Katie wrote that a volunteer is helping organize the annual auction and one of the additional programs she wants to undertake is called Time in a Bottle.  They would give this package to $1000 donors, who would get five hours with an interviewer to record their family history.  The transcripts and tapes would be kept in the museum archives (the family would also receive a copy). 
    I am concerned that the public may be left with the impression that one can buy one's way into the museum collection and I think it would be prudent to reconsider that approach.
    Nikkie had a suggestion similar to something that I proposed to another (genealogy-based) group and perhaps it might work for the Time in a Bottle (or Book). I have twice now used the online print-on-demand service at:
 
        http://www.mypublisher.com/wp1/index.htm
 
to create memory/family-history books for a couple of my relatives. I scanned the images and uploaded them to MyPublisher, then selected layouts and added simple text. The books are hardcover and are printed on acid-free pages. The basic/minimum cost for a 10-page book is $29.95, but extra pages (up to a total of 50) can be added. Additional copies are available at reduced cost and add-ons include leather binding cases for $10.
    The books arrived within a couple of days of my having submitted everything -- and I was able to create it all from home. The recipients both cried when they got the books, by the way, and they became their coffee-table books. I ordered extra copies for each of the children of the recipients and it is here that I thought that this might particularly benefit the history museum as well.
    I suggested to the other group that a fundraiser might utilize this online service, by having a volunteer offer to sit down with the donor, scan and upload the photos, talk with the donor about family history and use that to add the text, etc. ... to essentially do all the computer work for them. The organization could get an additional copy to add to their archives if the family history is pertinent to their mission and collections, but the amount of text that can be included in the books is minimal. The advantage to the organization might just be the interviews, if they are of interest to the organization too. In any event, the emphasis should be not on permanently adding to the museum's collection, but, rather, on assisting the family in the creation of a family heirloom to add to *their* collection.
Lynne
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