NYSHA Staff Member Today

Today, was an exciting day because my assistantship went from being paid by SUNY Oneonta to being paid by the New York State Historical Association.  The reason this is exciting is because I go from having 2-3 assistantship hours a week to having 7-10 hours a week, which is a lot more money, and being a grad student every little bit helps.

Now, I can't remember if I talked about what I was doing as my assistantship, but basically my assistantship is Special Projects, which basically means that i do what needs to get done.  Right now that involves me writing and sending out letters to all the professionals who wrote letters of recommendation for students, inviting them to share our program with other students they think might be interested.   Basically, I just writing letters and sending information packets out.  Besides that I am going to be working on developing the CGP wikipedia page, so we get more information about the program out there, and I am also going to be working with a few other girls in developing the opening event for the new CGP building next Spring.  

All and all it seems like a lot of fun, and some interesting work, especially with the opening event stuff that needs to get done.

Were has the time gone

Sorry for the delay between posts, life has been busy, and of course back to the doctor again, now its hives in response to the medication, but everything appears to be ok.  

OK, some interesting things of note that have happened in the last week...and there really aren't that many...besides the hives.  Classes have been pretty much normal, we have started studying oral history in Research and Fieldwork and Fabrics in Culture and Collections.

Next week, I do my Intro to Museums presentation based on visitor experience.  I am still looking for a museum professional to interview in order to complete the assignment, but I guess there is still a week left.

Today, I set up my volunteership with the Farmer's Museum.  I am going to be working with the education departments, doing a financial analysis of their programs.   This will be a good way to keep my accounting and finance mind sharp.

Our class also started working on a feasibility study for the Oneonta World of Learning, a group of mothers who want to start a Children's Museum.  Surprise, surprise I am doing the financial/budget compiling and analysis for the group.

While I do not want to pigeon holed into Finance, it is a skill that can disappear without use, and I want to keep my accounting brain sharp, because I feel like its one of my best assets, so everything has been working out pretty well.

Sorry it took so long to write

Home Sick and Listening to Music

I was home this afternoon sick, so I was laying in bed listening to a lot of music, and running across other peoples favorite songs, and so I decided...hey I didn't do anything that exciting today, so what am I going to write about....MUSIC...so here as of September 24, 2009 is what I consider my favorite songs...though this is likely to change by tomorrow...since I love music... (I linked the songs to youtube videos)

1. Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis

2. Push - Matchbox 20 (they were still 20 and not twenty then)

...after this it gets tricker...

3. Say it Again - Maria Digby

4. Knock You Down - Keri Hilson

5. Broken - Lifehouse

6. Playing with my Heart- Kate Voegele

7. Angel - Kate Voegle

8. The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

9. You Find A Way - Graham Colton

10. Letters from the Wasteland - The Wallflowers

....I am going to shoot for top twenty...

11. Wonderwall - Oasis

12. Closer to You - The Wallflowers

13. Lost - Michael Buble

14. Show Me What I'm Looking For - Carolina Liar

15. Heart of Gold - Neil Young

16. Don't Stop Believing - Journey

17. Lovestone/I think she knows - Justin Timberlake

18. Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

19. Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

20. Closing Time - Semisonic

Well thats the list I came up with while recovering...knowing me it will change tomorrow. 

Oral History and Shared Authority

Today in our Research and Fieldwork class we began to discuss oral history in preparation for the oral history project we are doing later in the semester.  Many questions and debates arose about oral history as we discussed the topic and research methodology.  Many people believe that oral history is important because it allows alternative stories to be told, not just the standard the winner writes history ones.  Oral history is highly dependent on the interviewee, the person narrating the story and providing the information.   Questions start to arise when as researchers we question the validity and the "truth" of different statements made.  Some people consider oral histories to be less reliable because they are stories that are often recalled years after the fact, and many researchers probably are just not that comfortable using oral histories.  Oral History has only become big in the last half-century and most college students are still taught how to conduct research with written records.  How much more valid are written records though, is a diary all that different then an account from a person taken orally? Are newspapers tell the truth or just trying to get a good story? When a person writes a letter are they guaranteed to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth? NO.

Oral histories don't need to be used to nail down facts by themselves, but they can be used to determine the meanings of actions and events.  And really, not to get to philosophical, but is there really one truth out there.  The stories are often the truths according to the narrator.

The big question we had today was, however, about shared authority.  The best definition that we were able to come up with in class seemed to be that shared authority is trying to share the interpretive authority, and that both the interviewee and the interviewer should have a say in the final product.  The problems that arose were could you use information that would but the person in a bad-light?  Do you have to respect their wishes if they don't want something that they said publicized?  Do you have the right to contradict their statements as a researcher if you find opposing evidence? etc.

I think one of the problems of our class was that we entered with a very scientific mindset, that the "Truth" is always the ultimate goal, and it was our duty to seek it out and share it as much as possible, even if it meant contradicting an interviewee, telling the bad side of their story that they themselves did not want to share, or blatantly saying that what they said was a lie and analyzing what they said.

As researchers who are used to manipulating and twisting all the information we can get from sources, sometimes I think it is easy to forget that the interviewee is a person, a person who deserves our respect on many levels.  First and foremost though, they are taking the time to sit down with us an tell us a story, time that they did not need to share.  If we start presenting negative images that they don't want presented we are breaking a level of trust that they put in us when they agreed to do the interview, we are also could be causing harm to them, by releasing something that they did not want release, they still are living people with lives, friends, families, and communities to go back to.  On a more professional level is getting the whole exact story out of every person so important that we are willing to alienate people in the process, or is keeping people comfortable and having a good reputation whereby many more interviews can be done better? That seems to be a personal question for every researcher?  I think there is a degree of ethics, empathy and humanity that is needed to be a public historian, one needs to actually remember and consider the public and those being interviewed are people, and in a museum class that is devoted to public services, sometimes not sharing the whole truth, and thus saving people pain, might be a better plan, at least initially.

What are Museums...are they essential?

Yesterday, in my Intro to Museums class we began to discuss, what museums were and what their purposes are.  At face value this seems to be a simple question.  Museums display artifacts and tell history that people can then come and see, but is that really the right answer?

Most museums are considered non-profits and so have to abide by certain laws and tax codes to get the benefit of not having to pay taxes.  According to the US Tax code museums serve an educational purpose that allows them to avoid taxes.  Just because the government says museums must hold this role, does it mean that museums are limited to that function, should or should not that be the main function of museums?

Many of us in the museum community say that museums are essential to a community, and that the education purpose that they hold is what drives their purpose.  What happens if a museum is not the most essential part of a community though?  Public health, feeding the poor, school education, and so much more might come across and in fact be much more vital to the surrounding community.  How does a museum stay relevant and in business in this type of environment?  One must remember that museums are in fact businesses and that they still have a bottom line to meet at the end of the year.  

Can museums achieve success and relevancy by serving other functions in the community.  In class we discussed other things a museum can do to not only make money but also stay important to the community.  For instance, in a Korean immigrant area of New York City, a house museum devoted to Quakers is being established.  How is this relevant at all to the community it is being places in?  How can it make itself relevant and bring in the funding from its very different community to stay open?  My suggestion was to offer an ESL program.  This way a museum is still acting as an educational institution and is also finding new ways to bring people into it, different grants would also be available to the museum.  

Other suggestions included hosting weekly dinners for low-income families.  Not only would this get people into the museum, but it would also be an opportunity to serve traditional quaker food, serve them in a traditional manner, or at least discuss how the Quakers did things.  The bottom line is that in this economy the museum needs to find new ways to stay sustainable and relevant in the community around it, and maybe some good, hard  thinking outside the box is necessary.  

Can extra, new services also provide additional support and marketing opportunities for a museum?

The End of Beginning

Today, is pretty much what is called the end of the introduction period for first year students.  Today we presented our orientation project at the New York State Historical Society Staff meeting and then ended the day with a President's Reception at the Fenimore Art Museum.  

During our week of orientation we were assigned a project.  The project was to create a promotional video for the Cooperstown Graduate Program based off a bunch of clues.  We received about thirty words and we had to figure out what they referred to and find a way to incorporate them into a video.  Our class decided to base our video off MacGyver  and created Museum MacGyver, the tales of a student as he solves problems and learns about the core values of CGP.  The video wound up coming out great.  Once we figured out what the clues were we went ahead and organized ourselves.  My mine role was to help write the script, which I personally think was quick hysterical.  After the script was done we filmed the video, which allowed me to make appearances in a couple of scenes.  Finally our fantastic editing crew went to work and did something magical, to make the video absolutely fantastic.  When we presented it to the NYSHA staff of maybe 60 or so, they seemed to enjoy it and laughed a lot.

Classes preceded as normal afterwards, and I handed in my first official paper as a Graduate Student.  A short four page paper about Alan Taylors book: William Cooper's Town. I also had the opportunity to dig through some of the Fenimore Art Museum's print collections so I could journal about what I found for my Culture and Collections class.  I worked off of a aquatint from what I think was at least the 1860s or 1870s, showing a picture of the Newark during the War of 1812.

The night ended with a President's Welcome Reception in honor of the first-year students at the Fenimore Art Museum.  The staff of NYSHA, the Fenimore Art Museum, The Farmer's Museum, locals from the community and the President of SUNY Oneonta were all present along with the staff and students of CGP.  It was a great chance to network and talk to different people.  Its also awesome to talk to the president of the university for the second time in a month, something that I never experienced at UConn, you can really tell she personally care about our program and the students. It made for a great night of professional socializing.

White Gloves and McDonald's Bags

Today, in Culture and Collections, we once again looked at printed materials. Today we moved onto screen printing and wallpapers.  We once again went over how to recognize different methods of printing.  What was funny, was that we were looking at the printing on a McDonalds bag and as we were holding it we were wearing our white archivist gloves, and passing it carefully from one person to the next, though really this was just a McDonalds bag you could get at any store.  

After looking at the McDonlads bag and finishing learning about basic prints we moved onto wallpapers, which were very interesting to study.  We discussed their origins, how to tell time periods, and methods of making.  The funny part was when we were holding a piece in our bare hands the instructor was like, "umm...since you dont have gloves on, i just wanted to let you know that you should wash you hands, because a lot of old wallpaper paints were made with toxics, green is notorious for having arsenic in it."  Well needless to say that was comforting.

But all and all it made for an interesting class today.

The Official CGP Hazing

I have decided that volunteering at the Harvest Festival is CGP's official hazing program.  Students don't find out that they will be forced to volunteer until the first week of classes.  I can understand why they have us "volunteer": it establishes good community relations and gets us more involved in what's going on, but at the same time, we are grad students with lots of work already, I wish it had been optional, i would have volunteered for one day, but probably not two.  Not to complain too much, but having been sick all weekend, sitting out in the rain today was not too much fun, and those oxen above charged me, which i guess is kinda funny.  I was sitting on the stone wall, watching the parade, and a few seconds after this picture was taken, they started running towards me and got within about two feet, which was right about when I jumped on top of the wall and the lady controlling them stepped in....talk about getting the heart beating.  Below are a few more pictures I took while sitting around. 

We were on security detail, making sure people didn't get run over by the horse and carriages...or....as I call it, sit on the stone wall and read

It was junior...something...H4? animal showing...this girl was with here sheep

Cool looking cow

got to love cows though...Cooperstown is a real country land

the wagon we were saving people from...starting to sprinkle at this point as well, the umbrella on the old wagon made me laugh

Another set of beautiful horses

  

Sights and Sounds of the Harvest Festival...or...ALPACAS

The Harvest Festival is an annual event put on by the Farmer's Museum every year, and the CGP first-year students are required to volunteer and help out.  The festival is a combination animal show, craft fair, and food extravagnanza. Below are just some of the images I took while there, helping out at the admissions booth.

Alpacs were big this year

Award winning Alpacas...they seemed snobby

Hi Ginny...these were characters

The Farmers' Museum sheep were also getting some attention

At a little bit of a distance

Tavern and a craft tent

Main Stretch of the Farmers' Museum

 

The pigs were having fun as well, though their idea of fun is a little different

turkey perched on top of the turkey hut

More pictures to come tomorrow hopefully, as I "volunteer" for the second day.

Productive Days

Normally, up here in the Cooperstown, we have Professional Seminars on Fridays.  Professional Seminars are days when guests, like different people who work in the museum field, come in and lecture for the day, telling us about their experiences.  Since this was the  first week of classes though, a professional seminar was not scheduled.  Thus, I received a day to be active.

There is nothing like actually being able to get up and moving in the morning and get out for a run.  Cooperstown is actually a beautiful town, with lots of cute and historic-looking streets to run down and soak up some fresh morning air, especially while the weather is still halfway decent.  I promise pictures at a future date, but its unfortunatley raining at the moment, so it is not the best of times to go out and retrace the running route.  

Besides the exercise and getting a few chores done, I also had the chance to go to the library and get some work done.  One of the assignments for next week that I wanted to get done today was for my Culture and Collections class, which involved finding a historic paper print and writing about it.  I decided to start in the library and wander the stacks.  While down in the basement I discovered an old New York register and almanac dating from 1831.  In the front of the book there was a lithograph of Albany's City Hall.  Take the old, well-worn book off the wall, I sat down and studied it for an hour, and tried to decide what story the picture was telling.  

After about an hour I finished up my writing and went t go print out some journal articles to read for my American Cultures class.  While CGP and SUNY Oneonta, have a great collection of online resources, I still found myself logging onto my UConn web account and looking up some journals that way.  I find that UConn's site is definitely more user friendly and also seems to have more resources readily available, but that;s probably because its a much bigger institution.    The UConn web log-in is a one time deal, you start the session by logging on and then you can navigate through different gated research sites, the Oneonta website, requires to you login every time you move to a different database, which is much more time consuming and my main issue.  Besides that, UConn's website is a little better formated and has easier interfaces established, so its much easier to find basic information quickly.  I found though Oneonta had a lot of what I was looking for the information was easier to get to on UConn's page.

Cooperstown Graduate Program....Learning about museum studies

CGP Graduate Class of 2011

Today, marks the end of my first week of official classes at CGP.  It has been a great week, filled with really interesting discussions, which has made me sure that choosing to go to this program was the right decision.  I've talked about "Culture and Collections" and "Research and Fieldwork" already.  Today, I attended two more classes: "Introduction to Museums" and "American Cultures I."  Both classes provided very stimulation conversation and debate, among a group of people who were all very passionate about what they talked about, which made the experience very cool.

Our major project in the Intro to Museums class involved working with the Oneonta World of Learning (OWL).  OWL is a group of mothers in Oneonta looking to create a children's museum in Oneonta, NY.  Our job is to research and investigate the feasibility of the project, then offer informed advice about whether the museum should be built, and if so, how much money is going to be needed, where the money may come from, what things will need to be included, etc.  I find, since this is a largely financial investigation that my background in Accounting will probably come in very handedly.

In American Cultures we talked about the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.  We discussed why and why not we thought it was a success, what our opinions were of it, and the troubles faced by museums addressing the issues of American Indians. It was a very interesting discussion.  Part of what I personally thought was wrong with the museum was that it was created my a large variety of different tribes, all contributing to the final exhibition space, and each group had an identity that they wanted portrayed.  The museum was focused more on what the tribes wanted displayed and talked about and less focused on what the audience was interested in seeing.  According to the readings that we did, it seemed that there was a more   internal instead of external focus.  A museum is a business, it should be focused on bringing in people and appealing to the public, not just forcing ideas of there.

Both classes today we had intense discussions about what the purpose of a museum is and what a museum should or should not be doing or be responsible for.  It got me thinking more and more about different aspects of museums, which was awesome.

  

Paper, Prints and More

Today, was the first day of our Culture and Collections class, which is a class the studies objects and their historical significance.  We started by learning about how to identify different paper and be able to place a piece of paper in  time.

Paper has been made different ways throughout time: mainly it has either been laid, which basically means hand-made or it has been woven (i.e made by a machine).  We learned today how to tell the difference between handmade paper and woven paper, based on the lines and characteristics of the paper itself.  Once you id how the paper is made it is easier to place it during a certain period of time, laid paper being older.

The second way we dated/id'd paper was based on the material it was made of.  Earlier on paper was actually made from linen and cotton fibers, which produce heavier and more mailable paper.  Wood pulp paper is a later invention which is more easily recognized because as it ages it turns brittle and yellows.

After we learned about the paper itself, when then learned about different ways that images were printed on the paper, whether in relief (i.e. woodcuts), intaglio (i.e copper plate etchings and engravings), or planographic (i.e litography).  We learned about the various ways these processes were done, how to distinguish between processes, and the dates that correspond to when the processes were popular.

I did not consider myself a material culture's person going into class today, but I can say that class was in fact very interesting.  It was interesting to finally be in a small class that we fully participate in and have a chance to spend most of the time to hands-on work.  The majority of the class was spent actually looking a different paper and prints and letting us actually hold them in our hands and identify the differences.  I can definitely say so far, one class in, grad school is pretty darn awesome.

Research Week: Day 3...objects and their significance

When we walk through the homes of others or even look at how people dress and adorn themselves, do we ever stop to wonder why people make things look the way they are or people dress the way they do?  Do we wonder why a person has a funny statue in the corner, or always wears a certain ring? Is it just because they like the look of something or is there some significance to it?

Today, in class we were required to each bring in an item that meant something to us.  Then we anonymously laid out item out, and went about describing each others objects and what we thought they meant to whoever was the owner, what they meant to us, and what they said about society.  It was our introduction into material culture, but it was interesting to see how some one saw the teddy bear I brought in, as representing childhood and comfort, when i saw it more a reminder of my boyfriend because we made it together before I left.  It was also interesting how one girl had a pretty ordinary looking cameo brooch, but it was something that her grandmother cherished and so she cherished it as a connection to her grandmother, or even how to one girl an owl plate see to represent that she was following a destined path, and things were meant to be a certain way. :).  

When we look at objects and things that we see, its hard to think in passing, when you are not at a museum, that many of these things that people display and keep around them all have significant meanings, that a funny little statue is a reminder of a group of friends and not just a decoration.  Objects can take on so many meanings that are beyond what we can guess by merely looking at them, meaning we can only know when we ask the owner.  We many see something as eclectic or cute, but it may actually have a much deeper meaning, and really tell a story about someone.  

Today's class was a learning experience, in the fact that we need to think deeper when looking at objects, what they are made for is not necessarily the only thing that they are used for.  Also, I think today showed that it was important to really get to know someone or something before passing judgement or at least deciding that you have a full understanding of it, because there always seem to be a deeper layer below the physical characteristics.

Research Week: Day 1

Today, was the first day of research week, the Cooperstown Graduate Program's crash course in how to effectively research.  Coming up to New York with a History degree, I walked in this morning thinking that it was going to be an onerous day.  Really, how much is there to know about research?  You choose a topic and you find documents and evidence to support the claim that you make.

I have used libraries, archives, databases before to research for both classes and internships.  Research is something new, and at the beginning of the day I certainly didn't feel like I needed a week of learning the basics of how to go about researching information.

I changed my mind a bit by the end of the day.  We started with a tour of the library and the location of different items and books.  While it was a little tedious, it was nice to actually know where to go find things, and what we had access to and when.  The afternoon consisted of a "Research  Challenge." We were given a question and in groups had to go find primary documents that helped us answer it.  While the process of looking up information on books and finding them is by no means new, it was an opportunity to have a chance to see what kind of resources the library had. and learn a little something new.  Its hard to believe, but I even got excited about a sermon written by John Edwards the younger.  Finding something with Connecticut origins (home state) was definitely cool.

We will have to see if my opinion about research week is revised by tomorrow.

End of Week 1: Introduction to the CGP experience

Well, my first week as a student in the Cooperstown Graduate Program has come to an end, and boy was it a busy first week. I arrived in Cooperstown, NY, population about 2,500, last Saturday, making the move from Connecticut to NY for two years.

I grew up in a town, with a population of 40,000, so coming to Cooperstown, which has a population that is about 5% that size is an adjustment. The town, however, is beautiful, and I live next to the Farmer's Museum and the Leatherstocking Golf Course, so when i look outside every morning I see both sheep grazing in the fields and hear golfers teeing off.

This past week was know as Orientation week. We were shown the basics of the program and had the opportunity to get to know the other students in our class. The CGP (Cooperstown Grad Program) is a small, exclusive program so there are a total of 17 students in my class, and only about 30 in the entire program. That means you have little choice about meeting everyone, and better be able to get along with them all.

The first week consisted of us learning about all the resources available to students, the NYSHA library, Farmer's Museum, Fenimore Art Museum, Baseball Hall of Fame, and SUNY Oneonta main Campus. Not only are there many organizations working closely with the program, but there are so many great people all around the town that have been welcoming and more than ready to help answer questions and let students be involved in the community and the museums.

More to come!