Discussions and Questions

Available

Anoka County Historical Society has six blue fabric covered "cube" walls and the connectors to give away. Each wall section is five feet tall. Two sections are 58 inches wide and four are 34 inches wide. We have used them as exhibit backdrops. They are clean and in pretty good shape. These walls are not free standing; you need two in an L shape to make them stand. Please call Todd or Vickie by January 15, 2007, 763-421-0600.

Ongoing Discussions

Shift in Visitor Desires? (1 new message) Mike Worcester points out three types of visitors, and how the way that they visit is changing. Do we need to conduct visitor surveys?

Long Mid-Winter Projects (New Question) Tell us about projects both major and minor that you hope to accomplish this winter.

Selling History (New Question) Colonial Williamsburg is selling a historic plantation that it owns in public trust. What are the implications?

Job Announcements

Museum Administrative Assistant

Minnesota Transporation Museum seeks a half-time museum administrative assistant at its Jackson Street railroad museum in St. Paul. For more information contact Larry Schrenk, or send resume and references to Office, 193, East Pennsylvania Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55130-4319.

Curator

Nicollet County Historical Society seeks a Curator to manage a 12-month project intended to transform the Society’s 3D collections storage and create a lasting electronic artifact record using PastPerfect software. For the full job description, questions, or comments please contact Ben Leonard, 507-934-2160. To apply send cover letter, resume, and three references to: 1851 North Minnesota Avenue, St. Peter, MN, 56082 by January 16, 2007.

Museum Coordinator

Rockford Area Historical Society seeks a seasonal part-time coordinator to manage the historic Ames-Florida-Stork House. The coordinator leads a staff of one along with volunteers and reports to the elected Board of Trustees. Send applications and questions to: Wendy Biorn at 612-396-6294.

Historic Site Supervisor

North Dakota State Historical Society seeks historic site supervisors for Chateau de Mores State Historic Site in Medora, and Fort Buford State Historic Site near Williston. More information. Applications due by January 16, 2007.

Local Events

Roots of Rocori Area Settlements

John Decker will speak at the Stearns History Museum's Breakfast Club on January 10, 2007 at 9:00 a.m.  Decker's slide presentation focuses on the early history of five southeastern Stearns County communities including:  Jacobs Prairie, Rockville, Cold Spring, Richmond, and St. Nicholas. 

Goodhue County Historical Society Annual Meeting

Goodhue County Historical Society will hold its Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 28, 2007, beginning at 2:00 p.m. at the History Center, 1166 Oak Street in Red Wing. Following a brief business meeting and elections, Bonnie McDonald will speak on, "Preservation as Our Legacy." No admission will be charged.  For more information, please call Char at 651-388-6024.

News

Updated Website Needs Feedback

Morrison County Historical Society updated its website and invites those receiving MHS's Local History News to take a look and let us know what you think. How does it look? Does it navigate well? Is there anything missing? Email Mary Warner with comments.

AAM sets Standards and Best Practices

American Association of Museums (AAM) released "AAM Standards and Best Practices for US Museums." They include the AAM Code of Ethics for Museums and the standards to which museums are held in the nationally recognized AAM Accreditation Program.

Resource for digitization projects

Jill Marie Koelling wrote a useful book, Digital Imaging: A Practical Approach (AltaMira Press, 2004).  The book helps beginners learn to "speak digital."  Detailed and based on national standards, Koelling’s book, which can be ordered online will help your organization consider digitization projects. For Minnesota-based information, do not forget the Minnesota Digital Library.

Museum Lighting TechTalk Part 2

In the December 13, 2006 issue of Minnesota Historical Society Local History News, the link to Part 2 of the Tech Talk on Track Lighting in Museums was incorrect.

Goodhue County History Center January Hours

The Goodhue County History Center will not be open to the public weekdays during the month of January.  The history center will be open its regular Saturday hours (1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) and by appointment.  Additionally, the history center will have a special open day on Sunday, January 28, for its annual meeting and the opening of its Red Wing sesquicentennial exhibit.

Rediscovering a river crossing

"Historic River crossing rediscovered" in the Mankato Free Press documents the Nicollet County Historical Society's effort to locate the historic Traverse des Sioux crossing.

Grant Deadlines

GoogleGrants AdWords

Designed for non-profit organizations, the GoogleGrants AdWords program awards advertising on the Google.com site. GoogleGrant recipients use their award of free AdWords advertising on Google.com to raise awareness and increase traffic. Each organization awarded a grant receives at least three months of in-kind advertising. Deadline: Ongoing.

Upcoming Conferences and Workshops

Association of Midwest Museums

January 31, 2007 is the deadline to submit proposals for Association of Midwest Museums annual conference at Mackinac Island, MI, September 25 –28, 2007.

Digitization Conference in Minneapolis

Northeast Document Conservation Center will hold its popular 3-day "School for Scanning: The A-Z of creating digital collections" at Marriott City Center in Minneapolis, May 1-3, 2007. For more information contact Julie Carlson.

Northern Great Plains History Conference

Presentations are needed for its meeting in Duluth, Minnesota on October 4-7, 2007. Proposals for papers or sessions in any area of history are welcome. Send one-page abstracts and vitae by March 31, 2007, to Dr. Eleanor Hannah, Department of History, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1121 University Drive, Duluth, Minnesota, 55812-3027.

Minnesota Conference on Sustainable Tourism

University of Minnesota Tourism Center announces its second annual conference to be held at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, April 25-26, 2007.