Nothing to Quack About!

Last week, I attended the Society of Southwest Archivists' 2011 Annual Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. The theme this year was "Opportunity and Promises: Advocating Archives."

Above: The cake!

Before I even mention what I learned (lots!), I want to tell you about Little Rock and the Peabody Hotel. Downtown Little Rock is completely charming, lying adjacent to the Arkansas River, lined with gardens, restaurants and shops.

Above: Arkansas capitol in downtown Little Rock.

Above: A gazebo near the hotel, by the river.

Above: View of the Peabody Hotel from a sculpture garden.

What's unusual for the hotel is that they have real-life ducks living in the lobby. The ducks (about 5 of them) spend the majority of the day, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in a dedicated fountain in the hotel's lobby. At 5:00 p.m., the Duck Master leads the ducks to their own Duck Palace where they spend the night. Check out the legend here.

Above: The male Mallard duck in the hotel's lobby.

Above: The Duck Master leads the ducks to their palace.

The conference offered several sessions relevant to my duties at the Petroleum Museum. In fact, I was even a presenter during one session, "Filling Our Niche: Opportunity and Promise in Subject Repositories," with Mary McLain Saffell from the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University and Melissa Gottwald from the Aviation Safety and Security Archives at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. We each talked about our respected subject-based repositories, or archives, and about some of the opportunities and challenges we've faced. I found it interesting to learn about archives and what they acquire and do with their holdings.

Other sessions I attended included:
* Keynote -- Listen Up: Voices from the Archives, Elliot West
Dr. West was a very engaging speaker; he spoke about finding "lost" voices within archival holdings and gave many examples of his personal finds.

* If You Love Your Collections, Set Them Free: Using the Web to Facilitate AccessThe Lyndon B. Johnson Presidental Library & Museum, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, the Texas Archive of Moving Images, and Frazar Memorial Library, McNeese State University in Lousiana, are all doing fabulous and intriguing work using their collections online in a variety of ways. Main nugget: can't just sit there, find ways to be relevant!

* Grant Funding for Library, Archive and Museum Projects
Experts in the field of grantwriting and funding presented this resourceful session. Federal and foundational support is out there. You just have to ask and, if that does not succeed, ask again and again.

* Doing More with DSpace
DSpace is software intended to be a preservation warehouse for digital objects. (We use it for our Train to Share project.) However, there are other software out there, like Omeka and Pacyderm, to provide an interactive interface for users like you! Preservation is one side of the coin, with access the other.

One last thing ... we had a reception at the William Clinton Presidental Library, just a mile away from the hotel. We were able to visit the exhibits and even had the opportunity for a behind-the-scenes tour! Below are some photos from that event.

The museum storage door has a knocker on it!

Turkish Museums (Part I)

I apologize for the month-long hiatus; I recently returned from a 2-week vacation in Turkey . . . I hope you missed me as much as I missed you!




During that time, I saw the historical sites of Istanbul and many museums and archeological sites all over the country. Turkey offers a plethora of Greek and Roman city sites (more than Italy, according to the tour guide!) including well-known Ephesus and Troy as well as hidden gems Hierapolis and Aphrodiasis.

With such a wealth of history and a treasure trove of collections, I was confused by the museological choices those museums and sites made.

One museum, the Archeological Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, had been named the European Museum of the Year in 1997. After seeing that announcement, I was excited to enter the museum building, interested to learn from such a recognized institution. However, upon entering, I was shocked by the display of objects. Cases held numerous objects without any labels or context. Where was the story? How did the objects, the sections, the civilizations relate to each other? I often was unsure what I was looking at!






Above: Views of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

Unfortunately, most of the museums we visited during our tour held similar exhibits. The numerous objects got in the way of learning about the relevant topic. The lack of labels (in English or even Turkish) was very disappointing and often raised the question "What is that?"

Only one exhibit really stood out as "modern" -- the Sacred Objects at Topkapi Palace. Installed in 2007, the exhibit holds the most sacred relics and gifts to the Ottoman Sultans, including Moses' staff and David's sword. I noticed climate controlled cases and fiber optic lighting.


Above: View of the Sacred Objects rooms. Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures inside!

So now I'm curious to learn more about museums in Turkey. How is that a country with such a wealth of culture and history sadly lags behind in museum methods?

I put out a call to the email listserv Registrar's Committee of the American Association of Museums (RC-AAM). One person responded stating that they would be returning to the States after August 13th and would be willing to discuss Turkish museums with me. I'll keep you posted as to what I find out!