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• Maine Museums Day

  • When
    05 Feb 2019
  •  
    11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Maine State Archives and Maine State House, Augusta, ME

  Register

  
  

  Contemplate – Educate – Understand -- Renew
  

  Learn about advocacy, meet your legislators, and help us celebrate and advocate for collecting institutions throughout Maine!  

  The event will begin with a training on best practices in advocating for your institution.  Attendees will have time to meet with their legislators before reconvening for a reception in the Hall of Flags.

  

  11AM-12PM Maine State Archives  Advocacy Training - discuss current issues and practice your advocacy story with representatives from the New England Museum Association.  Register here (no cost, space limited) if you'd like to attend.

  12PM-2PM Maine State House  Meet Your Legislators - Make appointments to meet with your legislators to discuss the issues relevant to your organization.

  2PM-4PM Hall of Flags, Maine State House  Reception - Exhibit your organization (register here at no cost to members of MAM and NEMA to reserve table space) and/or meet with folks from other collecting institutions while enjoying refreshments and inspiring speakers.
  

  
  

  This event is free, including the 11AM training (space limited) and first-come-first-serve exhibitor table space.  You must be a MAM member or NEMA member to exhibit.  NEMA members, please email info@mainemuseums.org or call Dugan at 207-400-6965 to register for exhibitor table space.
  

  We encourage collecting institutions, their volunteers and staff, students, and supporters across the state to attend. 
  

  
  

  Register for the Advocacy Training, Reserve Exhibitor Space, or Sponsor

  Register on this page for the 

  • 11AM advocacy training (free to anyone, 30 seats available, registration open through February 4)
  • Limited exhibitor table space  (MAM members must sign in first and NEMA members can contact Dugan at info@mainemuseums.org or 207-400-6965; registration open through February 3) 
  • Sponsorship opportunities
    

  
  

  Spread the Word
  

  Please use these materials to communicate about Maine Museums Day and about the impact of collecting institutions.

  • Sample language from New England Museum Association for inviting your legislators to Maine Museums Day and promoting the event via social media.
  • 2019 Economic Impact Statement from Maine Archives and Museums
  • Museums Impact sheet from New England Museum Association
  • A collecting institution's guide to contacting your representatives
  • MAM Advocacy Toolkit

  
  

  Maine archives, historical societies, and museums are valuable economic engines in their communities, contributing millions of dollars to Maine’s economy, and enticing visitors to stay longer, spend more, and return in the future.  However, their value is more than dollars and cents, these collecting organizations create the unique feel of our communities, while preserving and sharing our most cherished history, art, and culture.  These Maine institutions, found in communities - large and small, rural and urban - provide opportunities for our citizens to understand where we have been and who we are as a society; they offer places where we can contemplate beauty and meaning in our lives, provide a sanctuary where we can refresh our spirits and reflect on our lives.  Archives, museums and historical societies can educate and inspire all ages, from the senior living in retirement, to the child just beginning school and learning about both our individual and common heritage.  Investment in the arts and humanities is essential to our well-being as Americans, and to the generations who will follow us.
  

  As valued partners in our communities and the state, our collecting institutions need protection. At risk are vital funds through state and national granting organizations, and support for important projects like the Maine bicentennial in 2020.  Join us as we listen, learn, and celebrate all these attributes at Maine Museums Day at the State House!

  
  

  Thank you to our event partner!
  

  
  

  
  

  Thank you to our Lead Sponsor!
  

  

  
  

  Thank you to our Gold Sponsor

  

  
  

  Thank you to our Silver Sponsors

  University of Maine Department of History

  Northeast Document Conservation Center

  Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education

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• Workshop: The Art of the Ask

  • When
    06 Feb 2019
  •  
    1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Yarmouth History Center, 118 East Elm Street, Yarmouth
  • Spaces left
    31

  Register

  The Art of the Ask

  Plus Other Essential Tools of Persuasion

  
  

  “You can’t always get what you want,” the Rolling Stones sang, “But if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need.” 

  As a museum professional, success often depends on how well you are able to ask for things: donations, political support, collaboration, salary and benefits, among many others. You need to be persuasive, convincing, a good speaker and listener, a good negotiator. Are all these things in your personal toolkit?

  Learn how to get what you and your museum want (and need) in this special interactive workshop featuring Dan Yaeger, Executive Director of the New England Museum Association. The workshop, designed for emerging and mid-career leaders in all disciplines, will engage you in three hour-long modules.

  
  

  Schedule
  

  The Art of the Ask 1-2PM: Learn about the psychology of asking, the types of asks, elements of crafting your ask, execution, and follow up. 

  Elevator Speeches 2-3PM: Having a sharp, concise elevator speech is one of the keys to a successful ask. In this module you will learn how to create and deliver an elevator speech that is captivating and persuasive. You’ll get a chance to craft your own speech and practice it.

  Successful Negotiation 3-4PM: Here you’ll learn the difference between asking and negotiating, and when it’s appropriate to use these tools. We’ll highlight the importance of understanding your negotiating partner as a person, focusing on interests instead of positions, developing creative options, and finding objective criteria for agreement. Several activities will help you build your negotiation skills for long-term effectiveness.

  
  

  Your Presenter

  

  Dan Yaeger was named executive director of the New England Museum Association in April, 2010. His passion is to strengthen capacity in museums and build skills in the leaders that serve them. Dan has a 20-year history with museums, most recently as the director of the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, Massachusetts. He has developed communications programs for the Museum of Fine Arts/Boston, Peabody Essex Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, Currier Museum of Art, Old Sturbridge Village, John F. Kennedy Library, and Plimoth Plantation among others. He has been adjunct professor, guest lecturer, advisor, and fellow at Tufts, Harvard, Brown, and Bentley universities and Lasell College. Dan holds a B.A. from Gettysburg College and received his master’s degree from Harvard University.

  
  

  
  

  The Venue

  
  

  This event is hosted at the Yarmouth History Center, located at 118 East Elm Street in Yarmouth, Maine.  The facility is wheelchair accessible. Parking is available on-site and across the street at Royal River Park.

  
  

  Online registration will be open through February 3.  To register after this date, contact Katie Worthing at 207-846-6259.

  The fee for members is $25.  Non-members pay $35.

  Due to space limitations, this workshop is limited to 40 participants. Register early to reserve your space!

  Members of MAM and NEMA enjoy discounted registration (MAM members please log in first; NEMA members contact Dugan Murphy at info@mainemuseums.org or 207-400-6965).  If you're not a MAM member, join today!

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• Workshop: Oral History Essentials

  • When
    19 Apr 2019
  •  
    9:45 AM - 2:00 PM
  • Location
    Cohen Education Center, Osher Map Library, University of Southern Maine, Portland Campus
  • Spaces left
    19

  Register

  Oral History Essentials

  
  

  Learn how to engage in an oral history interview, starting with the equipment and resources you'll need and good recording practices. We’ll cover what kind of questions to ask during an interview and how to ask them. We’ll listen to examples, talk about what makes a good interview, and how to best transform that for an audience. If there is time, we’ll do some practice interviewing.

  This 1/2-day program, which will include a short break for lunch in the middle, will cover:

  • How to conduct an oral history interview
  • Equipment & resources 
  • Good recording practices
  • Best practices: legal releases, archiving, how to make your project accessible, etc.

  Please bring:

  • Notebook & pen
  • A bagged lunch (there will NOT be sufficient time to go get lunch in town)
  • Recording kit (optional for show-and-tell)

  
  

  
  

  Your Presenter

  Meghan Vigeant is an oral historian and writer. She began her oral history work in 2009 as an Island Institute Fellow on Swan’s Island. There she produced a series of oral histories and documentaries, and authored the book Guts, Feathers, and All: Stories of Hard Work and Good Times on Swan’s Island, Maine. In 2013 Vigeant started Stories To Tell to help families and organizations record their stories as audio productions. She has worked in theater, public radio, and museums, and is a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. She has taught creative writing, storytelling, oral history, and documentary to students ages eight to eighty. Vigeant is currently earning her MFA in creative nonfiction at USM’s Stonecoast program. 

  
  

  
  

  The Venue

  
  

  This event will be held at the Cohen Education Center at the Osher Map Library (OML) on the campus of the University of Southern Maine, Portland campus. OML occupies the three-story building at the corner of Forest Avenue and Bedford Street (314 Forest Avenue; Portland, ME 04101); it is attached, on the first floor, to the seven-story Albert Brenner Glickman Family Library. The public entrance to the Cohen Education Center — are all off the arcade that runs across the front of both library buildings.  See the USM Portland campus map.

  Free public parking is available in the USM parking garage, clearly marked (in blue) on the USM Portland campus map. The entrance to the parking garage is on Surrenden St, off Bedford St.

  Accessibility: This facility is accessible to wheelchair users.

  Bathrooms: Gender-neutral bathrooms are available on-site, as well as those labeled for men and women.

  
  

  
  

  Registration

  Online registration will be open through Wednesday, April 17. To register after this date, call Dugan Murphy at 207-400-6965. The fee for members is $30.  Non-members pay $45.

  To make sure attendees enjoy a quality experience, this workshop is limited to 20 participants. Register early to reserve your space!

  Members of MAM enjoy discounted registration (MAM members must log in first).  If you're not a MAM member, join today!

  
  

  
  

  Top photo: Meghan Vigeant demonstrates how to record an interview with Eloise Schultz acting as a test subject during the MAM Oral History Essentials class at the Abbe Museum in 2017. Photo by Tim Garrity.

  Bottom photo: Meghan Vigeant, photo by Ann Hedley Rousseau.

  Show details