The Mass. Memories Road Show Your Place in Massachusetts History
What is the Mass. Memories Road Show? A public event A digital collection An educational and research tool A community-building activity
Overview of the MMRS Massachusetts Studies Project, UMass Boston State-wide project University/community partnership Co-sponsored by Mass Humanities & Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston
Road Shows to Date: COMMUNITY ROAD SHOWS Norwood: Norwood Historical Society, 2004 Roxbury: Hibernian Hall, 2005 Dorchester: multiple locations, Quincy: Thomas Crane Public Library, 2007 Deerfield: Historic Deerfield, 2007 Brewster: Brewster Ladies Library, 2008 Natick: Morse Institute Library, 2008 Norwell: Norwell Public Library, 2009 Truro: Truro Public Library, 2009 Falmouth: Falmouth Public Library, 2009 Reading: Reading Public Library, 2009 Danvers: Peabody Institute Library, 2010 THEMATIC ROAD SHOWS Grub Street Memoir Project/Boston Public Library (Boston), 2007 Hebrew Senior Life (Roslindale), 2007 World War II veterans/WGBH (Brighton), 2007 Boston Public Housing/Boston Housing Authority (Boston), 2008 Boston Public Schoolchildren, 2009
Codman Square BPL Local venues for Road Shows… Dorchester Historical Society Lower Mills BPL branch, Dorchester Thomas Crane Public Library, Quincy Norwood Historical Society
What Makes a Road Show? Planning Building a local team Outreach & diversity Funding Public Event Welcome station Info. Station Scanning Video Local history New England Archivists Keepsake Photos Post-Production Roadies, March 2006 Dorchester, Codman Square BPL
Building a Local Team Partner with local organizations/individuals: Historical Society Senior Center Recreation Department Business Association (or individual businesses) Ethnic/Cultural Organizations Public Schools Religious Organizations Local Government Colleges/Universities Build connections within the community. Shared responsibility for fundraising, publicity, planning & staffing.
Dorchester Roadies SCI Dorchester Youth Council Dorchester Historical Society Boston Public Library UMass students Volunteers and staff from past Road Shows, other Dorchester organizations
Outreach & Diversity Translators, culturally-relevant outreach, reflection of diversity of community. Network with other Road Show planners. Personal contact with potential contributors is VITAL.
Funding Costs $8,000-$10,000 to run a Road Show. Sponsorship by Mass Humanities and Healey Library reduces local community costs to $500 + in-kind contributions. Application required. If not accepted for sponsored Road Show, then will assist with applying for outside funding. New Option: Self-run Road Shows
What Makes a Road Show? Planning Building a local team Outreach & diversity Funding Public Event Welcome station Info. Station Scanning Video Local history New England Archivists Keepsake Photos Post-Production Roadies, March 2006 Dorchester, Codman Square BPL
Welcome Station Nametags Greeters/ushers Registration form Crowd control
Info. Station Photo forms Reviewers Selecting photos
Scanning Station Scan & project images. Working with original material. Keeping track of scans and paperwork.
Scanning Specifications 300 DPI 24 bits per pixel 16.7 million colors Master: TIF Web: JPG Unique event, contributor & photo numbers
Video Station Videotape “the story behind the photo.” Professional videographer and/or local public access TV stations.
Local History Station Historical society and/or local historian. Written mini-history of community. Identify images, locations. Flag unique material for possible donation.
NEA Station Partnership with New England Archivists’ “On the Road” program Preservation advice from professional archivists
Keepsake Photo Station Documentation of the event. Take-away for contributors. Postcard with URL of website.
What Makes a Road Show? Planning Building a local team Outreach & diversity Funding Public Event Welcome station Info. Station Scanning Video Local history New England Archivists Keepsake Photos Post-Production Roadies, March 2006 Dorchester, Codman Square BPL
Post-Production Database Image processing Video processing Public access Keywords/metadata Website Flickr
Metadata collection
The Mass. Memories Road Show Massachusetts Studies Network Heather Cole, Asst. Director Tel: