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

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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.

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  • 07 Mar 2014 3:33 PM | Anonymous member
    The Holocaust and Human Rights Center (HHRC) and the Maine Jewish
    Film Festival (MJFF) will present a free conference entitled *The Role of
    Archive in Restoring and Conserving Identity* on Tuesday, March 25th, from
    12:00 - 9:00 PM, at the Michael Klahr Center.


    This dynamic conference--open to students, professionals and the general
    public--will encourage discussion on the critical role archive plays in both
    social and cultural contexts.

    Whether family photos, official documents, newsreel or home movies, archive
    materials are invaluable to both the individual and a society's identity.
    Who gathers these materials and how are they catalogued, preserved and made
    accessible to the public? Presenters Karan Sheldon (Northeast Historic
    Film), Magnus Gertten and Lennart Strom (Auto Images), Diane Afoumado (US
    Holocaust Memorial Museum), and Sharon Rivo (National Center for Jewish
    Film at Brandeis) will answer these questions and further the discourse on
    the role of archive management.

    This conference is made possible through the support of the Bernard Osher
    Jewish Philanthropies and will be held at the Michael Klahr Center on the
    UMA campus, *advance registration is strongly recommended*. To register,
    please call 207-621-3530 or email betsy.spekke@maine.edu. FMI visit the
    calendar page at hhrc.uma.edu.
  • 06 Mar 2014 9:36 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Small Museums Scholarship Application

    2014 AASLH Annual Meeting and Online Conference

    St. Paul, Minnesota

    DEADLINE: 15 June 2014

     

    The American Association for State and Local History will hold its Annual Meeting and Online Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota from 17-20 September 2014. This year’s theme – Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts - examines the personal, communal, and organizational journeys that lead to vibrancy, authenticity, social change and sustainability. 

    Unfortunately, many working in our nation’s small museums feel as if we can only dream of attending this meeting. In a perfect world, boards would grant every request to fund our professional development. Institutions of modest means, however, may not have the resources to help us become effective stewards of our community’s memory.


    Websites, listservs, and social media constantly offer new sources of technical and psychological support, but nothing is better than the face-to-face fellowship of sharing survival strategies. Every year, increasing numbers of Annual Meeting sessions address issues specifically affecting small museums. These sessions can be as practical and wide-ranging as training, marketing, and strategic planning. Other sessions focus on creative ways to forge and re-energize relationships with the surrounding community.


    Now in its eighth year, AASLH’s Small Museums Committee is offering scholarships to any AASLH members who are full-time, part-time, paid, or volunteer employees of small museums. Each $500 scholarship will cover the cost of the conference registration and the Small Museums luncheon. Any remaining funds may be used to offset travel and/or lodging expenses.


    To qualify, the applicant must work for a museum with a budget of $250,000 or less. They also must be either an individual AASLH member or work for an institutional member. Application forms are available atwww.aaslh.org/SmallMuseums.


    The deadline for applications is 13 June. The committee will email award winners by 30 June. For questions, please contact Bruce Teeple, Small Museum Scholarship Subcommittee Chair at mongopawn44@hotmail.com

  • 05 Mar 2014 11:05 AM | Anonymous member
    Bridgton Historical Society seeks proposals from qualified and experienced artisans, re-enactors, scholars, and others wishing to present workshops, demonstrations, or other programs at Narramissic, the historic Peabody-Fitch Farm in South Bridgton, during the summer and fall of 2014. Narramissic sits on a 25-acre property with spectacular mountain views.  The farm includes a house, barn, carriage shed and working blacksmith shop.

    Possible Topics include, but are not limited to fiber arts, blacksmithing, woodworking, restoration carpentry (preferably involving needed repairs to the house and outbuildings), historic foodways, farming and gardening, re-enactments and demonstrations, as well as traditional lectures and book-signings.

    Please include a brief description of your proposed workshop or program, your experience and qualifications (including references or other means of verification), and your requirements for compensation and materials fees.

    For further information, contact Ned Allen at  info@bridgtonhistory.org ; PO Box 44, Bridgton, ME 04009; 207-647-3699 . Visit www.bridgtonhistory.org to learn more about the organization.
  • 05 Mar 2014 9:25 AM | Anonymous member
    The Castine Historical Society (CHS) is offering one internship opportunity for a graduate student enrolled in a museum studies, public history, archival science or related Master's degree or Ph.D. program.  The internship is full time (35 hours per week) for 10 weeks in the spring or summer of 2014 with a small stipend. CHS will work with the student to structure the internship to meet requirements for academic credit as needed.

    The Castine area, one of the most beautiful and historically interesting towns on the coast of Maine, saw millennia of use by Native Americans before European contact and changed hands repeatedly from the outset of the colonial period through the War of 1812.  The peninsula’s development in the nineteenth and twentieth century’s represents a microcosm of American commercial and cultural history.  As its mission states, the Castine Historical Society “seeks to engage residents and visitors of all ages in the exploration and stewardship of Castine’s diverse historical resources.”

    The intern will work as a member of a professional team on two projects central to the CHS mission.  The majority of the time will concentrate on an inventory and preservation storage effort in preparation for moving the CHS collections to a new archival facility.  With training and supervision provided by the curator, the intern will work with PastPerfect museum software and archival storage materials to complete this detail-intensive project.  The intern also will be given the opportunity to design and produce audio recordings for self-guided walking tours of Castine's historic district.  This public history project may include working with volunteers to offer guided walking tours.

    Applications are due by March 31, 2014.  To view the full internship description and application instructions, visit http://castinehistoricalsociety.org/news/castine-historical-society-2014-intern-job-description or contact CHS Curator Paige Lilly via email at curator@castinehistoricalsociety.org .
  • 05 Mar 2014 9:19 AM | Anonymous member
    Pejepscot Historical Society in Brunswick seeks a part-time site manager for our Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum for Summer 2014. The site manager will be responsible for all functions of the museum, including: opening and closing facility; welcoming and assisting guests; coordinating and managing volunteer tour guides; keeping museum facility and grounds clean and welcoming; operating cash register in museum shop; and answering questions about museum, historical society, and local area. 

    The ideal site manager will be friendly, organized, approachable, and willing to address unexpected needs as they arise. An interest in Maine and Civil War history is helpful, as is an understanding of those who care deeply about Joshua Chamberlain, his home, and his place in Maine and Civil War history.

    Hours will range from about 12 to 20 per week. Must be able to work weekends (museum is open 10-4 Tues-Sat and 1-4 Sun). The museum season is mid May through mid October.

    Interested applicants are invited to send resumes, cover letters, and names and contact info for three references to Jennifer Blanchard, executive director of Pejepscot Historical Society, at director@pejepscothistorical.org.
  • 02 Mar 2014 6:44 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    O.O. Howard Papers Digitization Project Supervisor

    Bowdoin College

    Bowdoin College, a highly selective liberal arts college of 1800 students located on the coast of Maine, is accepting applications for an O.O. Howard Papers Digitization Project Supervisor to manage a grant funded digitization project with the Department of Special Collections & Archives. 

    Job Summary:

    The O. O. Howard Papers Digitization Project Supervisor is responsible for daily management of all aspects of a three-year project, which will digitize 60 linear feet of manuscript materials documenting the life and career of General Oliver Otis Howard. Duties include: training, scheduling, and supervising student workers as scanning technicians; previewing files and identifying potential problems that would complicate scanning activities; conducting quality control measures to insure that scanning standards are met; performing file resampling and combining protocols to produce viewable PDF files; creating hypertext links from encoded text to image files. Under the general direction of the Director of Special Collections & Archives, and in collaboration with the College Archivist and IT experts, the Project Supervisor also compiles regular progress reports, tracks the project budget, and adheres to file management procedures that address the long term preservation of the master digital files and conform to campus-wide IT policies and procedures. This is a grant funded three year fixed length position with an anticipated start date of April 2014. 

    Education/Skills:

    Required: Bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited institution; exceptional skill in oral and written English language communications; demonstrated attention to detail, especially in reviewing the repetitive work of others; demonstrated ability to work in a team environment; demonstrated ability to organize work and schedule tasks, supervise workers, accomplish tasks, and meet deadlines with minimal supervision. 
    Preferred: training in handling manuscript materials; formal training in identifying problems and solutions involving the preservation of paper-based materials; experience in digitizing textual materials, creating image files, and managing digital files; demonstrated knowledge in using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Acrobat Professional; familiarity with accepted national standards for digital capture; experience with data entry in data management systems.  

    Experience Requirements:

    Required: one year's experience in managing the work of others; experience with the process of digital capture. 
    Preferred: experience in managing student workers; experience in using manuscripts within a repository setting; experience in digitizing manuscripts; experience in managing, sampling, and editing image files. 


    Additional Job Information

    How To Apply: Please submit your application online here: https://careers.bowdoin.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=51860
    Application Deadline: 2/25/2014
    Category: Program/Project Management
    Job Type: Full-Time
    Salary:
    Start Date:
    Region Mid Coast
    Specific Location: United States
  • 02 Mar 2014 6:39 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Museum Librarian/ Archivist

    Owls Head Transportation Museum

    The Owls Head Transportation Museum is seeking candidates for the position of Museum Librarian/Archivist.  The Museum Librarian/Archivist will work under the direction of the Curator to inventory, accession, catalog and input collections to the Museum’s collection database as part of the Lang Education Center.  The successful candidate will have experience working in the Museum or Library fields and experience processing library and archival collections.  She or he will have the ability to lift storage boxes and climb ladders and must communicate effectively, orally and in writing.  MLS or Bachelor’s degree in humanities, history or related field with Museum/Archive experience required.

     Title: Museum Librarian/Archivist 

     Responsibilities:

    • Accessions, processes, inventories and catalogs books, periodicals, archives and manuscripts
    • Applies professional standards to the processing, arrangement and preservation of records
    • Responds to research requests from museum staff and public
    • Digitizes archival collections for incorporation in collection database
    • Orders library, archival and office supplies for the department
    • Implements basic preservation methods
    • Supervises Museum volunteers and interns

     Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

    • Excellent organizational skills with attention to detail and accuracy
    • Knowledge of library and archival principles and practices
    • Knowledge of art history and/or museum operations
    • Must be able to lift storage boxes and climb ladders
    • Demonstrated knowledge of preservation methods and theory
    • Skilled in using Adobe PhotoShop and other image editing software, scanners and digital photography

     Education and Experience:

    • Museum experience preferred
    • Masters in Library and Information Science or archival experience preferred
    • Bachelor's degree required in the humanities, history, or a field related to history and/or technology.

    Additional Job Information

    To apply, send cover letter and resume to Ethan Yankura, Curator, Owls Head Transportation Museum PO Box 277 Owls Head, Maine, 04854.
    Other
    Full-Time
    30,000 to 35,000
    Mid Coast
    Owls Head
  • 18 Feb 2014 4:50 PM | Anonymous member

    On March 1, Cynthia Walker will begin work as the new executive director of the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk. Walker joined the staff in 2010 as Museum Specialist, and was promoted to Associate Director in 2012. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Public History at Northeastern University, and a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in 2010. Walker wrote her thesis on the Brick Store Museum’s founder, Edith Barry, and is currently turning her work into a book. Her previous experience includes the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston and Willowbrook Museum Village in Newfield. Joining Walker as Collections & Archives Associate Manager is Leanne Hayden, arriving at the Museum after eight years with the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA. FMI: www.brickstoremuseum.org. 

     

  • 17 Feb 2014 1:03 PM | Anonymous member
    The Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton, offers two 12 week in-residence internships from mid-May to late August 2043 with a $180.00 per week stipend. While housing is provided, a car is a necessity. Interns obtain practical museum experience and are expected to develop and carry out projects or programs that help them to develop personally and professionally. Priority is given to students intending to pursue a career in museums, particularly in museum education this year. The mission of the Rufus Porter Museum is to increase the enjoyment, knowledge, and pride of communities by bringing to life the world and the inspiring works of Rufus Porterundefineda remarkable American folk artist and inventor. For a full description of the museum and the 2014 internship program please see the museum’s website (www.rufusportermuseum.org).
  • 12 Feb 2014 2:21 PM | Deleted user

    Saturday, April 26th, 10am-3pm at Emlen Hall in Blue Hill. 

    The Bagaduce Music Lending Library’s annual Young Composers' Competition, which began in 1996, encourages all Maine students, high school age and below, to create & perform original works and develop their musical notation skills. Most importantly, the competition puts promising music students in dialogue with professional composers who provide written and face-to-face feedback about the students’ original works. 

    Many of Maine’s talented young musicians have participated in the Competition and have performed their original music at our Festival in April in Blue Hill, Maine.  The Library’s Young Composer’s project fills an important niche in the musical education of Maine’s students. 

    Come and hear them perform their compositions with Liza Rey a jazz harpist and composer, as Keynote speaker.

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