Blog and Newsletter

Connect with museum and archive professionals throughout Maine!

Confirm your sponsorship TODAY to be included in our mailer to over 1,400 museum, archive and cultural tourism professionals throughout Maine!

 

The Association of Maine Archives and Museums (MAM) invites you to become a sponsor and/or exhibitor at the 2016 Conference and Annual Meeting to be held Friday, October 14 at Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono.  Whether you specialize in archival storage materials, consulting services, retail/gift shop items, or services and products that enhance visitor experiences, we welcome your participation.

 

This conference offers an opportunity for you to share your organization’s mission with professionals working in all aspects of Maine’s museums, historic sites, and archives.  The theme this year is “His Story, Her Story, Our Story: Making Meaning of Your Collections."  

Sponsorship offers great opportunities:

• Find your target audience among professionals representing museums, archives, libraries, historical societies, historic sites, and more.
• Develop relationships with museum and archives professionals throughout Maine.
• Continue connections with your current customers.
• Hear what museum and archives professionals have to say about your products – and their future product needs.
• Increase your knowledge and understanding of the archives and museums professions.
• Enjoy 8+ hours of conveniently scheduled exhibit time.
• Sell your products on site.

When: Friday, October 14, 2016.  8:00am-4:30pm

                               

Where: Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono

 

Exhibiting: Exhibitors will be located in key areas to ensure high traffic to your display. Time has been built into the schedule to allow attendees to meet with exhibitors throughout the conference. 

 

Deadline: September 23, 2016; To be included in mailer: August 3, 2016 

 

Maine Archives & Museums offers sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at four levels

 

Sponsorship package #1: "Silver Sponsor"  $75

• Mention in promotional materials, including MAM’s website and Facebook page
• Mention in promotional mailer to over 1,400 addresses (if confirmed before August 3)
• Promotional handout in conference packet (please provide approximately 125 handouts or brochures--MAM cannot make copies)
  
• List of conference participants

Thank you to the SmallCorp for signing up early!

Sponsorship package #2: "Gold Sponsor/Exhibitor"  $150

• All the benefits of “Silver Sponsorship,” plus:
• One (1) exhibit space of not more than a 6’ table
• One (1) admission to conferenceBottom of Form (includes lunch & all sessions) (a $50 value!)

Thank you to the Northeast Document Conservation Center for signing up early!

Sponsorship package #3: “Host Sponsor"  $250

Get even more exposure for your organization!  Host one of our main networking opportunities:  Coffee & Registration, Lunch, Afternoon Coffee & Snack

All the benefits of “Silver Sponsorship,” plus:

• Exclusive host listing in conference schedule (ex. Coffee & Registration hosted by Smith Consulting)
• Signage at event featuring organization name and/or logo
• Two (2) admissions to conference (includes lunch & all sessions) (a $100 value!)
• One (1) exhibit space of not more than a 6’ table

Sponsorship package #4: “Presenting Sponsor”

Thanks to HistoryIT for presenting the 2016 MAM Conference!

To customize your own sponsorship package, contact Dugan Murphy at info@MaineMuseums.org or phone 207-400-6965.

Confirm your sponsorship TODAY to be included in our mailer to over 1,400 museum, archive and cultural tourism professionals throughout Maine!

More information about sponsorship opportunities and to sign up online: 2016 Annual Conference Sponsor and Exhibitor Opportunities

More information about the conference and online registration for the event: 2016 Conference and Annual Meeting 

Pejepscot Historical Society seeks an experienced, detailed, outgoing, and creative individual to serve as Museum Services Manager for the Pejepscot Museum and Research Center, the Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum, and the Skolfield-Whittier House.

The Museum Services manager assists with day-to-day operations of the museums, including opening and closing, greeting and assisting guests, providing assistance to researchers, managing volunteer tour guides and tour programs, processing mailings and maintaining donor records, updating the website and social media accounts, assisting with exhibit preparation, and other duties as assigned by the Executive Director.

Strong written, verbal, interpersonal, and technological skills are required, as well as facility with databases. A background in historical research is required; a bachelor’s and/or advanced degree in the humanities, along with a strong interest in the questions and issues involved in local history, is highly desirable. A willingness to serve as needed in a small organization is essential.

This position is approximately 35 hours per week from May to October and approximately 24 hours per week in the off season of October through May. During the museum season, the Museum Services Manager works Tuesdays through Saturdays. During the off season, s/he works Wednesdays through Fridays. Some additional evening and weekend hours are required.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact info of three professional references to director@pejepscothistorical.org by July 29, 2016. A more detailed position description is available upon request.

The Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine is advertising to fill a full-time Museum Education Specialist II position in the museum’s education division.  The Maine State Museum is currently open five days a week; the position would be required to work some weekend and evening hours. The position is scheduled to begin September 6, 2016. The position is responsible for developing and implementing innovative, engaging, and relevant gallery experiences for a wide range of visitors.  This position assists in training staff and volunteers; assists with the day-to-day operations of the museum public spaces and admission desk; and the development of special events.

 A well-qualified candidate is proficient in interdisciplinary, object-based teaching as well as interpretive writing, curriculum development, and the design of hands-on activities; knowledgeable of current inquiry-based pedagogy and teaching strategies; and has an interest in digital technologies and media for use in online and in-house interpretative projects.  Individuals with a natural science and/or STEM backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply.

 For additional information about the position, visit the General Government Service Center website at http://www.maine.gov/fps/opportunities/ and click on the position “Museum Education Specialist II Full-Time (40 hours weekly).” Qualified candidates should send a resume, direct hire application, and letter of interest to Tammy Sturtevant, HR Generalist, General Gov. Service Center, 74 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0074, (207) 624-7415 or email applications to dafsdirecthire@maine.gov by July 22, 2016. Direct Hire applications are available at the General Government Service Center in Augusta, all Maine Career Center Offices, and on the General Government Service Center website.

 

News release below from the Penobscot Marine Museum

Mary Bourke, Bathers, acrylic on birch panel, 2015, 18 by 18 inches

Pairing PMM’s Three Bathers photo with Bourke Bathers

VINTAGE PHOTOS AND CONTEMPORARY ART COME TOGETHER

IN UNUSUAL PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM EXHIBIT

On view at PMM from May 28 through October 16, 2016

 

SEARSPORT—As part of its “Wish You Were Here: Communicating Maine” summer programming, the Penobscot Marine Museum will present “Maine: A Continuum of Place” in the Main Street Gallery, May 28 to October 16. An opening reception for the show, with Guest Curator Carl Little, is planned for Friday, May 27, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Carl Little, author of Paintings of Maine, Art of the Maine Islands and other books, chose vintage photographs and postcards of coastal Maine from the Penobscot Marine Museum’s collection and paired them with images of those places by contemporary Maine artists. The photographs, which will have been enlarged, and the artworks will be displayed side by side.

“Pairing vintage photographs with modern-day paintings of similar subjects by artists active today was not only great fun, but also a way to highlight what I call the ‘continuum of place,’ ” says Little.  “Maine’s landscape has inspired a remarkable sense of place over the past 150 years,” he notes, “and that vibrant tradition continues today.”  The exhibition features the work of 17 artists from across Maine: Joel Babb, Susan Lewis Baines, Nancy Morgan Barnes, Mary Bourke, Sam Cady, Alison Goodwin, Philip Frey, Liddy Hubbell, Tina Ingraham, Ben Lincoln, Jeff Loxterkamp, Caren-Marie Michel, Linda Norton, Winslow Myer, Karen Spitfire, Jude Valentine, and David Vickery.

In honor of the 100^th anniversary of “Maine Postcard Day”, Penobscot Marine Museum’s 2016 series of exhibits “Wish You Were Here: Communicating Maine” presents a hundred years of images which have been used to communicate the unique qualities of Maine to the outside world. Using postcards, photography, and contemporary art, these exhibits explore the changes which have taken place in the images which have we have used to communicate “Maine”.

 

About Penobscot Marine Museum

Penobscot Marine Museum brings Maine history to life in twelve beautiful historic buildings in the seacoast village of Searsport, Maine.  Exhibits include hands-on activities for children and adults, as well as a ship captain's house, marine paintings, scrimshaw, 19^th century Chinese and Japanese pottery, paintings and textiles, historic Maine boats, a fisheries exhibit, and an heirloom vegetable garden.  The museum has over 200,000 historic photographs, and a maritime history research library.  Check the website for daily activities and events. The museum is open seven days a week, Memorial Day weekend through the third weekend in October.  For more information go to www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org or call the Visitors Center 207-548-0334 or Administrative Offices at 207-548-2529.

MAM's spring newsletter is off the press and on the way to members' mailboxes.  Click here if you'd like to read it online!  

News release below from the Penobscot Marine Museum

“Main Street Bucksport”, Penobscot Marine Museum Photo Archive

ALAMO THEATER PRESENTS TALK ON HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS AND FILM OF BUCKSPORT

(Searsport, Maine)  Historic photographs and vintage film footage of Bucksport from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries will be presented by Penobscot Marine Museum’s Kevin Johnson and Brook Minner of Northeast Historic Film Archive on Thursday, May 12, 6:00 pm at Alamo Theater, 85 Main Street, Bucksport.  

The photographs presented in the talk by Kevin Johnson will be of people and places which were important to the residents of Bucksportbetween 1909 and 1947.  They were taken by a Belfast, Maine postcard company, Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company, which sent their photographers driving across Maine in Model T’s with their box cameras to ask what the local citizens loved about their area.  The photographs presented in the talk are part of Hancock County Through Eastern's Eye, one of several traveling exhibits from the Penobscot Marine Museum photography archive.  It is on display through the end of May at Bucksport Heart and Soul in the Rosen Building, 72 Main Street, Bucksport.  Brook Minner, Executive Director of Northeast Historic Film Archive, will show historic film footage of Bucksport from their collection. 

For more information on the talk call Kevin Johnson at 207-548-2529 ext. 210.  For more information on the exhibit call Rich Rotella at 207-949-1889. 

About Penobscot Marine Museum

Penobscot Marine Museum brings Maine history to life in twelve beautiful historic buildings in the charming seacoast village of Searsport, Maine.  Exhibits include hands-on activities for children and adults, as well as a ship captain's house, marine paintings, photography, scrimshaw, 19^th century Chinese and Japanese pottery, paintings and textiles, historic Maine boats, a fisheries exhibit, and an heirloom vegetable garden.  The museum has a maritime history research library and 80,000 historic photographs online.  Check the website for daily activities and events. The museum is open seven days a week, Memorial Day weekend through the third weekend in October.  For more information go to www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org or call the Visitors Center 207-548-0334 or Administrative Offices at 207-548-2529.

Announcement below from Maine Historical Society:

Friday, May 6, 12:00 pm
Book Talk: Daisy Turner’s Kin: An African American Family Saga

A daughter of freed African American slaves, Daisy Turner became a living repository of history. The family narrative entrusted to her--"a well-polished artifact, an heirloom that had been carefully preserved"--began among the Yoruba in West Africa and continued with her own long lifetime. In 1983, folklorist Jane Beck began to interview Turner, then one hundred years old and still relating four generations of oral history. Beck uses Turner's storytelling to build the Turner family saga, using at its foundation the oft-repeated touchstone stories at the heart of their experiences: the abduction into slavery of Turner’s African ancestors; Daisy's father learning to read; his return as a soldier to his former plantation to kill the overseer; Daisy's childhood stand against racism; and her family's life in Vermont. Beck weaves in historical research and offers a folklorist's perspective on oral history and the hazards and uses of memory. Join us to hear firsthand from Beck the origins and inner-workings of documenting this moving family history.
Free for MHS Members and faculty, staff, and students of USM; $5 general admission. Offered in cooperation with the African American Collection of Maine. University of Southern Maine's Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine.

 

Wednesday, May 25, 12:00 pm
Book Talk: The Phantom Punch

The two bouts between Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston are widely considered the most anticipated and controversial fights in heavyweight boxing. Cassius Clay won the first bout in Miami Beach in February 1964, when Liston refused to come out for the seventh round. The second fight took place in Lewiston, Maine, fifteen months later in May 1965. Halfway through the first round, Ali countered a left from Liston with a fast right, knocking Liston down. He did not get up. Ali’s right was so fast many spectators never even saw it. It was quickly dubbed the Phantom Punch and rumors began to swirl that Liston had thrown the fight. Many who believed Liston--a brutal fighter who picked up boxing in prison--had also thrown the first fight the year before in Miami were now vindicated.
Journalist and sports historian Rob Sneddon takes a fresh look at the infamous Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston fight of May 25, 1965, which ended in chaos at a high school hockey rink in Lewiston, Maine. Sneddon digs deep into the fight’s background and delivers new perspective on boxing promotion in the 1960s; on Ali’s rapid rise and Liston’s sudden fall; on how the bout ended up in Lewiston--and, of course, on Ali’s phantom punch. That single lightning-quick blow triggered a complex chain reaction of events that few people understood, either then or now.
Free for MHS Members; $5 general admission.

More information about each program can be found on the MHS website: https://www.mainehistory.org/programs_events.shtml

Announcement below from the University of Southern Maine.

The University of Southern Maine's LGBT COLLECTION invites you to an afternoon of events to celebrate and preserve the story of Maine's LGBTQ+ communities.

WHERE: 7th Floor, Glickman Library (corner of Forest Ave. & Bedford St.), USM Campus, Portland Maine.

​WHEN: Saturday, April 30th, 1-4pm

WHAT:

* ALL DAY view items from the collection and consult on donating

* 1 - 1:30pm Welcome ​(Susie R. Bock)

* 1:30 - 2:30pm Zine-making Workshop (Brody Wood)

* 2:30-3pm Donating to the LGBT Collection (Susie R. Bock)

* 3-4pm Panel/Community Discussion on Creating, Collectiong and Using Material Culture to Examine LGBTQ+ History

Ryan Conrad (facilitator) ~ Tom Antonik ~ Wendy Chapkis ~ Robert Diamante ~ Brody Wood

For directions and parking:

​https://usm.maine.edu/about/directions-portland-campus

For further information: contact Susie R. Bock, 207-780-4269, susie.bock@maine.edu

​Free and open to the public.​

Announcement from the Maine State Museum:

On Saturday, April 30, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Deanna Bonner-Ganter will give a talk and sign copies of her new book, Kosti Ruohomaa: The Photographer Poet. Bonner-Ganter’s talk, “Kosti Ruohomaa: The Photographer Poet, Close to the Land, Close to the Sea,” begins at 1:00 p.m., followed by the book signing from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Bonner-Ganter will also be available to talk with interested museum visitors about the Maine State Museum’s exhibition, which she curated, “The Passionate Photographer: Kosti Ruohomaa’s Maine in Magazine Photojournalism.” Museum admission will be free of charge all day.

 

Bonner-Ganter, a former curator at the Maine State Museum, spent over thirty years researching Kosti Ruohomaa’s life and work. Her book, the only biography of Ruohomaa (1913-1961), tells his story from his Finnish-American upbringing in Vermont and Maine to his travels as a frequent contributor to the great pictorial magazines of the mid-twentieth century, Life, National Geographic, and Look. In spite of the worldy focus of much of his work, Ruohomaa’s true passion was the photographic documentation of the lives of Maine people and a way of life that was rapidly fading.

 

For more information: www.mainestatemuseum.org

See the announcement below from the University of Southern Maine.

Library Specialist CL2

University Library

Library Special Collections and Center for Collaboration and Development 
Wage Band/Start Wage: B22, $13.41

Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., evenings & weekends as necessary, Portland campus

COLT Represented Classified Position

The University of Southern Maine is seeking applicants for the position of Library Specialist CL2, within the office of Special Collections at the Glickman Library.

(24 hours per week) The Library Specialist is responsible for digitizing legacy media formats using applicable scanning equipment and software to ensure appropriate transfer of media.  The Specialist also converts physical materials into electronic formats utilizing a variety of specialized programs and equipment.  The Specialist uploads digitized materials to USM’s Digital Commons.  An ability and willingness to learn camera techniques and work with photographic software is necessary for this position.

The Library Specialist processes rare and unique materials (print, manuscript, and digital) in the collections, including creating and entering metadata.

The Specialist provides administrative support to the Coordinator of Special Collections, and is responsible for access, safety, and security of Special Collections.   This includes assisting patrons in the search, retrieval, and use of materials, as well as interpreting and enforcing security and use policies regarding the space and the collections.

(16 hours per week) The person in this position also provides administrative support to the Center for Collaboration and Development (CCD), which is located in the Glickman Library.   Some essential functions include administrative and clerical work, coordinating and marketing events, and processing financial transactions.

The Specialist assists with the ongoing maintenance and updating of the websites for both Special Collections and the Center for Collaboration and Development.

The work of the Specialist involves internal and external contacts as well as handling verbal and written communications for a broad range of questions.    Providing exemplary customer service and maintaining confidentiality are important components of this position.

The ability to work as part of a team and manage multiple and diverse tasks are essential skills for this position.  Judgment and initiative are frequently exercised and work is typically performed under general rather than specific instruction.

The University of Southern Maine (USM) is Maine’s Metropolitan University ™, dedicated to providing students with a high-quality, accessible, affordable education.  USM’s strategic focus is in alignment with the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities and we are seeking to become a Carnegie Engaged University by the year 2020.  USM offers Baccalaureate, Master's, and Doctoral programs, providing students with rich learning and community engagement opportunities in the arts, humanities, politics, health sciences, business, mass communications, science, engineering, and technology.  At USM, we extend the academic experience well beyond our classroom walls. We encourage our students to engage deeply with our faculty, our community partners, and our wide network of USM alumni, many of whom have remained in Maine long after graduation. Further information on USM can be found at www.usm.maine.edu.     

Each of USM’s three environmentally friendly campuses are unique, yet all share the extensive resources of the university — and all are energized through strong community partnerships.  Offering easy access to Boston, plus the ocean, mountains and forests of coastal, inland and northern Maine, USM is at the heart of Maine's most exciting metropolitan region:

·         Our Portland campus is located in "one of America’s most livable cities," according to Forbes magazine, which also ranks Portland among the top 10 for job prospects.  A creative and diverse community on Maine’s scenic coast, Portland is nationally known as a culinary hot spot!

·         USM’s beautiful residential Gorham campus  supports and celebrates excellence in academics, athletics, music and the arts and is home to ten Living Learning Communities and six Residential Communities.

·         Our Lewiston campus is home to USM’s innovative and richly diverse Lewiston-Auburn College. This Central Maine campus integrates classroom, community and workplace, and provides a small college experience with the resources of a large university.

Qualifications:                 

Required:

• High School diploma or equivalent (G.E.D.) and one year of related library, public service or administrative support experience
• Experience working in various computer environments
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Strong customer service skills
• Ability to prioritize tasks and be flexible between several diverse components of the job

Preferred:

• Some imaging experience – operating a scanner, camera
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite
• Familiarity with Digital Commons
• Experience with web page maintenance and web-based programs

Apply online at: https://usm.hiretouch.com/view-all-jobs. You will need to create an applicant profile, complete an application (which includes contact information for three professional references), and upload a cover letter and a resume/curriculum vitae which fully describes your qualifications and experiences with specific reference to the required and preferred qualifications.  You will also need to complete the affirmative action survey, the self-identification of disability form, and the self-identification of veteran status form. Appropriate background screening will be conducted for the successful candidate.

To ensure full consideration, materials should be submitted by May 1, 2016.   Materials received after this date will be considered at the discretion of the university.

USM is an EEO/AA employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.