be positive, address and work though the difficulties, and your site will benefit greatly.
· Most importantly, don’t wait for planning—get started!
With all of this great information in our hands, I would love to touch back with my fellow attendees in the coming months to discuss our progress and cheer each other on."
