Dear Anne- I saw your posting on the listserve this morning and wanted to offer
what I have- I am the Exec. Dir. of the Gillespie County Historical Society here
in Fredericksburg, TX. The group I work for was founded in 1935 and today we
operate 2 museums and 1 historic fort site. As you collect information about
which direction you go think of a few key components:
1. Create some mechanism for endowments that will generate enough earnings to
fund a small staff year round- my model is 2 full timers, 3 part timers avg.
aggregate salaries $ 80,000- 100,000 per year. That means having $ 1 million in
deep money.
2. Gear your museum plan not only for the true interpretive story but the long
term appeal to the outside world- have a strong attachment to the concept of
cultural tourism and the hospitality industry in your area.
3. Dare to dream but stay within your financial limits as you plans the physical
plant of your museum.
if you want to talk in more detail call me at work at 830 997-2835 hope this is
of some help
all the best
Paul Camfield
----- Original Message -----
From: Anne Ackerson <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 7:12 AM
Subject: Looking for Examples
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
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