Even though today is the official first day of Summer, the season arrived several weeks ago. Yesterday we set a record for 14 days of triple-digit weather. Today is a "cold" front with a high of 98 degrees! Ha!
In the last few weeks, however, I have stayed busy trying to update the Museum's website. I updated all of the Archives pages, from the Archival Collections to the Photographic Prints and Negatives. I even updated the Links page; take a look! What do you think?
One of my goals this summer is to reach out to similar institutions in the area. To that end, I had a "Tour Swap" with Jenni Opalinski, the Collections & Exhibits Manager at the Museum of the Southwest. I showed her around The Petroleum Museum, and she showed me around the Museum of the Southwest. It was quite fun and interesting to find out what they have and how we might help each other out. This Thursday, I plan on meeting with Pat McDaniel at the Haley Library. I'll let you know how that goes!
Similarly, I also want to reach out to educational institutions, like UTPB, Midland College and Odessa College, to find out how the Library & Archives Center can better serve that audience. While visitorship is up at the Center, I know it is HUGELY underutilized. Why? Do they know we exist? If so, what do the area students want and need from us? These are questions I hope to answer during my discussions with the various professors I've contacted. And I hope to come up with some solutions too!
