2013 Webinar Archives

Learn More About the Conservation Assessment Program - December 10, 2013

Learn more about the Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) in this informative webinar. CAP helps small to mid-sized museums secure a general assessment of collections and historic structures. A CAP assessment is a great first step in prioritizing your museum’s collections care needs and a wonderful building block to go on to secure more targeted funding. The CAP staff covered the basics of eligibility requirements, the application, participation, and case studies from museums who have gone through CAP.

Promoting Preservation: Utilizing New Media - November 19, 2013

Learn how other cultural institutions are creatively leveraging new media to promote preservation. From Facebook to Historypin, these case studies will shed light on what campaigns are successful and why. Following our course on Outreach, this webinar is a fantastic opportunity to gain an additional perspective on this hot topic without the requirement of pre-registration!

Outreach Activities for Collections Care - November 4 - November 14, 2013

You know best the unique stories your collections have to tell and work hard to preserve those collections for future generations. But how do you take collections care activities from “behind the scenes” to front and center, engaging and educating the public? In this four-part course, you will learn how to advocate for collections care, showcase the important work that goes largely unseen, and get the message out by working with the media (traditional and social) to reach new audiences.

Caring for Audiovisual Material - October 16-30, 2013

Audiovisual collections can run the gamut of formats, from analog audio, film, and video to digital audio, film, video, and optical media. This five-part course will examine the various formats and explore the major issues and challenges in preserving them. A team of national experts will help you navigate the mind-boggling array of AV materials and provide practical advice on identifying, caring for, handling, storing, and accessing them.

Essential Elements of a Collections Management Policy - October 2, 2013

Have you ever found yourself trying to protect your organization’s collections from well-meaning volunteers, board members, colleagues, or even from members of the community who don’t understand why their proposal may not be in the best interest of the collections? Using real-life examples, instructor Bruce MacLeish demonstrated how to use a collections management policy to help make and enforce difficult decisions. In doing so, Bruce highlighted the essential elements of collections management policies.

Fundraising for Collections Care - September 23 - October 7, 2013

Collections are central to the mission of most cultural institutions, from libraries and archives to museums and historical societies. Finding and sustaining funds to care for those collections, however, can often be a daunting task. In this five-part course, we explored fundraising strategies that to empower you—whether you’re a seasoned fundraiser or a rookie—to embrace this essential endeavor. We reviewed the basics of creating a fundraising plan, where to look for support, how to cultivate individual donors and members, how to write successful proposals, and creative ideas for funding your collections care projects.

The Thomas Wolfe Memorial 15 Years Later - July 25, 2013

In July 1998, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial in Asheville, NC, suffered a devastating fire at the hands of an arsonist. Nearly 15 years later, the organization serves as a fantastic case study in a cultural institution’s recovery after disaster. Martha Battle Jackson, chief curator for North Carolina’s Division of State Historic Sites and Properties, discussed the lessons that can be learned from this disaster and the organization’s six-year road to recovery.

WebWise Reprise Part Two: Using Collections Images in Educational Materials - June 5, 2013

In this second webinar for WebWise Reprise, Suzi Hunn Gran and Shana Crosson discussed the Minnesota Historical Society’s project Northern Lights, a Minnesota specific social studies curriculum textbook and iPad app featuring the Historical Society’s digital images. During the 90-minute webinar, Suzi and Shana shared how others might use digital images of collections items creatively and interactively in educational programming. They discussed insights into how K-12 educators are using technology in the classroom and how their program meets state educational standards.

Exercising Your Disaster Response Plan - June 4, 2013

Even the best written disaster response plan can be greatly compromised if staff members have not been trained on how to carry it out. Conducting drills and exercises of your institution’s response plan is critical for testing procedures, identifying problems, and discussing solutions. Tabletop exercises, which are dedicated to discussion, and functional exercises, which are focused on hands-on activity, are two especially effective training approaches.

WebWise Reprise Part One: Using Collections Images in Online Exhibits - June 3, 2013

In this first webinar for WebWise Reprise, Shalimar White discussed making digital images of Dumbarton Oaks’ Nicholas V. Artamonoff Collection available through an online exhibit using Omeka. In this 90-minute webinar, Ms. White talked about the process, experience, and lessons learned from this project. She  also discussed how the project involved undergraduate and graduate interns.

Caring for Photographs - May 7, 2013

The Caring for Photographs was intended to strengthen general photograph preventive conservation knowledge and preservation capacity. The course began with an introduction to the technical history of photography, image formation and deterioration, and degradation mechanisms and causes, to prepare librarians, archivists, and collection care specialists with the basic knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary to safeguard their collections.

Involving the Public in Your Preservation Efforts - April 24, 2013

April 21-27, 2013 is the American Library Association’s Preservation Week. The event was designed, “to connect our communities through events, activities, and resources that highlight what we can do, individually and together, to preserve our personal and shared collections.” In celebration of Preservation Week, Heritage Preservation hosted an hour-long webinar showcasing the exemplary work of museums, archives, libraries, and historical societies that are reaching out and engaging the public on preservation issues. The webinar also shared tips on publicizing your work and events through media and social networking.

Caring for Digital Materials: Preventing a Digital Dark Age - April 2 - April 15, 2013

Digitization has provided opportunities for institutions to create digital surrogates for fragile and endangered artifacts, while providing greater access to cultural heritage materials. Libraries, archives, and museums are also increasingly active in preserving community materials that are “born” digital, including photographs, audio, video, and websites.

Mounting Garments for Display - March 27, 2013

In this webinar, Kathleen Kiefer and Petra Slinkard, of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, shared their process for mounting garments for display. Providing both a conservation and curatorial perspective, Kathleen and Petra focused specifically on mounting to mannequins.

Object Handling Basics - February 28, 2013

From the gloves we wear to the hazards we may encounter, handling objects in a museum setting is anything but simple. In this 60-minute live chat event, Mary Coughlin, a professor at The George Washington University, provided an overview of object handling best practices which was followed by a live Q&A session.

Risk Evaluation: First Step in Disaster Planning - February 5 - February 14, 2013

Even in times of economic hardship, cultural heritage institutions with limited staff and resources can improve the protection of people, buildings, and collections through thoughtful planning. By identifying the hazards that threaten your collections and assessing the risks they pose, you are taking the first step in disaster planning. Heritage Preservation’s Risk Evaluation and Planning Program (REPP) was featured in this course as a resource that simplifies the risk evaluation process.

Mold! - February 11, 2013

Mold is a frequent hazard in collections. In this 90-minute webinar, participants learned how to identify mold, deal safely with a mold outbreak, and how to prevent it from occurring in the first place. We also discussed how mold might affect a variety of formats in your institution, from books and paper to leather and textiles.

Creative Solutions for Collections Care - January 29, 2013

For our first webinar and live chat event of the year, Susan Duhl, an experienced conservator and collections manager, discussed how professional conservation standards and best practices can be met with lower cost solutions. The webinar, geared toward historical societies, libraries, archives, and other small to mid-sized institutions, shed light on the benefits and disadvantages of particular solutions to fundraising, assessments, environmental controls, disaster planning, collections storage, and volunteer management.

Collections Care Basics: Where Do I Begin? - January 9 - January 23, 2013

This six-part course introduced basic collections care principles and practices and answered frequently asked questions. It is a part of the Caring for Yesterday’s Treasures—Today series.

Accepting a Credential from Credly

If you recently completed one of the online courses associated with the series Caring for Yesterday’s Treasures–Today, then you likely received an online credential from Credly.com. This video will walk you through the steps of accepting and sharing your credential online.

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