Category Archives: History

IMLS’ Count of Museums in the US May Be Exaggerated

LIMLS Museum Distribution by Type 2014q3ooking for museums in your county or state?  Want to know how you compare to other museums across the nation? You’ll find them in the Museum Universe Data File recently produced by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  It’s a free database of museums in the US that includes names, addresses, contact information, total revenue and expenses, and GIS data.

IMLS held a webinar today to explain the datafile and answer questions.  They constructed the list from several sources, including the Internal Revenue Service and Foundation Center,  which were then reconciled to remove duplicates. Data will be updated every six months based on continuing research and community feedback. IMLS will be using the datafile to conduct sampling surveys for future research projects, such as collections care, to inform their programs and share results with the field and Congress, however, you are encouraged to use it as well.

The big news is that of the 35,144 total museums in the US, most are related to Continue reading →

Video: David McCullough’s 5 Lessons Every High School Student Show Know

In this 5:17 video, author David McCullough shares the five most important ideas high school students should learn before graduating (and it’s not memorizing dates and quotations).  This was recorded by CSPAN at the 2011 National Book Festival.

Recap of NCPH Annual Meeting in Monterey

NCPH 2014: Presidential Address by Robert Weyeneth
NCPH 2014: Tom Hanchett on the Levine Museum
NCPH 2014: Drop in sessions to discuss digital projects
NCPH 2014: Vendors in the exhibit hall
NCPH 2014: Discussing the History Relevance Campaign
NCPH 2014: Speed Networking about to begin.
Walking tour of historic Monterey, California.

The National Council on Public History held its annual conference in Monterey, California a couple weeks ago.  More than 600 people attended from around the country plus ten countries, making it the largest stand-alone meeting (at times, NCPH will co-host a conference with another organization, such as AASLH).  Monterey, of course, is a wonderful place to enjoy history and nature, especially if you’ve been enduring a long winter.  This year’s theme was sustainability and a task force is developing a white paper, which is available for public comments.

I attended primarily to discuss the History Relevance Campaign and collect more comments and ideas on our goals and projects.  I also participated in a couple sessions, a morning of speed networking (graduate students and new professionals rotate among several mid-career and seasoned pros), and ran into lots of friends and colleagues in the hall and on the street.  NCPH is a mix of Continue reading →

Video: A Content-Free Social Studies Classroom

James Kendra, who has been teaching social studies at Kenowa Hills Middle School for the past nineteen years, explains his approach of a “content-free social studies classroom.”  In this 12:35 video from TEDx Muskegon, he explains that social studies is the most important class students take in school but not when the emphasis is on facts and dates. “Students want to know why these events are happening,” Kendra says. “Historical events (if they were truly significant) would connect to events of today.  We shouldn’t be telling students which events were important, but them discovering how past and present connect.”  How would your tours or exhibits change if they were based on current events and then looked to the past for explanations and understanding?

Video: Tom Explores Los Angeles

Tom Carroll explores “places that might change people’s perceptions of Los Angeles” in a series of thirteen short hip videos and demonstrate what is possible to create with just a handful of people.  Carroll studied art at Occidental College and led tours at the Los Angeles State Historic Park and at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  In creating these videos, he uses, “a lot of what I learned as a tour guide, speaking loudly and slowly, knowing when you are losing your audience.”  Could you create a short video exploring an historic place in your community?

Unsettling State of State Historical Societies

In preparation for my presentations at the upcoming Historic House Symposium at Gunston Hall and the National Council on Public History annual meeting, I’m analyzing financial information about history organizations in the United States.  I’m currently researching state historical societies, working my way from the most populous state (California with 37 million residents) to the least (Wyoming with about half a million residents).  So far I’m about halfway done, but I wanted to share what I’ve learned and get your reactions.

Chart Biggest State Historical Socities 2012

Among my preliminary discoveries is the dramatic difference among state historical societies. Some are incredibly big (the New York Historical Society has $133 million in net assets) and some states don’t seem to have a statewide historical society (anyone know what’s happening in North Carolina?).  One might assume that the biggest states have the biggest historical societies, but Continue reading →

Relevance of History Discussed at AHA Session

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Last Friday, January 3, about 65 people braved the winter cold of Washington, DC (okay, compared to Midwest right now, it’s balmy) to participate in a discussion on the relevance of history to Americans.  Leading the discussion with me were Tim Grove of the Smithsonian Institution and Cathy Gorn and Kim Fortney of National History Day.

It was an exciting mix of participants.  The room was not only filled with historians who were attending the American Historical Association conference, but also people who work at history organizations in the DC region.  These various perspectives sparked a Continue reading →

A Campaign to Make History Relevant to Americans

American flag with puzzle piece missingIn the last year I’ve become part of an group to find ways to make history more meaningful and relevant to Americans.  The History Relevance Campaign, for lack of a better name, is an informal grassroots effort made up of public historians, preservationists, educators, historic site managers, and museum leaders who are creating a national, broad-based strategy to assert the relevance of history.

Just to clarify, the History Relevance Campaign is not connected to any one history organization. From its start in early 2013, the group has strived to be as inclusive as possible.  Secondly, it is not a lobbying group.  Its main audience is the general public, not elected officials and public policy makers.  Thirdly, its intent is to show that history skills are just as important as Continue reading →