Hi, All --

A small, rural town possesses a marginal historical collection
(photographs, books, scrapbooks, and about a dozen objects), which is
stored at the village library.  No one actively maintains this collection
(the village historian's position has been vacant for more than a year).  

Last year, the village celebrated its Bicentennial, the activities of which
were spearheaded by a handful of volunteers.  One of volunteers is quite
keen on continuing to develop regular local history programming and
exhibits, but would like to circumvent the standard desire to "start a
museum".  I think this might a laudable goal, given the fact that there has
been no funding or leadership from the village.

I'd be interested to know if any of you on the list are involved with or
aware of groups/organizations that actively, and successfully, develop
local history programming and exhibits for implementation at community
venues without benefit of a "museum" to sponsor them.  I suppose this type
of activity is what the traditional "historical society" was formed to do.

In any event, I'd like to be able to provide some workable models, as well
as some suggestions for how the village might address its obligations to
its historical materials.  Sadly, the county in which this village is
located does not have a county historical society, which could be an
appropriate repository of such a collection.

Any thoughts are most welcomed.

Anne Ackerson
Independent Consultant
Troy, NY  12180

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).