We Found the Bottles! Collection Inventory II

All artifacts in the four household rooms were inventoried and entered into the PastPerfect database. Though the work took longer than anticipated, the work was, indeed, completed. Much credit for this accurate completion goes to the inventory team. The team was dedicated and thorough, especially about searching out and confirming documentation and accession numbers and object ID numbers. Both members of the team had strong regard for the role museums play in preserving ideas. One member had strong roots in the community and an investment in maintaining the integrity of the artifacts. The other member had a strong attention to detail concerning the integrity of the data. The museum director was in frequent contact with the team so that questions could be dealt with in a timely manner. The PP records were carefully and fully completed.
Other achieved targets follow:
New staff members were trained in use of PastPerfect for research.
New and returning staff members were trained in cataloging newly received artifacts in PP.
New and returning staff members were trained in entering data into PP.
One of our long term goals is to have intellectual control over our collection, indicated by coordinating displays with community events, and outreaching information to the community. That is already happening:
LHPA sponsored a local theater director in a series of popup plays depicting Lanesboro in the 1930s. The database was useful in finding artifacts and information to support that project. LHPA cooperated with Lanesboro Arts to support local student researchers who used the museum archives to complete videos on small town history under a Youth Access grant from The Smithsonian. Screening of these videos included credit for LHPA and an opportunity to explain to the public the value of the museum archives and artifacts in historical research.
LHPA is planning and partnering with several other local groups to sponsor WaterWays, a traveling exhibition from The Smithsonian that will be in Lanesboro in January 2017.
The database is a vital foundation for participating in these opportunities.