Get the local newspapers and TV news interested in you. When Conner Prairie announced the addition of an 1886 working farm and a 1943 working farm in the local newspapers and through TV news features, offers of donations started coming out of the woodwork. Once the public was informed (via the newspapers and TV) that our specialty is to record and interpret the lives of everyday Indiana people (they and their ancestors), they were more than thrilled to help us to preserve their pasts. (It also solved the problem with what to do with all the stuff in Grandpa/Grandma's attic/barn that the family didn't want.)
Those announcements are nearly four years old and while things have tapered off, we still average 1 call per day offering a donation.
By the way, our 1886 working farm, Liberty Corner, opens September 21, 2002.
Lana Newhart-Kellen
Registrar
Conner Prairie Museum
13400 Allisonville Rd
Fishers IN 46038
>>> [log in to unmask] 08/22/02 05:38PM >>>
Dear ListServ,
At the Evanston Historical Society, we are trying to think out of the box
regarding acquistions Normally, we have donors approach us. We receive a
nice sporadic stream of costumes, photographs, papers, 3-D objects. But the
staff feels in this day and age with everything moving at a faster pace, we
have to be more proactive about adding to our collections. After all, EBay
is quite popular with most folks especially when they would rather have
cash for items. And,of course, the nearest landfill receives today's
ephemera. So far, we have thought of the obvious--brochures, contacting
local estate agents, having a booth at local fairs/art festivals,
leaving "ads" in free publications such as the PTA's newsletter and other
such organizations, and putting a message on our web site. All good ideas,
but very traditional.
So I'm throwing this topic to out to everyone. What are you doing at your
museum? What is being covered in the museum studies classroom? If you're
not being proactive, why not? Do you have an acquisitions policy that
covers this topic? Can you share it with the listserv? Is it possible to
brainstorm on the listserv? After all, I bet acquistions affects almost
everyone on here.
I checked the archives for museum-l. There is nothing on this subject.
(And if there is, I'm apologize for being a bad researcher. BTW, using the
archive search is pretty handy. A couple of times, I thought 'no way would
this be covered on the listserv.' Lo and behold, there was my answer. I
never had to bother the listserv with a repetitive question.)
Kind regards (and happy posting)
Kim Olsen-Clark
Development Officer/Archivist
Evanston Historical Society
at the Charles Gates Dawes House,
A National Historic Landmark
Evanston, Illinois
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