We keep things. Plain and simple. As a society we have a hard time letting things go. Even as minimalism continues to be the latest fad, there are reportedly 58,000 self-storage facilities in the United States. As museums we keep things also. For both museums and individuals, it is important to frequently ask yourself why? […]
I have two wonderful daughters. One of them has always been camera shy and the other one has never seen a camera she hasn’t smiled at. She has hundreds of pictures of her and her friends on her phone and posted in her various social media accounts. And I can’t think of a single photo […]
Local History Services staff are on the road a lot. And we love it. Ask any one of us (we have four full-time staff) and you’ll hear that we get a bit antsy if we haven’t been out of the office in a while. On average, we are on the road at least one to […]
It has been an amazing year for Indiana. In Local History Services, it has been wonderful to hear about all of the creative programs, initiatives and projects that have been happening around the state. Historical societies, museums, libraries and communities of all sizes have been able to tap into the excitement of 200 years of […]
I have just surpassed my year-and-a-half mark as a member of the Local History Services department at IHS. Not only am I feeling less new, but I am also feeling more in-tune with our department dynamics. I learned quickly that we all work best when we work together and that the line between friend and […]
In September, the Local History Services team attended the 2016 American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) annual conference in Detroit. We had the opportunity to spend time with our Field Services colleagues, reconnect and network with museum professionals from all over the country, see Detroit’s amazing architecture and museums, and find out about […]
One of the services that the Local History Services Department offers is on-demand workshops. We work with local organizations to figure out which of our workshops they might want and how we can tweak the workshops to fit their needs. When I work with the local organizer to plan a workshop, I ask about the […]
My second grade son recently came home with an interesting school assignment: Prepare a costume for the class idiom fashion show. Need a language arts refresher? An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. In addition to frustrating non-native English speakers, these figurative phrases cause us to think in pictures. Examples […]
There are more than 1,000 projects and events happening around the state celebrating Indiana’s 200th birthday. With all the statewide marketing of the bicentennial, it may be tempting to take an “if you build it, they will come” attitude. However, it would be a shame for a great project or event to be less successful […]
Recently, I was having a conversation about organizations and how they determine success. One of the comments I made was that the Local History Services department staff constantly evaluates what we do. We ask attendees to complete evaluations after workshops and meetings. We develop and distribute surveys during the year to determine how we’re doing […]
