Blog and Newsletter

The Association of Maine Archives and Museums publishes quarterly print newsletter that is sent out to members in February, May, August, and November. We also maintain the blog on this page for members to share their announcements more immediately.

Quarterly Print Newsletter

Submissions: If you are a member interested in submitting articles, dispatches, opportunities, and/or photos to the print newsletter, please review these guideline and deadlines.

Advertising: If you are interested in advertising in the print newsletter, please review these specifications and deadlines.

Read now: Click here to view the current and past issues of the print newsletter (members-only; log in first).

News Blog

Members and non-members of MAM may post news of interest to the field using the blog below. To post an event, see the event listings. To post a job or internship opportunity, see the job/internship board. MAM reserves the right to edit or reject postings as it deems appropriate. This service is free to members; non-members are charged $20.

Posts to this news blog are automatically shared to the MAM Facebook page to get even more exposure!

MEMBERS: Log in, then click "Add Post." If you have trouble logging in, email info@mainemuseums.org.

NON-MEMBERS: To submit your bulletin board post, please email info@mainemuseums.org.

  • 09 May 2016 3:35 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    News release below from the Penobscot Marine Museum

    Mary Bourke, Bathers, acrylic on birch panel, 2015, 18 by 18 inches


    Pairing PMM’s Three Bathers photo with Bourke Bathers

    VINTAGE PHOTOS AND CONTEMPORARY ART COME TOGETHER

    IN UNUSUAL PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM EXHIBIT

    On view at PMM from May 28 through October 16, 2016

     

    SEARSPORT—As part of its “Wish You Were Here: Communicating Maine” summer programming, the Penobscot Marine Museum will present “Maine: A Continuum of Place” in the Main Street Gallery, May 28 to October 16. An opening reception for the show, with Guest Curator Carl Little, is planned for Friday, May 27, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

    Carl Little, author of Paintings of MaineArt of the Maine Islands and other books, chose vintage photographs and postcards of coastal Maine from the Penobscot Marine Museum’s collection and paired them with images of those places by contemporary Maine artists. The photographs, which will have been enlarged, and the artworks will be displayed side by side.

    “Pairing vintage photographs with modern-day paintings of similar subjects by artists active today was not only great fun, but also a way to highlight what I call the ‘continuum of place,’ ” says Little.  “Maine’s landscape has inspired a remarkable sense of place over the past 150 years,” he notes, “and that vibrant tradition continues today.”  The exhibition features the work of 17 artists from across Maine: Joel Babb, Susan Lewis Baines, Nancy Morgan Barnes, Mary Bourke, Sam Cady, Alison Goodwin, Philip Frey, Liddy Hubbell, Tina Ingraham, Ben Lincoln, Jeff Loxterkamp, Caren-Marie Michel, Linda Norton, Winslow Myer, Karen Spitfire, Jude Valentine, and David Vickery.

    In honor of the 100th anniversary of “Maine Postcard Day”, Penobscot Marine Museum’s 2016 series of exhibits “Wish You Were Here: Communicating Maine” presents a hundred years of images which have been used to communicate the unique qualities of Maine to the outside world. Using postcards, photography, and contemporary art, these exhibits explore the changes which have taken place in the images which have we have used to communicate “Maine”.

     

    About Penobscot Marine Museum

    Penobscot Marine Museum brings Maine history to life in twelve beautiful historic buildings in the seacoast village of Searsport, Maine.  Exhibits include hands-on activities for children and adults, as well as a ship captain's house, marine paintings, scrimshaw, 19th century Chinese and Japanese pottery, paintings and textiles, historic Maine boats, a fisheries exhibit, and an heirloom vegetable garden.  The museum has over 200,000 historic photographs, and a maritime history research library.  Check the website for daily activities and events. The museum is open seven days a week, Memorial Day weekend through the third weekend in October.  For more information go to www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org or call the Visitors Center 207-548-0334 or Administrative Offices at 207-548-2529.


  • 04 May 2016 8:43 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    MAM's spring newsletter is off the press and on the way to members' mailboxes.  Click here if you'd like to read it online!  

  • 04 May 2016 3:10 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    News release below from the Penobscot Marine Museum


    “Main Street Bucksport”, Penobscot Marine Museum Photo Archive


    ALAMO THEATER PRESENTS TALK ON HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS AND FILM OF BUCKSPORT

    (Searsport, Maine)  Historic photographs and vintage film footage of Bucksport from the late 19th and early 20th centuries will be presented by Penobscot Marine Museum’s Kevin Johnson and Brook Minner of Northeast Historic Film Archive on Thursday, May 12, 6:00 pm at Alamo Theater, 85 Main Street, Bucksport.  


    The photographs presented in the talk by Kevin Johnson will be of people and places which were important to the residents of Bucksportbetween 1909 and 1947.  They were taken by a Belfast, Maine postcard company, Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company, which sent their photographers driving across Maine in Model T’s with their box cameras to ask what the local citizens loved about their area.  The photographs presented in the talk are part of Hancock County Through Eastern's Eye, one of several traveling exhibits from the Penobscot Marine Museum photography archive.  It is on display through the end of May at Bucksport Heart and Soul in the Rosen Building, 72 Main Street, Bucksport.  Brook Minner, Executive Director of Northeast Historic Film Archive, will show historic film footage of Bucksport from their collection. 

    For more information on the talk call Kevin Johnson at 207-548-2529 ext. 210.  For more information on the exhibit call Rich Rotella at 207-949-1889. 

    About Penobscot Marine Museum

    Penobscot Marine Museum brings Maine history to life in twelve beautiful historic buildings in the charming seacoast village of Searsport, Maine.  Exhibits include hands-on activities for children and adults, as well as a ship captain's house, marine paintings, photography, scrimshaw, 19th century Chinese and Japanese pottery, paintings and textiles, historic Maine boats, a fisheries exhibit, and an heirloom vegetable garden.  The museum has a maritime history research library and 80,000 historic photographs online.  Check the website for daily activities and events. The museum is open seven days a week, Memorial Day weekend through the third weekend in October.  For more information go to www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org or call the Visitors Center 207-548-0334 or Administrative Offices at 207-548-2529.


  • 02 May 2016 3:04 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Announcement below from Maine Historical Society:


    Friday, May 6, 12:00 pm
    Book Talk: Daisy Turner’s Kin: An African American Family Saga

    A daughter of freed African American slaves, Daisy Turner became a living repository of history. The family narrative entrusted to her--"a well-polished artifact, an heirloom that had been carefully preserved"--began among the Yoruba in West Africa and continued with her own long lifetime. In 1983, folklorist Jane Beck began to interview Turner, then one hundred years old and still relating four generations of oral history. Beck uses Turner's storytelling to build the Turner family saga, using at its foundation the oft-repeated touchstone stories at the heart of their experiences: the abduction into slavery of Turner’s African ancestors; Daisy's father learning to read; his return as a soldier to his former plantation to kill the overseer; Daisy's childhood stand against racism; and her family's life in Vermont. Beck weaves in historical research and offers a folklorist's perspective on oral history and the hazards and uses of memory. Join us to hear firsthand from Beck the origins and inner-workings of documenting this moving family history.
    Free for MHS Members and faculty, staff, and students of USM; $5 general admission. Offered in cooperation with the African American Collection of Maine. University of Southern Maine's Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine.

     

    Wednesday, May 25, 12:00 pm
    Book Talk: The Phantom Punch

    The two bouts between Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston are widely considered the most anticipated and controversial fights in heavyweight boxing. Cassius Clay won the first bout in Miami Beach in February 1964, when Liston refused to come out for the seventh round. The second fight took place in Lewiston, Maine, fifteen months later in May 1965. Halfway through the first round, Ali countered a left from Liston with a fast right, knocking Liston down. He did not get up. Ali’s right was so fast many spectators never even saw it. It was quickly dubbed the Phantom Punch and rumors began to swirl that Liston had thrown the fight. Many who believed Liston--a brutal fighter who picked up boxing in prison--had also thrown the first fight the year before in Miami were now vindicated.
    Journalist and sports historian Rob Sneddon takes a fresh look at the infamous Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston fight of May 25, 1965, which ended in chaos at a high school hockey rink in Lewiston, Maine. Sneddon digs deep into the fight’s background and delivers new perspective on boxing promotion in the 1960s; on Ali’s rapid rise and Liston’s sudden fall; on how the bout ended up in Lewiston--and, of course, on Ali’s phantom punch. That single lightning-quick blow triggered a complex chain reaction of events that few people understood, either then or now.
    Free for MHS Members; $5 general admission.

    More information about each program can be found on the MHS website: https://www.mainehistory.org/programs_events.shtml


  • 28 Apr 2016 2:49 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Announcement below from the University of Southern Maine.


    The University of Southern Maine's LGBT COLLECTION invites you to an afternoon of events to celebrate and preserve the story of Maine's LGBTQ+ communities.

    WHERE: 7th Floor, Glickman Library (corner of Forest Ave. & Bedford St.), USM Campus, Portland Maine.

    WHEN: Saturday, April 30th1-4pm

    WHAT:

    * ALL DAY view items from the collection and consult on donating


    1 - 1:30pm Welcome ​(Susie R. Bock)

    1:30 - 2:30pm Zine-making Workshop (Brody Wood)

    2:30-3pm Donating to the LGBT Collection (Susie R. Bock)


    3-4pm Panel/Community Discussion on Creating, Collectiong and Using Material Culture to Examine LGBTQ+ History

    Ryan Conrad (facilitator) ~ Tom Antonik ~ Wendy Chapkis ~ Robert Diamante ~ Brody Wood

    For directions and parking:

    https://usm.maine.edu/about/directions-portland-campus

    For further information: contact Susie R. Bock, 207-780-4269susie.bock@maine.edu


    ​Free and open to the public.​


  • 27 Apr 2016 7:25 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Announcement from the Maine State Museum:


    On Saturday, April 30, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.Deanna Bonner-Ganter will give a talk and sign copies of her new book, Kosti Ruohomaa: The Photographer Poet. Bonner-Ganter’s talk, “Kosti Ruohomaa: The Photographer Poet, Close to the Land, Close to the Sea,” begins at 1:00 p.m., followed by the book signing from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Bonner-Ganter will also be available to talk with interested museum visitors about the Maine State Museum’s exhibition, which she curated, “The Passionate Photographer: Kosti Ruohomaa’s Maine in Magazine Photojournalism.” Museum admission will be free of charge all day.

     

    Bonner-Ganter, a former curator at the Maine State Museum, spent over thirty years researching Kosti Ruohomaa’s life and work. Her book, the only biography of Ruohomaa (1913-1961), tells his story from his Finnish-American upbringing in Vermont and Maine to his travels as a frequent contributor to the great pictorial magazines of the mid-twentieth century, LifeNational Geographic, and Look. In spite of the worldy focus of much of his work, Ruohomaa’s true passion was the photographic documentation of the lives of Maine people and a way of life that was rapidly fading.

     

    For more information: www.mainestatemuseum.org


  • 26 Apr 2016 2:11 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    See the announcement below from the University of Southern Maine.

    Library Specialist CL2

    University Library

    Library Special Collections and Center for Collaboration and Development 
    Wage Band/Start Wage: B22, $13.41

    Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., evenings & weekends as necessary, Portland campus

    COLT Represented Classified Position

    The University of Southern Maine is seeking applicants for the position of Library Specialist CL2, within the office of Special Collections at the Glickman Library.

    (24 hours per week) The Library Specialist is responsible for digitizing legacy media formats using applicable scanning equipment and software to ensure appropriate transfer of media.  The Specialist also converts physical materials into electronic formats utilizing a variety of specialized programs and equipment.  The Specialist uploads digitized materials to USM’s Digital Commons.  An ability and willingness to learn camera techniques and work with photographic software is necessary for this position.

    The Library Specialist processes rare and unique materials (print, manuscript, and digital) in the collections, including creating and entering metadata.

    The Specialist provides administrative support to the Coordinator of Special Collections, and is responsible for access, safety, and security of Special Collections.   This includes assisting patrons in the search, retrieval, and use of materials, as well as interpreting and enforcing security and use policies regarding the space and the collections.

    (16 hours per week) The person in this position also provides administrative support to the Center for Collaboration and Development (CCD), which is located in the Glickman Library.   Some essential functions include administrative and clerical work, coordinating and marketing events, and processing financial transactions.

    The Specialist assists with the ongoing maintenance and updating of the websites for both Special Collections and the Center for Collaboration and Development.

    The work of the Specialist involves internal and external contacts as well as handling verbal and written communications for a broad range of questions.    Providing exemplary customer service and maintaining confidentiality are important components of this position.

    The ability to work as part of a team and manage multiple and diverse tasks are essential skills for this position.  Judgment and initiative are frequently exercised and work is typically performed under general rather than specific instruction.

    The University of Southern Maine (USM) is Maine’s Metropolitan University ™, dedicated to providing students with a high-quality, accessible, affordable education.  USM’s strategic focus is in alignment with the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities and we are seeking to become a Carnegie Engaged University by the year 2020.  USM offers Baccalaureate, Master's, and Doctoral programs, providing students with rich learning and community engagement opportunities in the arts, humanities, politics, health sciences, business, mass communications, science, engineering, and technology.  At USM, we extend the academic experience well beyond our classroom walls. We encourage our students to engage deeply with our faculty, our community partners, and our wide network of USM alumni, many of whom have remained in Maine long after graduation. Further information on USM can be found at www.usm.maine.edu.     

    Each of USM’s three environmentally friendly campuses are unique, yet all share the extensive resources of the university — and all are energized through strong community partnerships.  Offering easy access to Boston, plus the ocean, mountains and forests of coastal, inland and northern Maine, USM is at the heart of Maine's most exciting metropolitan region:

    ·         Our Portland campus is located in "one of America’s most livable cities," according to Forbes magazine, which also ranks Portland among the top 10 for job prospects.  A creative and diverse community on Maine’s scenic coast, Portland is nationally known as a culinary hot spot!

    ·         USM’s beautiful residential Gorham campus  supports and celebrates excellence in academics, athletics, music and the arts and is home to ten Living Learning Communities and six Residential Communities.

    ·         Our Lewiston campus is home to USM’s innovative and richly diverse Lewiston-Auburn College. This Central Maine campus integrates classroom, community and workplace, and provides a small college experience with the resources of a large university.

    Qualifications:                 

    Required:

    • High School diploma or equivalent (G.E.D.) and one year of related library, public service or administrative support experience
    • Experience working in various computer environments
    • Good verbal and written communication skills
    • Strong customer service skills
    • Ability to prioritize tasks and be flexible between several diverse components of the job

    Preferred:

    • Some imaging experience – operating a scanner, camera
    • Experience with Adobe Creative Suite
    • Familiarity with Digital Commons
    • Experience with web page maintenance and web-based programs

    Apply online at: https://usm.hiretouch.com/view-all-jobsYou will need to create an applicant profile, complete an application (which includes contact information for three professional references), and upload a cover letter and a resume/curriculum vitae which fully describes your qualifications and experiences with specific reference to the required and preferred qualifications.  You will also need to complete the affirmative action survey, the self-identification of disability form, and the self-identification of veteran status form. Appropriate background screening will be conducted for the successful candidate.

    To ensure full consideration, materials should be submitted by May 1, 2016.   Materials received after this date will be considered at the discretion of the university.

    USM is an EEO/AA employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.


  • 21 Apr 2016 12:43 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    The Association of Maine Archives & Museums (MAM) is pleased to announce it is the recipient of a major grant from the Maine Humanities Council and the Pulitzer Prize Centennial Campfires Initiative. The award will fund MAM’s 2016 Professional Development Series titled “His Story, Her Story, Our Story: Making Meaning of Your Collections” that will culminate with Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author, Dr. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s, keynote address at MAM’s annual conference in October.

    MAM’s 2016 Professional Development Workshop Series based on the theme of storytelling is designed to expand the knowledge and skills of staff and volunteers working with collections. With over 1000 collecting institutions, Maine’s public and private collections span the breadth of the humanities—from arts and literature to religion and politics. Much of the work in museums and archives is in the humanities and related to researching, preserving, and interpreting collections and this work culminates in sharing stories - whether it’s through interpretation and exhibits, research, marketing, publications, advocacy, and more.

    MAM’s workshop series will offer avenues to varying perspectives, invigorating discussions, and opportunities to gain deeper understanding of collections to the study of the humanities. Participants will learn how to better care for and manage their collections and understand inspiring new ways to interpret collections according to best practices in the field. An exciting lineup of opportunities is already scheduled. Visit MAM’s website, www.mainemuseums.org, for more information and to register for the following workshops:

    May 9: Storing Collections, at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley

    May 17: Accidental Stories Pertaining to Collections and How to Use Them to Reach New Audiences, at the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor

    June 8: Nuts and Bolts of Exhibit Development, at Camden Public Library

    June 18: Grant Writing Basics: Crafting Your Story for Fundraising Success, at the Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle

    June 27: Caring for Collections, at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley

    The 2016 Professional Development Series concludes at MAM’s annual conference on October 14, at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine Orono. The conference will feature special guest Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Ph.D., 300th Anniversary History Professor at Harvard University. In 1991 she received the Pulitzer Prize in History for her groundbreaking work “A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812.” The book examines the life of Martha Ballard, who practiced in the Hallowell area. Dr. Ulrich served as president of the American Historical Association in 2009. She has authored several books and articles on early American history, women’s history, and material culture and is currently writing a book on 19th-century Mormon diaries. In her keynote, she will share her experiences and insights in researching and bringing to light unknown stories of objects in Maine’s past and will inspire participants on how to make meaning of their own collections.

    MAM’s 2016 Professional Development Series is funded in part by the Maine Humanities Council as part of the Pulitzer Prize Centennial Campfires Initiative, a joint venture of the Pulitzer Prizes Board and the Federation of State Humanities Councils in celebration of the 2016 Centennial of the Prizes. The initiative seeks to illuminate the impact of the humanities on American life today, to imagine their future, and to inspire new generations to consider the values represented by the body of Pulitzer Prize winning work. For their generous support for the Campfires Initiative, we thank the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Pulitzer Prizes Board, and Columbia University.


  • 06 Apr 2016 9:47 AM | Anonymous member

    Camp Tecumseh, Moultonborough, NH seeks a temporary full or part-time Processing Archivist for its 2016 summer season.  This non profit overnight summer camp for boys, founded in 1903 by three University of Pennsylvania Olympic athletes, is located on Lake Winnipesaukee.  See www.camptecumseh.net   The Camp Tecumseh Archives contains paper-based materials dating from 1903 to the present, many digital photographs and oral histories, and some artifacts.

    Possible tasks, depending upon hours / weeks worked, are:
    -- Accession large collection of digital and print photographs; develop selection criteria
    -- Accession two other donations
    -- Oversee and assist in scanning of Camp newsletters collection; prepare finding aid
    -- Appraise Camp facilities records;  preserve, arrange, and describe those records of archival value; determine which ones may warrant digitization
    -- Determine appropriate processing scheme for records and papers collected for the published Camp history

    An experienced consulting Archivist will make periodic visits to assist, and be available for consultation at all times.

    Qualifications.
    BA in relevant field; enrollment in MA or MLS program with archives management component and / or equivalent archives experience
    Strong oral and written communication skills
    Familiarity with archival theory and techniques: appraisal, accessioning , arrangement and description
    Familiarity with preservation practices, including digitization for access
    Familiarity with office software applications
    Ability to lift and move 40 lb containers

    Logistics and compensation.  For a candidate who lives beyond a reasonable commuting distance,  the Camp can provide free room and board during the weeks the Camp is in full operation (June 19 - August 21, 2016).   Meals also are available during those weeks to a successful candidate who is within commuting range.

    Compensation commensurate with skills and experience.

    Please submit the following electronically to :
    Cynthia G. Swank, C.A., C.R.M.
    mailto:cgswank@inlookgroup.com 

    – A cover letter expressing interest in the position, and outlining relevant experience
    – A curriculum vitae of education and employment
    – A finding aid and additional writing sample in the form of exhibition text,  presentation, blog post, etc.

  • 30 Mar 2016 10:32 AM | Anonymous

    The Boothbay Railway Village is searching for a creative and energetic individual to join its team as Education Director & Curator.

    The right candidate for this position will be collaborative, resilient, innovative, passionate, independent, strategic and confident. We are seeking someone who thinks outside the box, uses resources wisely and creatively, cares deeply about history and others, and is street smart and works with urgency. If you have read Good to Great and know what it means to be the right person on the bus we want to hear from you!

    The Museum’s extensive campus is located in the beautiful coastal community of Boothbay, Maine.  We offer our full-time staff a 100% employer paid health plan, generous paid leave, flexible work hours and work from home privileges, and matching contributions to a retirement plan.

    This position has responsibility for the interpretation program at the Museum, as well as the management and maintenance of the extensive artifact collections, year-round workshops and lectures, and seasonal artisan demonstrations. The Museum’s five year-strategic plan defines public education as its principle deliverable and envisions a living village that engages visitors in stories about how technologies like steam trains, automobiles, and electricity impacted life for Mainers from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries.  Our next Education Director & Curator has the unique opportunity to make a big impact on the future of this museum.

    Applicants should review the full job description. Interested candidates should send a cover letter, résumé, and the names of 3 references (indicating relation to the candidate, phone number, and e-mail address) to Margaret Hoffman, Executive Director, at margaret@railwayvillage.org.  Paper copies may be sent to Boothbay Railway Village, PO Box 123, Boothbay, ME 04537, but electronic submissions of material are preferred.  No phone inquiries, please.  This is a critical vacancy and review of applications begins immediately.

Never miss an event or important update - Sign up to receive news from MAM!

Join now! Start receiving benefits of membership.

Donate! Support Maine's collecting institutions with a tax-deductible gift.

Use the MAM member app by Wild Apricot to register for events, manage your member profile, and access the member directory.



Maine Archives and Museums

P.O. Box 95, Portland, Maine 04112

info@mainemuseums.org 


Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software