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.

  • 12 Feb 2014 12:52 PM | Anonymous member
    Did you know that tomorrow is Maine Nonprofit Day at the state house?

    This is an annual event organized by the Maine Association of Nonprofits where legislators have the opportunity to learn more about the essential work that nonprofits do to keep our state healthy in every sense of the word: physically, economically, culturally, and more.  There are so many ways that you can get involved right from your desk.  Be sure to check out the Maine Nonprofit Day page on MANP's website to find out more: http://www.nonprofitmaine.org/advocate/nonprofit-day-at-the-state-house/.

    One of the things that Maine Archives and Museums has done to participate is to finalize its new Economic Impact Statement. This statement is the result of a survey we conducted of our institutional members in 2013/14, so we have solid data to back up our assertion that Maine's collecting institutions are important economic drivers and that the big picture is one of dedicated, serious-minded organizations that serve the statewide community and give far more than they receive.  Please use this statement in any way that you can think of to support, promote, and advocate for all that our industry does for Maine: put it on your website and social media pages, share it with your trustees, include it in fundraising requests and grant proposals, put a stack on your front desk.  You helped to write it, so this is your statement, too.  Here it is (click on "Economic Impact Statement"):

    The Association of
    Maine Archives and Museums

    If you represent one of the institutions that responded to the survey, thank you especially for helping MAM to pull this together in time for Maine Nonprofit Day as well as National Museums Advocacy Day, which is also coming right up!  Don't forget that you can use your own answers to the survey to create your own individualized Economic Impact Statement--feel free to use MAM's as a model and cut-and-paste to your heart's content.  That's what it's there for!  Need to dig up your original answers?  Just contact MAM's president, Jessica Routhier (and survey master) at jsrouthier@gmail.com.

    Finally: if you haven't yet connected with MAM on social media, now's the time!  There will be lots to share this month.
  • 11 Feb 2014 4:06 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
    New England Archivists (NEA) is excited to announce that registration for the Spring 2014 Meeting is now open! Join us March 20-22 at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for great programs, workshops, thought-provoking sessions, and a "Jeopardy" tournament. In this E-mail you will find pertinent information about registration, lodging, and what to look forward to at Spring 2014.

    To give you some idea of the pricing, here are the Early Bird rates
    Early-bird  |  now - February 17

    Member (2 days): $105.00

    Member (1 day):  $70.00

    Bridge* (2 days): $78.75

    Bridge* (1 day):  $52.50

    Student (2 days):  $52.50

    Student (1 day):  $35.00

    Non-member (2 days):  $120.00

    Non-member (1 day):  $85.00

    *Bridge-rate registration is for NEA members who are currently unemployed or underemployed.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    REGISTRATION DATES

    Early-bird: now-February 17

    Advance: February 18 - March 14

    On site: March 15-22

    For detailed pricing information and to register online, click here<http://newenglandarchivists.wildapricot.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1509872&eventId=813163&EventViewMode=EventDetails>.



    *LODGING*

    Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside

    250 Market Street

    Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801

    Google Map <http://goo.gl/maps/yzJQC>

    (603) 431-2300

    http://www.sheratonportsmouth.com/



    Room rate $125 available until February 24th (subject to availability.), using this code: New England Archivists 2014 QYND6W2WZTY (OR copy and paste the following link into a web browser):

    https://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/res?id=1306242670&key=9E66C



    *MEETING HIGHLIGHTS*

    Spring 2014 will feature two plenary speakers: Vivek Bald and Ian MacKaye.



    Ian MacKaye (Friday, March 22) is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer best known for being the frontman of influential punk bands like Minor Threat, Fugazi, and The Evens. Currently he is working to personally preserve recordings of all of Fugazi's 1,000+ shows. He is also trying to preserve the cassette recordings of his grandmother who wrote a marriage counseling column for Ladies Home Journal. Read more about MacKaye's audio-archiving work<http://www.spin.com/articles/fugazi-ian-mackaye-library-of-congress-lecture-punk-archive/>.

    Vivek Bald (Saturday, March 21) is a scholar and filmmaker whose documentary, *In Search of Bengali Harlem* has spurred a related book and website<http://bengaliharlem.com/>.

    The website is part of Bald's ongoing project to document the histories of two little-known groups of early South Asian migrants to the United States.

    Both were groups of Muslim men, predominantly from the region of Bengal, who entered the U.S. between the 1880s and the 1940s.



    The sessions on Friday and Saturday cover a wide range of topics and formats such as a roundtable discussion on the Boston Bombing Digital Archives, working with students in archives, collaborating with non-archivists, and how best to provide access to moving image and sound archives.



    The "Jeopardy" tournament on Friday will test your knowledge of the profession, repositories all over New England, and fun historical facts.

    Players will compete for bragging rights and cool prizes by answering questions from NEA's own Alex Trebek, Gregor Trinkaus-Randall. Details on how to participate are coming soon.



    View the full schedule to begin your own planning for Spring 2014<http://newenglandarchivists.wildapricot.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1679054>.



    If you have any questions regarding the NEA Spring 2014 Meeting, please contact Kelli Bogan, Spring 2014 Program Committee Chair, at kbogan@colby-sawyer.edu<mailto:kbogan@colby-sawyer.edu>.


  • 10 Feb 2014 3:55 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The Catholic Library Association is pleased to announce the sixth Introductory Archive Workshop for Religious Communities to be held at the Cenacle Retreat House, Ronkonkoma, NY from June 15-20, 2014. The 5-day intensive program is directed toward individuals who are interested in learning about archival theory and practice or who wish to update their archival training. 

    Unlike other archival workshops, the sessions will focus on the unique types of records found in the archives of men’s and women’s religious communities. These records document not only the communities themselves, but also the evolution of Catholicism in the

    United States, and its impact on educational, social and charitable institutions that shaped the nation’s history. 

    The program, directed by professional religious archivists, will include lectures, tours, and opportunities for sharing experiences.

    Complete program and registration information and a registration form are posted on the Catholic Library Association website at http://www.cathla.org/archives-workshop or contact the CLA at cla2@cathla.org or phone 312-739-1776 or toll free 855-739-1776.       REGISTRATION DEADLINE MAY 1, 2014.

  • 08 Feb 2014 7:24 AM | Anonymous member
    YHS is seeking an energetic and experienced Executive Director for a full-time position based in Yarmouth, ME.  Qualifications: An M. A. in History or Humanities and 5 years of experience in historical or cultural studies and the management of a non-profit cultural institution is preferred.  Experience in fundraising, personnel management and as a chief executive officer is desired.  Excellent communications and organizational skills a must.  The Executive Director advises the 14-person Board of Trustees in developing policies and goals for the Society as well as managing day-to-day operations.  Specific duties and responsibilities are posted on the website, www.yarmouthmehistory.org, under the tab About Us.  You may also request a job description by emailing info@yarmouthmehistory.org.
     
    To apply, please mail or email cover letter and resume to: Yarmouth Historical Society, P.O. Box 107, Yarmouth, ME 04096 or to info@yarmouthmehistory.org. We will begin review of applications on February 17, 2014 and continue to consider candidates until the position is filled.
  • 05 Feb 2014 9:39 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Each year, the C. F. W. Coker Award is given out to recognize an outstanding and innovative finding aid, finding aid or descriptive system, or finding aid/descriptive project.

    Established in 1984, this award recognizes finding aids, finding aid systems, projects that involve innovative development in archival description, or descriptive tools that enable archivists to produce effective finding aids. To merit serious consideration for the award, nominees must, in some significant way, set national standards, represent a model for archival description, or otherwise have a substantial impact on descriptive practices. The following types of works or activities may be considered:

    1. Finding aids, including, among others, multi-institutional guides, record surveys, repository guides, special subject lists, finding aids to individual collections or records groups, and narrative descriptions of holdings.
    2. Finding aid systems, including, among others, manual or automatic indexing systems, computer databases, or current awareness systems for notifying users of holdings.
    3. Descriptive tools that enable archivists to produce more effective finding aids, including, among others, subject thesauri, authority files, data element dictionaries, manuals establishing descriptive standards, and such reference works as atlases and administrative histories.
    4. Projects that involve innovative developments in archival description, including, among others, cooperative ventures that result in the exchange of finding aid information among repositories, efforts at building national information systems, and survey projects.

    Last year’s submissions were great and we had to make a tough decision. This year, we’d like to have to make a difficult choice again, but we need your help! Do you know of an outstanding and innovative finding aid or description system published in 2013?  Have you created a finding aid or designed a descriptive system or tool that you feel breaks new ground in the field of archival descriptive practice? Would you like to see the author(s) or editor(s) recognized for contributing to descriptive practice and the archives profession?  Please consider submitting a nomination prior to the deadline of February 28, 2014.  Self-nominations are welcome!


    The nomination form is available at www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/Awardsform.pdf

    Additional information can be found at www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-coker, where you can also see a list of previous winners.

  • 31 Jan 2014 5:52 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Focusing on Visitors: Public Programming and Exhibits at History Organizations Workshop Coming to New England

     
    The registration for AASLH’s Focusing on Visitors: Public Programming and Exhibits at History Organizations workshop scheduled for April 3-4 in Portsmouth, NH, is now open at http://resource.aaslh.org/view/focusing-on-visitors-public-programming-and-exhibits-at-history-institutions-2/. The workshop will be held at the Governor John Langdon House and is hosted by Historic New England. Register by February 27 and save $40 on your registration fee.
    This workshop provides a broad overview of public programming and exhibits focusing on active learning at different kinds of history organizations. Seasoned educators direct conversations about museum education and what it is museum educators do.
    Through interactive activities and case studies, participants will learn about audience types, volunteer management and training, tour techniques, active learning with people of all ages, developing exhibits with visitors in mind, technology, evaluations, planning, and working with others to build programs.
    The themes of this workshop are based on the publication The Museum Educator’s Manual: Educators Share Successful Techniques. A copy of this must-have education manual is included in the workshop registration.

    Who Should Attend: This workshop is ideally suited for staff (first-time museum educators, directors, tour guides or volunteer managers and mid-career professionals), museum studies students, or dedicated volunteers working in all types of museums  who are given the responsibility of education and public programming.
     
    Cost: $270 members /$345 nonmembers; $40 discount if fee is received by February 27.
     
    Early-Bird Registration Deadline is February 27!!  You can register today at http://resource.aaslh.org/view/focusing-on-visitors-public-programming-and-exhibits-at-history-institutions-2/.
     
    Please contact Bethany Hawkins, Program Manager at hawkins@aaslh.org or 615-320-3203 if you have any questions about these or other upcoming workshops.
     
     
  • 21 Jan 2014 2:03 PM | Anonymous member
    Do you love history? Do you support dynamic hands-on projects for students?

    Then the Maine National History Day coordinators are looking for you!

    Sign up now to be a judge for the 2014 Maine National History Day competition, to be held at UMaine in Orono, on Saturday, April 12. Whether you've been a judge for several years running, or have never experienced the excitement and reward of History Day, you are invited to join the 2014 team. It's an inspiring experience!

    Maine National History Day is an annual event for teachers and students in grades 6-12 
    which promotes critical thinking skills through project-based learning.

    The competition runs from 10AM-4PM; judges must be on-site by 8:30AM. Morning refreshments and lunch will be provided. To register, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YBDB772 and provide your name, contact info, and rate your preferences for judging category. We strongly encourage you to sign up by February 28, and, as an extra incentive, we will put your name in a drawing for a great prize. (Compliments of Maine Historial Society and Maine Humanities Council.)

    You'll get an initial confirmation email and, in mid-March, your judging assignment and detailed information and resources about the judging role and responsibilities, as well as the logistics of the day.

    For questions about judging, contact: Nicole Rancourt, Program Officer, Maine Humanities Council, 773-5051, nicole@mainehumanities.org OR Larissa Vigue Picard, Director of Education & Interpretation, Maine Historical Society, 774-1822 x215, lvpicard@mainehistory.org.

    For more information on History Day 2014, visit http://umaine.edu/history/national-history-day/, or http://www.nhd.org/.

    And THANKS!
  • 21 Jan 2014 10:57 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    The American Alliance of Museums is offering fellowships to its Annual Meeting for Alliance Professional and Student members who are:

                underrepresented* within the profession

                emerging leaders

                mid-career professionals

    *This includes individuals who identify with one or more of the following underrepresented groups: racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities and LGBT. 

    Note: Individuals must be Alliance members at the time of application.

    Fellows are required attend the entire meeting and participate in fellowship-related activities, such as the Fellowship breakfast and those ticketed events accompanying the award.

    Fellowships awarded to Alliance Professional and Student members includes complimentary conference registration and selected ticketed events and a $750 cash award to cover travel expenses.

    How to Apply

    Eligible individuals are invited to submit an application. Fellows will be selected from among a competitive and talented pool of peers. Unfortunately, because of limited funds we cannot accommodate all applicants.


    Individuals who have previously been awarded a fellowship to attend the Annual Meeting are not eligible.

    Applications are due Friday, Feb. 10.  Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

    Fellowship awardees will be notified by email no later than March 31 and will have a week to confirm their attendance. Once awardees have confirmed their attendance, they will receive a special registration code for complimentary registration and can purchase additional event tickets not included in the fellowship award. Upon receipt of confirmation and signed IRS W-9 form, travel stipends will be issued to Alliance Professional and Student fellows and may take 2 to 4 weeks to arrive. 

    Applicants who are not awarded a fellowship and would still like to attend the meeting may register at the published Early Bird rate until the Advance Registration deadline, April 25. Instructions for how to register will be included with your notification email.

    For more information and Fellowship Application Form visit http://aam-us.org/events/annual-meeting/register/fellowships

  • 21 Jan 2014 10:32 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The application period for the Society of American Archivists’ (SAA) Mosaic Scholarship is currently open, with a deadline of February 28, 2014.

     

    The Mosaic Scholarship was established to provide financial and mentoring support to minority students pursuing graduate education in archival science, to encourage students to pursue careers in archives and to promote the diversification of the American archival profession. The award is given to applicants who demonstrate excellent potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifest a commitment both to the archival profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it.

     

    Up to two scholarships of $5,000 each will be awarded. In addition, each scholarship recipient receives a one-year complimentary membership to SAA and complimentary registration to the Society’s Annual Meeting.

     

    For more information on the scholarship, eligibility requirements and instructions on applying, please visit: http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-mosaic.

     

    Good Luck!

     

    The Mosaic Scholarship Selection Committee:

    Jennifer Marshall (chair), University of South Carolina

    Krystal Appiah, Library Company of Philadelphia

    Sofia Becerra-Licha, Berklee College of Music

    LaNesha DeBardelaben, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

    Mona Vance-Ali, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library

    Aditi Worcester, Texas State Library and Archives Commission


  • 21 Jan 2014 10:26 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Call for Nominations: 2014 SAA Waldo Gifford Leland Award

     Please help us to recognize the best in our profession!

    Have you read a great new book about archives? Seen an exceptional new finding aid? Encountered a new documentary publication that is head and shoulders above the rest? Has a new web publication really stood out to you?

    If you have, please consider nominating it for the Society of American Archivists Waldo Gifford Leland Award. Nomination forms, a list of previous winners, and more information are at http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-leland. The deadline for nominations is February 28, 2014. 

    The annual Leland Award – a cash prize and certificate – recognizes “writing of superior excellence and usefulness in the field of archival history, theory, and practice.” 

     (Please note that periodicals are not eligible.) 

    Established in 1959, this award honors American archival pioneer Waldo Gifford Leland (1879-1966), president of the Society of American Archivists in the1940s and one of the driving forces behind the founding of the National Archives.

    Melissa Salrin

    Archivist and Special Collections Librarian

    Whitman College and Northwest Archives

    345 Boyer Ave Walla Walla, WA 99362

    salrinmm@whitman.edu

    p (509) 526-4731

    f (509) 526-4785

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