The End is Near!

In my last post I talked about my goal to complete a collections inventory.  My volunteers and I have definitely made progress and the end is in sight!  We have finished writing down all the objects in storage, and the volunteers have entered location information into the database.  But we still have some objects that we're not sure what they are or where they came from. 

This is my favorite part of collections work ... trying to match up puzzles.  I haven't had a chance to really look at the inventory we've done and search the database or the files to match up questions to answers.  But I hope to do so soon. 

When I was in graduate school at Seton Hall University, I spent one semester as an intern at the Newark Museum.  Rebecca Buck, Registrar, gave me the project of matching up the "backlog" of donations from 1988 with files and database records.  I got such a thrill when I finish!  I couldn't wait for the next puzzle.

Next week, I'm headed to San Antonio for the Texas Association of Museums annual meeting & conference.  I'm actually presenting this time around about my efforts with the Train to Share grant program.  I'm looking forward to networking and seeing what the museums in San Antonio have to offer!

Resolution Update

Well, I've been hard at work on my New Year Resolutions!

1) Migrate to updated version of collection management database.

I spent several days week before last on the phone and online with technical support to migrate my data from the old collection management database to the new version.  There are still two modules to migrate, but my tech support person, Vanessa, is hard at work on those!  I'm actually working in the new system now.  And with any luck (once I get over the current hurdle -- installing another workstation), I'll have a volunteer or two working in it too!  I have one volunteer who is willing waiting in the wings.  I just need to feel comfortable teaching her how to use the new system.

2) Complete inventory of all collections in storage.

With the help of two volunteers, I've made strides on the inventory of collection storage.  There certainly seems to be more questions than answers at the moment, but we should have a comprehensive list of what is in storage soon!

3) Develop & implement plan for moving collections off-site.

This one I've waited on until I know more details about the renovation.  The Capital Campaign is making major headway, and this project looks to be taking off!

4) Gain more meaningful followers on the Museum's social media tools (Facebook & Twitter).

With the help of the Marketing and Education Departments, the social media tools are gaining followers.  I haven't analyzed the numbers but I think there will be meaningful gains.  Be sure to like the Museum on Facebook and Twitter, if you haven't already.  We do a lot of different features: Dates in History, Facebook Fridays, and now Science Saturdays and Whatzit Wednesdays!  Be in the know... 

5) Be an advocate for the Museum while at work and while not at work.

This is much harder to count or measure.  However, I was asked this morning to give a presentation about collection management in late February.  And I'll be attending the Texas Association of Museums' annual meeting & conference in March.

I can't wait to see what the next few weeks hold ...!

New Year's Resolutions

I know many of you have created resolutions this New Year in order to start fresh or improve yourself.  Your resolution may be to be healthier, by eating right or working out, or it may be to learn a new skill, like learning a foreign language or developing a hobby.

I myself have developed my own personal New Year Resolutions.  And I think I need to develop ones for my little corner of The Petroleum Museum. 

We at the Museum anticipate 2012 to be interesting, to say the least.  We hope to finish our Capital Campaign and to start our $15M renovation of the oil & gas industry exhibits.  With those events looming, there is a lot to take care of!  Before demolition, we have to move the collections, both what's on display and what's in storage, off-site.  So, there's a lot of prep work that I need to complete before the ground-breaking. 

Below are my resolutions or goals for the upcoming year.  Many of these I started last year, but for whatever reason, never finished or just dropped the ball.  Some of them are re-focusing on what my job duties entail and trying to be better in those duties.

1) Migrate to updated version of collection management database.

2) Complete inventory of all collections in storage.

3) Develop & implement plan for moving collections off-site.

4) Gain more meaningful followers on the Museum's social media tools (Facebook & Twitter).

5) Be an advocate for the Museum while at work and while not at work.

Wish me luck in keeping my New Year Resolutions!  What are your resolutions?

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

The Petroleum Museum's Library & Archives Center will be closed for the holiday from Monday, December 26th through Monday, January 2nd.  We will re-open Tuesday, January 3rd!

I will be spending the week with family and friends, but I hope your holiday dreams come true!

Charlie dog, dreaming of a white Christmas.

Archival Photography

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

All photos are accurate. None of them is the truth. ~Richard Avedon

The Museum's Library & Archives Center has a large photographic collection, which estimates range from 250,000 to 400,000 images.  Most of those are from the 50+ career of professional Midland photographer Randolph Rubin.  For more info about the collection, click here.

The Monday morning volunteer, Katelyn Mulder, has been working on an archival collection from the Estate of N. Ford Chapman, which includes hundreds of photographic prints and negatives.  Some of the negatives have not been stored in the ideal conditions, wrapped around a piece of styrofoam.  So she's had to re-house those negatives in archival materials. 

In the Archives Center, we place photographic prints in inert plastic sleeves, which are then housed in archival folders, which are in turn housed in archival boxes.  This creates a three-layered protection between the print and the environment to prevent potential damage or harm.  Photographic negatives are treated similarly.

Photographic print storage in the Museum's Library & Archives Center.

Blast from the Past

One neat thing about working in the Archives is you never know what you'll run across. 

Karen Shephard, a volunteer in the Archives & Collections Department, has been working on organizing and processing a collection of material from Ed Thompson related to the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.  In the material, there was a publication from the Midland Chamber of Commerce, probably dated from 1971, trying to recruit mid-continent oil companies to set up shop in Midland.

Above: Cover of publication.

Above: Aerial view of Midland at time of publication, circa 1971.

One interesting tidbit found in the publication is the statistics about Midland and housing in Midland:

Above: General Information & Housing Costs in Midland circa 1971.

I wonder how that compares to today ...

Barrels, Barrels Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink!

Every six months or so, I get an email from someone who has a metal oil drum wanting more information about the object.  Today was the latest.  Vicky from Illinois had a metal drum marked "Property of S.O. Co. - IND." 

Above: Images from Vicky in Illinois.

Others have also emailed images wanting to know more about what they have. 

Above: Images of oil drum from Tyler in May 2010.

Above: Images of kerosene drume from Anonymous in July 2010.

Typically, my response is the same.  I tell them I am legally and ethically not allowed to provide any appraisal, i.e. assign a monetary value to the object, but I can provide some general information for them.  For Vicky, my response was the following:

The barrel looks to be very similar to others in the Museum’s collections.  These metal barrels were used to store and transport oil, often using a hand pump as well.  The “S.O. Co. – IND” probably stands for Standard Oil Company of Indiana.  After an anti-trust lawsuit in 1911, Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust was divided into different entities, creating Standard Oil of Indiana among others. 

 

 

Many of the oil drums are from an entity of the Standard Oil Trust after it was dissolved in 1911.  Standard Oil of New York (or Socony, later Mobil) was one such entity.  The history of Rockefeller's legacy is fascinating, but another topic for another post!