Back to Basics: Archives for Historical Societies (and others!)
May 16, 2024 / 9:30 to 3:00 • Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth, NH
May 16, 2024 / 9:30 to 3:00 • Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth, NH
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Join the New Hampshire Archives Group on May 16 at the Portsmouth Public Library for its Spring 2024 workshop — or attend online, if necessary. This will be an interactive workshop with hands-on activities for those attending in-person.
IntroductionUnlike established libraries and archives, historical societies often lack in-house archives management and collections care expertise. In this hands-on workshop we'll hear from both new and experienced practitioners — with a particular focus on making improvements on a limited budget.
ProgramWe are pleased to offer the following presentations (click on title for synopsis & presenter):
9:30 AM — Opening remarks
Brantley Palmer is the president of the NH Archives Group and works at Franklin Pierce University. 9:40 AM — new opportunities for an old archive
Old York Research Center Director Peggy Wishart and Archivist Kaitlyn Fitzgerald will discuss changes at Old York brought about by the organization’s creation of a new Research Center and storage facility. Peggy will talk about the journey that has taken place for both collections and staff in planning and making the physical move to the new facility. She will discuss some of the opportunities and challenges the new facility presents moving forward. Kaitlyn will discuss the particular challenges she faces as a new archivist working with an old collection (with numerous managers and management strategies) as well as exciting opportunities to expand public access by sharing collections online through PastPerfect. Peggy Wishart has a BA from the University of Connecticut in Anthropology/Archaeology. An internship with the archaeology department at Strawbery Banke Museum, sparked curiosity in a career working with material culture in a museum setting. After obtaining a master’s degree in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine, she was hired by Historic New England. Peggy’s first roll with HNE was managing three historic properties in Southern Maine. Later she transitioned to cataloging and collections management positions at HNE’s Collections Care facility in Haverhill, Mass. In 2017, Peggy stepped into the Collections Manager position at Old York Historical Society and was recently promoted to Research Center Director. Kaitlyn Fitzgerald holds a BA in Studio Art from Boston College with a concentration in Photography. After graduating, she became the Registrar and Collections Assistant at a Boston gallery specializing in photography. Kaitlyn went on to work at the MIT List Visual Arts Center before completing a master’s degree at Toronto Metropolitan University in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management. Kaitlyn first joined the team at Old York as a graduate fellow, putting her experience with photographic collections to work documenting and creating housing for family photo albums in the society’s collection. Kaitlyn became a part-time archival assistant after graduation and was recently promoted to full time archivist. 10:15 AM — do You remember cursive?
Retired NH State Archivist Brian Burford is pursuing a study of the papers of Meshech Weare. This project includes the transcribing of several of the documents, and the use of the original documents to teach the basics of transcription to citizen archivists and students. We will discuss why we transcribe, and some of the standards used in the profession. There are many on-line projects which use the help of volunteers to transcribe historical papers. Transcriptions may also be helpful for local archives as well. The class will use documents from Weare’s papers for the attendees to try their hands (and brains) at deciphering and transcribing. Transcriptions may be made electronically or by analogue means (I will bring the paper, if the attendees bring a pen, pencil or quill). Brian Nelson Burford was a licensed land surveyor before joining the staff of the New Hampshire State Archives. He worked for the State Archives for about 27 years, retiring as State Archivist in December 2022. Both career paths have required an understanding of reading and transcribing historical documents. 11:15 AM — Collections policy & postcards
Barbara Rimkunas is Curator and Co-Director at the Exeter Historical Society, where she has worked since 2000. The Society offers regular programs of local historical interest and is a repository for documents, maps, photos, artifacts and other ephemera pertaining to Exeter, New Hampshire. A former high school teacher in both Maine and New Hampshire, Barbara received her BA in history from the University of Maine and MA in “more history” from the University of New Hampshire. Barbara served as a member of the NHAG Executive Board from 2003 to 2016 and has often shared her unbridled enthusiasm and practical experience with workshop participants. 1:00 PM — LOOKING FOR HELP IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES? BUDGET-FRIENDLY TIPS FOR COLLECTIONS CARE
Join us for demonstrations and tips covering a variety of collection care tasks. We will cover textile cleaning, handling and moving objects, basic dust removal tips of collection objects and spaces and more! Learn how you too can perform collections care procedures for your institution while working with some basic knowledge, a limited budget and staff. This workshop will appeal to those with collections care responsibilities in a wide range of organizations, including but not limited to museums, archives, historical societies, municipalities and conservation studios. Michele Pagan, is a textile conservator in private practice, living in East Dorset Vt. A native Vermonter, she has been practicing and still learning conservation techniques since the 1980s. Some of you may remember Michele from her work as the Director of the Collections Care Program for VMGA in the 1990s. In 2019 she helped co-found with a dozen other colleagues the Collections Care & Conservation Alliance and is a professional affiliate member. Today, in addition to "preserving history one textile at a time", she is co-coordinator of the Search for VT Samplers, and is a presenter at Bennington Museum's Summer Teachers' Institute. Darlene Bialowski, a contract museum registrar and a fine & decorative arts appraiser, has been in the cultural heritage preservation field for more than twenty-five years. Before going into private practice, she was the sole registrar for a 5-museum association and handled rotating exhibitions for two Smith & Wesson facilities. Her clients now include museums, historical/cultural organizations, municipal entities, private collectors and artists. Darlene also is a certificated Paralegal achieved through the University of New Hampshire, a graduate of the Winterthur Institute, and is an accredited member of the Appraisers Association of America. She has helped co-found several cultural heritage preservation non profits and is the President of the Collections Care & Conservation Alliance, one of the most recent co founded non-profits. Elsbeth Geldhof is a historic paint conservator and collections care consultant, specializing in small collections, historic house museums and interiors, with twenty years (international) experience. She is the founder of The Historic Sample Library, a collection that brings principles and ideas to life by sharing concrete examples of historic materials and colored surfaces. She is originally from The Netherlands, where she obtained master degrees in Architectural History and Preservation, and a five-year professional doctorate equivalent degree in Conservation. She has been involved in projects for museums and institutions in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France, after which she lived and worked in the UK for over twelve years. In 2021 she moved to Western Massachusetts. Included in the list of respected organizations she is involved with, Elsbeth is a professional affiliate of the Collections Care & Conservation Alliance. 2:30 PM — Panel: archives hacks
More budget-friendly tips from practitioners. Bring a tip to share with the group! Post-workshop tour: We are pleased to offer attendees a glimpse behind the scenes at the Portsmouth Anthenaeum or Strawbery Banke Museum. Please state your preference when you register online. Both tours require about a ten-minute walk to the site and some stair climbing. Each tour is limited to just 12 people so sign up early! |
Handouts, Resources, etc.
We've added a resource page for "Back to Basics" to provide handouts and other resources for workshop participants. And here's a bonus: You can browse resource pages from past workshops... Just pick your topic!
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