CONNECTING TO

COLLECTIONS(C2C)

2009 Streams Tribal Library and Museum Conference

Presenters

Jolena Tillequots, Yakama Nation Library Diane Hutchins, Washington State

Library Jennifer Fenton, Washington State

Library Rand Simmons, Washington State

Library

Credits

Photos courtesy Washington Rural Heritage project http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/projects/rural.aspx

Rand Simmons

Connecting to Collections Grant

October 2007 National Leadership Grant

Institute of Museum and Library Services

$40,000 planning grant

Connecting to Collections Grant Grant committee of individuals

representing Washington State Library Washington State Archives Washington State Historical Society University of Washington Libraries Washington Library Association Washington Museum Association

Grant Awarded – February 2008

Connecting to Collections Grant Overarching goal:

Preserving Washington’s Cultural Heritage: Connecting Collections Create a statewide plan to

preserve the collections of Washington’s cultural organizations – libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, and like institutions.

Connecting to Collections Grant The statewide preservation plan will

focus on four issues taken from the Heritage Health Index (HHI) Collaborative disaster planning Building sustainable institutional

preservation programs Advocacy Sustainable statewide preservation

program

Connecting to Collections Grant Project structure

Initial Conference Raise awareness of the importance of a

statewide preservation plan/program Workgroups

Make recommendations toward the plan Second Conference

Hear workgroup recommendations Frame the preservation plan

Connecting to Collections Grant Project steering committee

Diane Hutchins, Washington State Library (now project mgr)

Jolena Tillequots, Yakima Nation Library Erin Whitesel-Jones, Washington State Archives Tamara Georgick, Washington State Historical

Society Gary Menges, University of Washington Libraries

(Chair) Janda Volkmer, Washington Museum Association Rayette Sterling, Washington Library Association

Connecting to Collections Grant Project Staff – Washington State Library

Rand Simmons, Project Director Jennifer Fenton, Conference organization

and Local Arrangements Leanna Hammond, Administrative Support Jeremy Stroud, Publications Carolyn Petersen, Support

Project Consultant Tom Clareson, Lyrasis

Diane Hutchins

Connecting to Collections – A Call to Action

Participants included representatives from a wide spectrum of Washington’s cultural heritage institutions, including tribal libraries and museums

First Conference

Held on October 16 – 17, 2008 at the State History Museum in Tacoma, WA Overview of preservation activities in the

United States Creating cooperative preservation

programs Working with lawmakers, funding

agencies, and foundations Raising public awareness and building

partnerships

The Four Preservation Issues

Participants discussed four key preservation issues: Collaborative disaster planning Building sustainable institutional

preservation programs Raising public awareness of preservation Building a sustainable statewide

preservation program

The Work Groups

Grew out of the C2C discussion groups Purpose –Write reports addressing the

four preservation issues as a focus for a statewide preservation plan: Advocacy Collaborative disaster planning Building sustainable institutional

preservation programs Building a sustainable statewide

preservation program

Homework!

Some discussion group participants were invited to be on one of four Work Groups Draft recommendations for the

statewide preservation plan Reports were drafted in the seven

months between the first and second C2C Conferences

Work Group Reports

Work Group reports were to be presented at the second Connecting to Collections Conference

The Work Group reports and accompanying PowerPoints may be viewed at: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/c2c/handouts.aspx#findings

Second Conference

May 21, 2009, Hotel Murano, Tacoma, WA

Work Groups presented their reports Feedback from participant discussions

and a reactor panel was gathered by the project consultant and used to provide the framework of the statewide plan

Creating a Plan

Work Groups made recommendations that formed the basis for a statewide preservation plan for all cultural heritage institutions in the state of Washington

Advocacy

“Making preservation relevant to those you serve is essential to building support from your community. Begin by telling a story and sharing your passion!” C2C Advocacy Work Group Report

Spread the Word

Advocacy begins at home – start small and build on your successes

Make your message relevant to your audience – hook into their interests and passions

Make it visual – a picture really is worth a thousand words!

Promote Your Institution

Use: Reports Displays Magazine articles Interviews Blogs Web pages

And Build Support for Preservation Share your success stories and

become a model for other institutions

Show the economic benefits of preservation – tourism dollars can benefit the local community!

Go beyond your own institution and do outreach

Collaborative Disaster Planning “Every community and cultural institution

in Washington is vulnerable to catastrophic loss from water, fire, earthquake, volcanic eruptions and other disasters.” C2C Collaborative Disaster Response Networks Work Group Report

Get Ready!

Establish a system of networks within the state and develop a statewide WCERT (“Washington Collections Emergency Response Team”)

Use the Work Group’s guidelines and tools, including a draft mutual aid agreement, to form the networks

Get Ready!

Take advantage of resources already in place, such as WESTPAS training and Alliance for Response meetings

Get to know your local police, fire, and emergency management personnel

Create a statewide agreement with an emergency recovery service

Sustainable Institutional Preservation Programs

“All archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and cultural heritage organizations of all sizes share the responsibility of preserving their collections to educate and inspire future generations.” C2C Sustainable Institutional Preservation Program Work Group

Help Us!

Include the following components in a statewide preservation plan: Assess – fund preservation assessments Train – make available workshops on the proper

care and repair of materials Model – provide examples of successful

preservation programs at peer institutions Fund – offer competitive grants for projects Inform – establish an information clearinghouse

for preservation on the Web and encourage communication using the PreserveNW Listserv

Include programs on preservation at cultural heritage association conferences

Sustainable Statewide Preservation Program

“A key factor in successful statewide preservation efforts is having a core of dedicated people. Without this core statewide efforts do not have sustainability.” C2C Building a Sustainable Statewide Preservation Program Work Group

We Are All in This Together!

Establish funding dedicated to preservation

Create a non-profit, dues-based organization to promote preservation in the state

Continue to offer workshops on preservation

Improve disaster preparedness at cultural heritage institutions through workshops

We Are All in This Together!

Compile lists of disaster recovery suppliers and make them available on a preservation Web site

Cooperate and collaborate!

Consultant’s Final Report

Past preservation activities in the state of Washington

Framework for the organizational structure of a statewide preservation plan

Complete text of the four Work Groups Suggestions to expand upon the

foundation laid by the four Work Groups

WA Statewide Preservation Plan

Extracted from the consultant’s Final Report

Outlines a course of action to create a working statewide plan for preservation

Endorsing the Plan

Our goal is to have the plan endorsed by as many representatives of the cultural heritage community as possible

Demonstrated support from a broad spectrum of preservation advocates will move the vision for a statewide plan forward!

Moving Forward

$250,000 Implementation Grant – Institute of Museum and Library Services

Due December 15, 2009

Jolena’s Perspective

Questions?