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 cts/rural.aspx cts/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: /handouts.aspx#findings /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?