Call for AAM Session Proposals
The AAM Curators’ Committee invites you to submit a session proposal for the 2011 AAM Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas, on May 22-25. As an AAM standing professional committee, CurCom is allocated guaranteed slots in the conference program, and endorsement of your proposal by CurCom increases the chances that your session will accepted. When submitting your proposal, please indicate that you are seeking CurCom endorsement.
This is an opportunity for you, as a member of CurCom and a museum professional, to have an impact on the future of the field, and to
* Explore critical issues or ideas that will benefit your colleagues, your museum and your profession
* Tap into a wider network of professionals
* Receive national recognition from your peers
Proposals may address a wide range of curatorial issues including collections research, interpretation, and management; innovation or unique projects and approaches; and standards and practices. Proposals that address the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of work that occurs within museums are strongly encouraged.
Session Proposal Guidelines
2011 Conference Theme: To read more about the 2011 conference theme: The Museum of Tomorrow.
Submitting Proposal: AAM utilizes an online session proposal system, newly improved and streamlined for 2011.
Deadline: To be considered for CurCom endorsement, you must submit your proposal by July 16, 2010.
For additional questions, assistance with developing session ideas or to submit proposals please contact: Ron Potvin, CurCom Program Committee Chair, at (Ronald_Potvin@Brown.edu) or at 401.863.1177.
Nominations Open for 2010 Katherine Coffey Award from the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums
Nominations should include a letter identifying the nominee and explaining their contribution and must include the nominee's resume and/or curriculum vitae. Nominations do not necessarily need to include a minimum of two letters of support from other museum professionals.
All nomination materials should be sent by August 15, 2009 to:
Coffey Award Committee Chair
Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums
1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW – Suite 500 East
Washington, DC 20007
Questions?
director@midatlanticmuseums.org
Phone: (202) 452-8040
Fax: (202) 833-3636
BACKGROUND OF THE KATHERINE COFFEY AWARD
(Reprinted from the Museologist, No.125)
Awards for outstanding service are too seldom given by organizations of the museum profession. It is true that occasionally persons in the field receive certificates of merit, plaques and sometimes, although very rarely, honorary degrees. As a rule, such awards when given are presented by chambers of commerce, service clubs, and once in a while, by colleagues and universities. Unfortunately, however, our own profession has rarely regarded the contribution of its own notables.
Therefore, it was somewhat unusual that the Board of Governors of the Northeast Museums Conference (now MAAM) in May, 1972 agreed that nominations from a broad area be solicited for recognition of distinctive and worthy projects within the museums field. It was also decided that occasionally, when opportunity offered, a professional museum staff member should be cited for outstanding service to museology. The award, set up by the Conference, took the name of the late Katherine Coffey (1900-1972). She was one of the outstanding museum leaders and administrators of the nation. A graduate of Barnard College in the class of 1922, she first joined the Newark Museum staff in 1923, left and returned in 1925 to remain on permanent basis until her retirement in 1968. She was in charge of all exhibitions and educational programs and directed an apprentice-training program from 1929 to 1942. During that period the course graduated 110 young people who later became associated with the staffs of museums all over the country. Many became prominent in their profession. In 1949, Miss Coffey became the Newark Museums fourth director, serving in that post 19 years. She had devoted 43 years of service to the museum when she retired in 1968. On her retirement the Newark Museum established the $100,000 Katherine Coffey Endowment Fund in her honor.
With this background of the honor as a basis it is more clearly evident why the action of the Conference was most appropriate when it conferred the first Katherine Coffey Award upon Hanna Toby Rose in 1972, who had just retired from the Brooklyn Museum.
Western Pennsylvania Museum Council to Combine Operations with the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations
The Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations (PFMHO), based in Harrisburg, PA, has announced the addition of a Western Pennsylvania office as of January 1, 2010. The Western Pennsylvania Museum Council (WPMC) will be integrating its regional based services with the PFMHO.
According to Richard Burkert, president of the PFMHO, for several years the PFMHO and the WPMC have enjoyed a strong working relationship. Combining their complimentary visions will help with operational and programming efficiencies as well as fulfill their strategic plans. "The partnership between the PFMHO and the WPMC has been strong and mutually beneficial for several years. We are excited about the new relationship as it will help streamline resources as well as bring professional development for museum professionals under one roof," said Burkert.
Deborah Filipi, executive director of the PFMHO, added that the partnership is significant as it financially assists each organization by bringing services under one organizational head. "We believe this new partnership will result in new opportunities for membership and be a catalyst for our organization's growth. It will also result in enhanced programming and educational possibilities across the state as our resources will now be combined," said Filipi.
Chrisoula Randas Perdziola, executive director of the Western Pennsylvania Museum Council, will staff the new Western Pennsylvania office of the PFHMO and will continue to provide direct service to the Western Pennsylvania membership. This change will further the mission of the PFMHO through improved service, increased outreach efforts and fewer redundancies in service areas, thus creating a stronger and vibrant organization. The Western Pennsylvania Museum Council currently has 85 museum members in 16 counties and focuses on providing professional development services to museum professionals.
The PFMHO represents the interests of the over 1,000 museums and related organizations throughout the Commonwealth. As their principal advocate, the PFMHO increases public awareness of the essential roles of museums to enhance the quality of life for Pennsylvania residents and to attract visitors. The primary networking organization for museum professionals and volunteers in Pennsylvania, the PFMHO promotes standards of excellence and provides access to a wide range of services needed to advance the development and sustainability of institutions and their staff and volunteers.
The mission of the PFMHO seeks to promote public awareness of the value of museums throughout Pennsylvania; assist Pennsylvania museums in meeting generally accepted standards of practice; support museum professionals and volunteers in the Commonwealth; and advocate strong state support; and advocate strong state support of museums and related organizations through collaboration with multi-disciplinary statewide partners.
For more information, contact Deborah Filipi at 717-909-4950.
PA Civil War 150
Tuesday, October 6, 2009, the Commonwealth's official planning committee launched a preview of the key programs for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in Pennsylvania, including:
www.pacivilwar150.com, a website for Civil War stories and a virtual entryway to the vast collections in Pennsyvlania's museums and historical societies.
The Pennsylvania Civil War Roadshow, a travelling museum experience.
Launch events were held at 2 p.m. at the State Museum, Harrisburg, The Civil War History Consortium, Philadelphia, and The Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh.
Recession Busting Exhibit!
And I am not kidding. This is the perfect exhibit for a small arts center, or small historical museum that would like to try something a little different. In the spirit of pitching in, we’d like to offer this terrific opportunity.
The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center is presently featuring “My Own Fairy Tale: Fanciful Art Dolls by Stacy Clark” in a 20’ x 20’ gallery. With the permission and blessings of the artist, we are interested in offering these amazing dolls (did I say amazing) and digital images of the environment we created for them AND examples of our educational materials for literally the cost of transporting them to your site.
Given the Germanic nature of our institution, we’ve been interested in fairy tales for several years now. What we sought to do with this exhibit is encourage children and their adults to develop their own fairy tales using the characters in our exhibit, and the environment we created for them. The characters are mostly all recognizable –Cinderella, Puss in Boots, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc, etc – but some are purely from Stacy’s imagination, which we hope will stimulate (in the interest of stimulus) some little minds also. This is the third exhibit we’ve hosted of Stacy’s work. She has won awards and been featured in Early American Life’s Christmas directory of artists…but I will gladly provide more bio information on request if you have any doubts as to whether she is amazing (did I say amazing?)
Stacy will even come to your site for programming should you so desire, at very low cost to you – perhaps just travel and per diem! She has done some terrific programs for school children and home schoolers with our educator, Rebecca Lawrence. (rebecca@schwenkfelder.com) Last week they partnered for a program for college students, and lectures and classes for adults are possible, also!
Maybe you’re saying “But how can I, the solitary staff member of a tiny museum/historical society/public library take advantage of this when I receive no stimulus monies and my donors all lost thousands when the stock market plummeted?”
Well – there are a few requirements. You must be a small not-for-profit from Connecticut to South Carolina. You must be able to handle a few hundred dollars of transportation costs (if you do your own pick up you could save those $$$). You must have an appropriate way of exhibiting the dolls, or use our amazing design (the dolls DO NOT have to be under or behind glass). You must have a secure building.
This is a wonderful opportunity from an extremely generous artist. The dolls will be available to travel by September 2009 and I would say could be exhibited in 4-6 month intervals with a couple of months for refurbishing and turnover. Contact me, Candace Perry (candace@schwenkfelder.com) or our educator Rebecca (email above) and also look for the exhibit on our website (www.schwenkfelder.com)
Candace Perry (215-679-3103)
Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
Pennsburg, PA
Call for Papers
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
Special Issue: Civil War in Pennsylvania (October 2011)
The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography is issuing a call for articles for a special issue of the magazine on the Civil War in Pennsylvania scheduled for an October 2011 publication.
The editors seek submissions of the following two sorts.
Scholarly Articles: The editors seek proposals for scholarly articles (25–35 pages, double spaced) featuring new research on the Civil War in Pennsylvania. Articles can focus on military, political, or civilian topics. Selections will be made based on the quality of the submission and with an eye toward representing the diversity of current Civil War research.
Favorite Sources/Hidden Gems: The editors seek proposals for short articles (250–750 words) featuring favorite sources/hidden gems highlighting some aspect of the Civil War in Pennsylvania. We invite articles focusing on both written and non-written sources, including but not limited to diaries, manuscript collections, novels, government documents, photographs, museum artifacts, and monuments. These items may or may not be found in the state, but all featured items will serve to illuminate some aspect of how Pennsylvanians experienced the war. Selections will be made based on the quality of the submission and with an eye toward representing the wide variety of source material available for understanding the Civil War in Pennsylvania.
Submission details: Submissions should be addressed to Tamara Gaskell, Editor, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 or, by e-mail, to pmhb@hsp.org.
Guest editors: Potential contributors are encouraged to consult with one of the two guest editors for this issue of the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Matt Gallman at the University of Florida can be reached at gallmanm@history.ufl.edu. Judy Giesberg at Villanova University can be reached at giesberg@villanova.edu.
Deadline for submissions: January 8, 2010.
Traveling Exhibition Available from the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, Portraits in Gray: Civil War Photography Exhibition featuring the collection of David Wynn Vaughan
After losing parents prior to the war, seventeen-year-old Tommie Woods, of Social Circle, Ga., left home and joined the Confederate Army in 1861. He became the beloved drummer boy for his regiment and was deployed to Richmond, Va. During the bitterly cold winter in Richmond, Woods contracted pneumonia and died. His portrait, as well as many other photographs of brave soldiers will be displayed as a part of the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History’s first traveling exhibition, Portraits in Gray: a Civil War Photography Exhibition.
Private collector from Atlanta, Georgia, David Wynn Vaughan has arguably the largest collection of Civil War Confederate images in the nation, many of them identified. The exhibition will feature 70 of his images in 9 thematic sections. This exhibition is the first time his collection will be displayed for the public. One section highlights his rare collection includes eight of the known 12 portraits of cadets at the Georgia Military Institute. While others include Citizen Solider, Snapshots in Time, Civil War Photography, Dressed for the Photographer, Brothers in Arms, Youth at War and Bowie Knives and Muskets. There are many opportunities to feature your institution's Civil War artifacts and photographs.
"The entire collection is exceptionally rare and gives us insight into the human face of the American Civil War, the importance of the photographers and photography of the period and the valuable visual record they left behind" Curator Mike Bearrow, said.
The exhibition begins traveling in January 2009 and the Southern Museum is currently seeking venues to host this wonderful exhibition.
Exhibition fee: 12 week booking $6000.00 (January 2009- 2014)
Contents: 4 crates weighing: 960 lbs
Total Running feet = 1835
70 Reproduction framed four-color photographs of Confederate images of soldiers from the David Wynn Vaughan collection (54) 16 "x 20" and (16) 14" x 18" sizes.
10 thematic text panels 26 1/4" x 30"
1 panel 82" x 60" reproduction painting of the Georgia Military Institute campus courtesy of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources; A.H. Stephens State Historic Park.
5 banners 33 1/4" x 81" (1) exhibit introduction and (4) thematic banners
1 reproduction stereo viewer with cards
Contact information:
Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History
Ava R. Wilkey, Registrar
2829 Cherokee Street NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144
PH: 770-427-2117 extension 3058
Email: awilkey@kennesaw-ga.gov
Small Organizations and the IRS
Beginning in 2008, small tax-exempt organizations will have a new filing requirement for reporting the 2007 tax year. It is short, easy and electronic. It is the new e-Postcard from the IRS. If you are a tax exempt organization that normally has annual gross receipts of $25,000 or less and does not have to file a Form 990 or 990-EZ, you must file the e-{postcard. It is due the fifteenth day of the fifth month after the close of your tax year. So if you organization operates on a calendar year, the e-Postcard is due by May 15 of the following year.
What happens if you don’t file? You risk losing your tax-exempt status! If you think this new filing requirement may apply to your organization, go to www.irs.gov/eo for complete details. While you are there sign up for exempt organization’s fee email newsletter, EO Update, to receive up –to-date information posted on the charity pages of www.irs.gov.
If you would like to learn more about how to maintain your tax-exempt status no matter what your budget visit www.stayexempt.org.
Reprinted from The Association of Indiana Museums Bulletin, February 2008 and AASLH Dispatch, May 2008. Posted here 5/19/08.
PHMC Focusing on Black History
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will coordinate a multi-year study to identify and document African American historical and cultural resources in the state. Another focus will be on the development of heritage tourism programs focusing on local black history.
“We all accept the importance of studying American history and recognize that Pennsylvania has played a key role in the development of our country” said PHMC Executive Director Barbara Franco. “But that story is incomplete without the inclusion of the African American experience in Pennsylvania. This project is an opportunity to tell a richer and more accurate story and make this information available to the public.”
The commission, in partnership with the African American Museum of Philadelphia, will conduct the survey. The cost is covered by a $142,500 grant from Preserve America, a federal program that encourages and helps fund historic preservation projects. PHMC will provide matching state funds to cover the $285,000 cost.
Franco said funding will also be available to:
· Assist in developing local tourism projects that feature African American history;
· Help not-for-profit organizations identify, document and nominate to the National Register of Historic Places, historically significant African American cultural resources, as well as nominate them for the PHMC's historical marker program; and
· Support the development of other public history programs, such as lectures, exhibits, and heritage tourism products such as walking or driving tours and marketing programs.
PHMC has selected black history as its theme for 2010. The study results, a related Web site, public educational programs, as well as the African American heritage tourism programs, will be launched in early 2010.
Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration in Pennsylvania
CWPA 150
Check back with us from time to time as we will update this information as information becomes available.
The Heritage Society and PHMC to Lead Civil War Project (on PHS website 2/14/08)
The Pennsylvania Heritage Society has received a $500,000 grant on behalf of PHMC from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to conduct statewide planning for the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011-2015). A newly formed Civil War Pennsylvania 150 Planning Committee (CWPA 150) has been meeting monthly since October 2007 with major partnering history and cultural institutions from Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Gettysburg, and Philadelphia. Mr. James Pickman, a consultant who played a key role in the redevelopment of Independence Mall in Philadelphia and chaired the board of the Independence Visitor Center there, was hired by the Pennsylvania Heritage Society as project manager to direct the planning efforts of CWPA 150 and is providing crucial leadership in the facilitation of the project.
Under the auspices of the Heritage Society, the committee is developing a Pennsylvania programmatic agenda for the Sesquicentennial, identifying statewide projects such as major traveling exhibitions, a collections digitization project, new media, a web portal, and K-12 educational curricular materials and teacher professional development, as well as many regionally and locally coordinated programs and substantive commemorations grounded in the humanities.
