Posts Tagged ‘public history’
From the Institute of Museum and Library Services:
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in cooperation with Heritage Preservation, is presenting WebWise Reprise, two online events based on the IMLS WebWise 2012 conference. The first event, on June 14 at 2:00 pm EDT, will be “Sharing Public History Work: Crowdsourcing Data.” The second event, on June 28 at 2:00 pm EDT, will be “Oral History in the Digital Age.”
WebWise Reprise will be hosted in the Virtual Meeting Room of the Connecting to Collections Online Community. This Online Community is part of Connecting to Collections, a multi-faceted national initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to aid museums and libraries in their care of collections. The Online Community draws on many resources that were developed for the initiative, including the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf and the Raising the Bar Workshops and Webinars.
Each 90 minute webinar will be moderated by Heritage Preservation Vice President Kristen Laise. The webinars will begin with a 20 minute video presentation from WebWise 2012. Participants will watch along with some of the presenters from each panel. After the viewing, the presenters will offer additional insights and answer participant’s questions live.
WebWise Reprise is free of charge, and no pre-registration is required. To participate simply go to the Connecting to Collections Online Community’s Virtual Meeting Room at the time of the webinar. You need not be a member, just enter your name and location, and join the conversation.
Sharing Public History Work: Crowdsourcing Data
Thursday, June 14, 2012, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT Public historians and librarians have long relied on their local communities for volunteers to assist paid staff as docents and interpreters, and as collections and reference assistants. More recently, a variety of collaborative online tools have it made possible for volunteers from a larger pool to assist museums and libraries to share in content work through crowdsourcing. We will watch the WebWise presentation of Ben Brumfield, Software Engineer at FromThePage Open-Source Transcription Software. In it, Ben discusses valuable lessons learned from crowdsourcing indexing of small collections. He will be joined by Sharon Leon, Director of Public Projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University to answer your questions.
Oral History in the Digital Age
Thursday, June 28, 2012, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT The sound of voices from the past can bring history to life in a powerful way for the 21st-century learner. In this Webinar, we will watch the WebWise presentation of Dean Rehberger, Director of MATRIX: the Center for Humane Art, Letters, and Social Science Online at Michigan State University and learn about MATRIX’s newest Web site Oral History in the Digital Age project (http://ohda.matrix.msu.edu). Dean will provide a tour of the site which includes best practices on issues about collecting, curating, and disseminating oral histories and narratives using current technology. He will be joined by Doug Boyd, director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries to answer your questions about oral histories and how their projects might assist you in your work.
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign,
Blocking out the scenery, Breaking my mind.
You’ve probably heard this song before. A hit in 1971, by a group from Ottawa called Five Man Electrical Band, it celebrated the free-thinking philosophy of flower children. Sometimes these two lines run through my head for a different reason.
Plaques, waysides, interpretive markers, call them what you want they are all signs. Now, I don’t necessarily have a problem with any of the above-mentioned interpretive devices. I like to read a good label or marker just like everyone else. But they come with an inherent weakness – implied authority.
When I last taught Introduction to Public History, one class’s discussion led to the topic of waysides and plaques. My students were aghast to learn that, 1) anyone can get a plaque made saying whatever they liked and, 2) a lot of the time there is no vetting procedure to make sure what is on a marker is accurate. They could easily see how this set of circumstances can lead to a host of problems.
It is interesting how the basic bronze plaque, you know the one, with the brown enameled background and raised polished letters, has come to be viewed as a source of unchallenged authority. In my class, it became a great teaching moment, one that I think all students need to internalize – question what you read and be a critical thinker. Just because something as permanent as a bronze plaque is bolted to the side of a building, the base of a statue or imbedded in a concrete walk doesn’t mean the words on it are true and accurate.
Marker placed in the 1930s on Rt. 355 near Urbana, Md., Frederick County. Understanding the history of the era during which a marker was placed helps to provide context as to why it was put there. But the age of a marker doesn't make it any more or less apt to be accurate.
This is a phenomenon that is unique to public history. Try and think of a plaque or even a wayside marker, that doesn’t have something to do with history. Any individual, club, family group, municipality, you name it, can purchase a marker and write what it wants on it. The vetting needs to come when the site for the marker is chosen and permission is requested to place it. Typically, plaques are in public places or off public thoroughfares and often some sort of government entity has to be involved. I think this is why most people think that markers have been “checked out” by someone. Sadly, whether or not a marker’s text is accurate and understandable all depends on an area’s review process, if there is one.
So until there’s a change, don’t believe Washington slept everywhere there is a plaque saying he did. Oh, and if you just love reading historical plaques you can see all kinds at Historical Marker Database.
Photo credit: Historical Marker Database
The Woodlands Historic Mansion, Cemetery and Landscape in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
On March 23, 2012, public history and museum studies graduate students, along with emerging professionals in these fields, participated in the second annual Public History Community Forum. Held at the Woodlands Historic Mansion, Cemetery and Landscape in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, PubComm12 featured a number of behind-the-scenes tours, a panel of professional public historians, and lively discussion.
Far left: Jim Mundy, Board President for the Woodlands Cemetery Company
Jim Mundy, Board President for the Woodlands Cemetery Company and Director of the Library and Historical Collections at The Union League, provided a brief history of the site, including its transformation from an expansive private estate and innovative garden to its current status as a National Historic Landmark and active cemetery. PubComm12 attendees broke off into four tours led by staff members; a house tour, a cemetery tour, a landscape tour, and a special “director’s tour” with Executive Director of The Woodlands, Jessica Baumert.
From Left: Robert Lukens, Sarah Rutman, Jessica Baumert, John Petit, Charles Hardy III, Ross Brakman, Sarah Hagarty
After the group reconvened, the panel discussion “Paths to Success” began. Seven professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region offered advice based on their experiences as students and emerging professionals; Jessica Baumert, Executive Director of the Woodlands; John Pettit, Assistant Archivist at the Urban Archives at Temple University; Ross Brakman, Field Study Coordinator for the American Institute for History Education; Sarah Hagarty, Coordinator of Educational Resources and Initiatives at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation; Robert Lukens, President of the Chester County Historical Society; Sarah Rutman, Assistant Registrar and Conservator at the New Jersey State Museum; and Charles Hardy, III, History Professor at West Chester University, Oral and Public History Documentarian, Historical Consultant, and Supervising Historian for ExplorePAHistory.com. An eighth panelist, Lyndsey Brown-Frigm, Executive Director of the Jacobsburg Historical Society was unable to attend.
Approximately 40 students and professionals attended this year's event
The panel was followed by a question and answer period, during which the approximately forty attendees asked the panelists and each other about coursework, internships, and career goals. As the discussion continued, the importance of networks and willing sacrifice emerged, as did the sense that it pays to keep our eyes open, as opportunities may present themselves outside institutions or the academy.
Ideas for next year’s Public History Community Forum are already coming in. Suggestions include hands-on workshops for resume or grant writing, “speed mentoring,” and a ThatCamp inspired “wild card” session that attendees vote on the day of the event.
Part of PubComm’s goals is fostering a public history community and providing opportunities for graduate students and emerging professionals in the region. As such, PubComm12 was organized by a committee comprised of graduate students and recent graduates from La Salle University, Temple University, and Rutgers-Camden.
PubComm12 was made possible by the support of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities at Rutgers-Camden, and the guidance of Dr. Charlene Mires and Dr. Robert Kodosky.
Photo Credits: Adam Clements and Molly Dixon
From H-Pennsylvania:
The Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent has reopened with a new exhibition concept, a community history gallery featuring exhibitions designed and curated by neighborhood organizations about the work they do and the contributions they have made to the fabric of life in the city. One goal of this new exhibition gallery concept is to give Philadelphians an active voice in presenting the city’s history based upon historical, social, cultural, intellectual, or political concepts.
The Philadelphia Voices Gallery will present three compelling exhibitions each year that give voice to the ways that Philadelphia’s community and neighborhood based organizations address issues including hunger, violence, homelessness, discrimination, housing, education, immigration, health, environment, and work.
Details on eligibility and selection and information for successful applicants can be found here. The application (PDF) deadline for this cycle of exhibits is June 8, 2012.
Applicants are invited to attend one of three informational meetings prior to submitting their applications. In addition to answering questions about the application process, the meetings will allow applicants to discuss exhibition concepts and learn more about the Philadelphia HIstory Museum’s resources and facilities. The meetings will be held at the museum on April 20, April 21, and May 5, from 1:00-2:00pm. Those interested in attending the meeting should contact Cindy Little at cindy.little@philadelphiahistory.org or call 215.685.4836.
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) at Rutgers-Camden is pleased to announce its continuing sponsorship of the second annual Public History Community Forum, PubComm12.
The event is to be held on March 23, 2012 at the Woodlands Historic Mansion, Cemetery, and Landscape in West Philadelphia. Registration will start at 12:30PM and the meeting is expected to last until 5PM. There is no registration fee. This free conference is geared toward current public history graduate students from around the Philadelphia region. Students are encouraged to attend to listen to professionals from across the public history community discuss their own career paths. Speakers will explain how they came into the field and their current employment, as well as the most important steps they took to achieve success.
The event is free, but pre-registration is necessary. Current graduate students and emerging professionals in public history and museum studies are strongly encouraged to attend, as are interested undergraduate students. Established professionals interested in sharing their wisdom are always welcome. To register, visit PubComm12′s Eventbrite page. For further information, Sara Borden at sara.a.borden@gmail.com.
This may be an odd time of year to be talking about this, after all Spring is the season for new life and renewal but some recent events have brought dead people across my path. As historians we deal with dead people a lot. Through investigating the documents and artifacts they leave behind we try to understand what their world was like—why they did what they did—all in an effort to better understand where we are now. Not long ago, a friend of mine who is also a public historian mentioned that a colleague of hers explains that what we all do is speak for the dead. In essence, historians are a medium between the modern world and those worlds that went before. I’m not sure I necessarily agree.
I understand where he’s coming from, public historians, in particular those who work in living history, talk about people a great deal. It is the way they make a personal connection for their audience. Investigating the life of a New England factory worker, or a Southern slave, or a Mid-Western settler; these all are effective ways to translate complex historical concepts and long ago events into a relatable package. But is it that we’re speaking for the dead or just reminding the living about what we know about the dead? Did these dead people even want their stories told? Well, you can go down that road for miles, surmising what George Washington or Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted people of the 21st century to know about them, but my real concern is the other kind of dead people. Ghosts.
A couple of weeks ago one of my staff members was approached by film makers working on a program for the SyFy Channel. They wanted to know if she would appear on camera to discuss the history of a location which they were “investigating” as having ghosts. They said they had done the research into the building but they needed a local historian to appear on camera to relate the information. [We do our own research, so we checked into their work and found it terribly inaccurate.] I denied the request. A chance at a trip to NYC and 15 minutes of fame is not enough to jeopardize the historical integrity of my organization.
It troubles me that the current popularity of investigating paranormal activity and/or ghost hunting is being conflated with history. I’ll get this out right up front, I don’t believe in ghosts. I have lived, worked and spent the night in many old buildings and I have yet to experience anything people have described as evidence of ghostly activity. My view is that if something is real, it is real for everyone regardless of “mindset,” or whether someone is “open to the experience.” For instance, a tree isn’t just there for those who are open to its existence, or gravity, yes it is still technically a theory, but it doesn’t disappear just because you don’t believe in it. If you want to believe ghosts exist that’s fine by me. I’m not going to argue with you, you have the right to believe in what you want. But what does bother me is the mixing of ghost stories and history for public consumption and paranormal investigations at historic sites. I know it is popular and in the public history field we are always trying to get people engaged, and spinning off programs based on what is trending in popular culture isn’t a bad idea. I could see an event based on historic ghost stories—those which have been passed down through the years—being popular and educational. However hosting a paranormal investigator at your site does not have any historical or interpretive value beyond popular entertainment.
We need to protect the integrity of historical research based on documents and artifacts, which is the foundation of what we do. With the marginalization of history education in schools, it is all too easy for people to start believing that ghostly activities are more real than the objects and accounts the actual people have left to us.
Thinking about the audience for your digital history project is an important step in any digital history project.
Few of us, especially in the nonprofit world, have the luxury of creating these types of online projects without a defined purpose: to educate, to motivate, or to engage a specific population. We might hope to create a resource for students and teachers on a specific topic, or aim to persuade people to come visit our sites in person. In other words, we want to accomplish something specific with our digital projects.
So how do we know if we’re succeeding?
Audiences for digital projects are just as important as those for public events. You don't want to be talking to an empty house.
Once a digital project has launched, how can you make sure that your selected audience has not only noticed you, but also is acting or learning or thinking in the way you hoped they would?
First, you need to confirm just who *is* using your site. You can use a tool like Google Analytics to track numbers of users, which pages are getting the most traffic, how long users stay on the site, and much more.
You probably also want to reach out to users directly to get their feedback. SurveyMonkey is a simple, free tool for creating online surveys. Or you could email a questionnaire to users (or people you hope are your users). If you have access to potential audience members at public programs or other in-person events, you could ask them to fill out paper surveys or interview them directly.
But be prepared: you might not like what you hear. Users might misconstrue your main theme, or be confused by your site structure, or hate your color scheme. Heck, you might learn that your desired audience isn’t even using the tool you’ve carefully chosen, adapted or crafted for them.
All is not lost! Sometimes, you can get your goals back on track with a little strategic marketing. You can’t expect your chosen audience to stumble upon your digital history project on their own. You need to publicize it in ways that will connect with your chosen audience: on list-servs, in social media, in newsletters or in the media, at public events, etc. Make sure your new project is getting the attention it deserves.
If you’ve already marketed the heck out of your digital project and you still aren’t connecting with the right audience, you may need to get more creative.
Why else might your chosen audience not be using your site? Do they need additional training, or enticements for using the digital resource? For example, if you’re hoping to connect with teachers, would it help to hold training workshops to give them the confidence to use your site in the classroom? Or perhaps a digital scavenger hunt or other online contest could help encourage your selected audience to explore the new digital resource?
Worst case, perhaps you need to tweak either your tool or your ideas about who is your audience. But you might just learn something that will help make your current and future digital projects successful.
Image: Pixomar / http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=905
It is February and you know what that means – it is Black History Month. I have never been too keen on the setting aside of particular months for things whether it be Women’s History Month in March or Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. I feel it gives people an excuse to ignore these topics the rest of the year. In the case for the historical recognitions it seems like the same token individuals/artifacts are dusted off (sometimes not even) and brought out for the obligatory exhibit or public program.
In our field if we don’t fall into step with the observance of a particular month for a particular group we could be labeled as out of touch, insensitive, or even worse, bigoted. I have always honed to the belief that if an organization is truly interested in serving the public—we as non-profits are responsible for keeping the public trust after all—it serves all the members of the public all the time. It doesn’t mean that you slip a minority into an exhibit or program to make sure you are hitting some quota, it means you keep your audience in mind at all times. You create programs that reflect your community and you are welcoming to everyone from all backgrounds. It is easy to say but hard to achieve. Not that most of us would want to consciously be unwelcoming, but there are perceptions we all have to manage.
The public is conditioned to expect African American history in February, though is it me or are they less conscious of March being Women’s History Month? So what to do if you want to capitalize on expectations but not appear to be pandering? Have your Black History Month program or exhibit or what-have-you in February but have another one some other month as well. Make sure your exhibits reflect the diversity of your community as much as you can reasonably manage. I understand the challenges this can create. My institution has limited resources relating to African American history (historically the Black population of the area hovers around 10%), though they are improving very slowly.
George Ambush operated a lunch wagon in the 1940s. Popular for its delicious sandwiches Ambush’s business also was known for its catchy slogan, “The six wheeled diner, where service is finer.” Much of his clientele included employees from local Frederick companies like Price Electric and Frederick Iron & Steel, which would coordinate their lunch hours to accommodate the wagon’s schedule. (Photo credit: From the collections of the Historical Society of Frederick County)
Nevertheless, we refuse to use the “we don’t have it, we can’t exhibit it” excuse and have come up with other ways to try to be good stewards of our community’s history. We host lectures, symposia, write articles, and use photos to fill in the gaps we have. At the same time we don’t typically make a big deal over the fact our efforts are specifically focused on Black history or women’s history or any other group’s history. It is all history and has equal importance to the understanding of our community and nation.
A recent thread on a listserv to which I subscribe was entitled “Incorporating the African American Story.” This made me think, are people still “incorporating” Black history? Shouldn’t it be there from the start?
Last year, I wrote a post about Broadcastr.com, which allows users to record and present “location-based” stories online. A few weeks later, another location-based site launched: HistoryPin.com. There, users can post audio stories AND photos, videos, and text to a location on a map, as well as create collections and tours. For instance, check out this neighborhood tour created by the San Francisco MTA Archives. Don’t miss the fade-out tool in the right-hand sidebar, which allows you to see the modern-day photograph as well as the historic image of the same location. Impressive.
But if you want to share stories based around people, not places, these tools are less useful.
Earlier this month, a librarian drew some well-deserved media attention for creating Facebook profiles for two students from the 1910s. Unfortunately, the profiles also violated Facebook’s terms of service (and now seem to have been removed, probably due to all the attention).
So how can institutions easily share stories based around people and families? More importantly, how can we share these stories on platforms that already have a built-in audience?
One possibility may be 1000Memories.com. Its users can post images and stories, create digital family trees, and comment on their own and others’ content. And users can do it all using their Facebook profiles, theoretically connecting one social network with another.
With “memories” in the site’s name, it’s not surprising that much of the current content seems to date to the last 50 years or so. But I don’t see any technical limitations on posting older images and content. The site also offers an app that allows you to digitize photographs using your iPhone. (Lacking the requisite iPhone to test out the app, I can’t tell you much about how it works or what kind of images it produces.)
I’ll be watching to see whether any cultural institutions decide to give it a try.
This little video went viral recently: a one-year-old who apparently thinks that a print magazine is no more than a broken iPad.
I don’t have a tablet myself (at least not yet), but I can see why the toddler might be confused. These days, we’re assimilating new technologies at lightning fast rates, and expect even cutting-edge features to become universal almost overnight.
Right now my own feature-envy is centered on the escape key: Facebook‘s use of escape to close images being viewed is so ingenious to me that I keep hitting escape on other sites, too, assuming that it works everywhere I want it to. If only!
As for the iPad toddler, is she a harbinger of our digital-dominated future, or of the present that’s already here? Or is she merely a toddler who likes objects that respond to her touch?
I can’t help but wonder what new technologies my own infant daughter will experience, assimilate, and eventually take for granted during her lifetime. She’s just a few months younger than the iPad toddler, but will that age-difference affect their relative experiences? Perhaps.
Fortunately, you don’t have to predict the future of technology to work in digital humanities. You just have to recognize opportunity when it knocks. Heck, it’s just a week old, but I can already imagine public history uses for digital concierges like Siri (available on the new iPhone 4S).
