Blog and Newsletter

The Association of Maine Archives and Museums publishes quarterly print newsletter that is sent out to members in February, May, August, and November. We also maintain the blog on this page for members to share their announcements more immediately.

Quarterly Print Newsletter

Submissions: If you are a member interested in submitting articles, dispatches, opportunities, and/or photos to the print newsletter, please review these guideline and deadlines.

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Read now: Click here to view the current and past issues of the print newsletter (members-only; log in first).

News Blog

Members and non-members of MAM may post news of interest to the field using the blog below. To post an event, see the event listings. To post a job or internship opportunity, see the job/internship board. MAM reserves the right to edit or reject postings as it deems appropriate. This service is free to members; non-members are charged $20.

Posts to this news blog are automatically shared to the MAM Facebook page to get even more exposure!

MEMBERS: Log in, then click "Add Post." If you have trouble logging in, email info@mainemuseums.org.

NON-MEMBERS: To submit your bulletin board post, please email info@mainemuseums.org.

  • 13 Mar 2015 9:02 AM | Anonymous member

    On Memorial weekend 2015 Readfield Historical Society will make available a 20 month calendar commemorating Readfield's Farm Heritage, in honor of the 225th year of Readfield's incorporation. Evelyn Potter and Dale Potter-Clark are spearheading the project. Some of the farms featured or included will be: Kennemac, Fogg, Gorden, Elvin, Kennecook, McDougald, Wills, Russell, Kents Hill farm, Nason, Coffin, Butman, Trefethen, Lane, Brown, Packard, Smith, Luce, Hawes and more. Along with a brief history of the farms there will be many pictures, recipes, and historical trivia.
    The calendars will be available for $10.00 + S&H via
    http://readfieldmaine.blogspot.com/ and at various locations in Readfield. FMI email crossings4u@gmail.com

     

     

  • 10 Mar 2015 2:50 PM | Anonymous member

    Position description

    The successful Development & Communications Associate will have a genuinely outgoing personality and a sense of humor.  S/he should promote the mission and programs of the Museum and be a good team player.  S/he will be computer savvy, highly organized, able to multi-task and meet deadlines, and able to create and maintain exemplary filing systems and records.  As the first face and/or voice most visitors and donors will encounter with the Museum, the Associate is expected to be community-oriented with an eye toward the development of the membership, visitation, and financial aspects of the Museum.

    This position is a part-time (24 hours per week) position with starting hourly wage of $14.25 per hour. The Development & Communications Associate may work additional hours during weekends and weeknights, depending on the Museum’s event staffing needs. This position is a term appointment for one-year, with the possibility of renewal after that term.

    The position has several components:

    DEVELOPMENT
    Responsible for maintaining and initiating all development records including those pertaining to Membership, Annual fund and Capital Campaign drives. The position is critical to the success of all fundraising endeavors. This requires a willingness to acquire proficiency with PastPerfect, the current development software program in use by the Brick Store Museum.

    ·         Enter all new memberships and renewal information. Generate membership cards and thank you letters.  

    ·         Enter all donations as they are received and generate thank you letters appropriate for the level of giving and personalized to the specific donor. 

    ·         Record gifts of cash and checks for the bookkeeper. Make deposits as necessary—usually weekly.

    ·         Generate reports and current data to use as tools in all membership drives and fundraising efforts.

    ·         Assist in creating and implementing fundraising and capital campaign events throughout the year.

    ·         Be an active participant in the Museum’s grant-writing and grant opportunity identification.

    PUBLIC RELATIONS

    Assist the Director with news releases, publicity materials and correspondence to the membership and the media; including all printed material, social media and current event listings in area newspapers.  Develop and maintain lists of media resources, contact people, and deadlines for e-mail and direct mail communications.

    PUBLIC PROGRAMS

    Assist the Director and staff in planning and implementing public programs, group tours and special events.   This includes being available for occasional after-hours programs. 

    OFFICE SUPPORT

    General office support includes greeting visitors, answering phones, and maintenance of office supplies as needed.

    Qualifications:

    Bachelor’s degree in museum studies, business, finance, or related field; or related work experience. Excellent organizational and communication skills; knowledge of computer databases, and scanning. Experience in nonprofit development and knowledge of PastPerfect preferred.

    Work Environment:

    Work is performed under typical office conditions in the museum.  The Development & Communications Associate must be familiar with the operation of typical office computer systems and devices, telephones, standard office equipment, and copier/scanners. The work may involve exposure to dust and the ability to lift boxes up to 40 pounds. Noise level is quiet, except for routine interactions during the work day.

     To apply: Please send your cover letter and resume to Cynthia Walker, Executive Director, at edirector@brickstoremuseum.org. (or via mail to 117 Main Street, Kennebunk, ME 04043)

  • 26 Feb 2015 9:47 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Due to employee resignation, the University of Southern Maine (USM) is seeking applicants for the position of Coordinator of Franco-American Collection.  The gift-funded Coordinator is responsible for the general oversight and management of the Franco-American Collection and all books, archival material, artifacts and other resources which make up the Collection.

    This is a part-time (80%) position at USM’s Lewiston-Auburn campus.  This position has a nine-month (February, March, April, May, August, September, October, November, December) work schedule.

    Qualifications:

    Required:

    • Bachelor’s degree.
    • 3-5 years of experience with library or archival procedures, or related.
    • Familiarity with Franco-American culture and history.

    License/Certifications:

    • Valid motor vehicle driver’s license.

    Preferred:

    • Degree in liberal arts or library science preferred.
    • Ability to read, write, and speak French strongly preferred.
    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. Review of applications will begin March 18, 2015. Materials received on or after that date will be considered at the discretion of the university. We are not able to consider applicants who require Visa sponsorship support. 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.



    • 26 Feb 2015 9:41 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
      GRANT OPPORTUNITY REMINDER:
      Hidden collections in Maine?
      (Don't miss the information session on March 4!)

      DIGITIZING HIDDEN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES:<http://www.clir.org/hiddencollections> Enabling New Scholarship through Increasing Access to Unique Materials
      The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funds to create a national competition in 2015 to digitize and provide access to collections of rare or unique content in cultural heritage institutions. Its aim is to ensure that the full wealth of resources held by institutions of cultural heritage becomes integrated with the open Web.

      DEADLINE: Initial proposal due:  April 30, 2015
      (The application process has two phases. The initial proposal round is open, and those interested in applying for a grant through this program must submit an initial proposal by April 30. The final proposal round is by invitation only.)

      GRANT AMOUNTS:  Maximum allowable request for 2015: single-institution projects: $250,000 / collaborative projects: $500,000  (Minimum allowable request for 2015: $50,000)

      WHAT FORMATS ARE ELIGIBLE?
      The range of media that can be termed special collections or archives is not restricted. Increasingly, valuable collections are composed of many formats, from paper, moving images on film or video, all types of sound recordings, ephemera, specimens, electronic files or data sets, works of art, to myriad types of artifacts.

      WHAT QUALIFIES AS A HIDDEN COLLECTION?
      For the purposes of this program, applicants must convincingly argue that their collections are "hidden" in the sense that they cannot be exploited for important scholarly work until they are fully digitized, discoverable and accessible.

      COMPLETE INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES:  http://www.clir.org/hiddencollections

      NOTE:
      LIVE INFORMATION SESSION FOR PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS
      Wednesday, March 4, 2015, 2:00 - 3:00 pm Eastern time: CLIR will host a question-and-answer session for prospective applicants. See CLIR for more details: http://www.clir.org/hiddencollections/applicants

      QUESTIONS?
      For questions which are not answered in the application guidelines<http://www.clir.org/hiddencollections/applicants/applicantguidelines.html/applicantguidelines.html>, contact CLIR program staff at hiddencollections@clir.org<mailto:hiddencollections@clir.org>.
      During the application period, CLIR accepts inquiries by e-mail only; no phone calls, please.


    • 25 Feb 2015 7:03 PM | Anonymous member

      Live-in caretaker and curator/docent wanted for Nordica Homestead Museum in Farmington.  On site housing provided.   Anyone interested can write to:  P.O. BOX 763  Farmington, Maine 04938

    • 17 Feb 2015 2:19 PM | Anonymous member

      How do you define direct care? What's included in acquisition costs?

       

      Museum standards and ethics dictate that funds from the sale of deaccessioned collections be used for acquisition or direct care/preservation of collections. Many are confused by the term "direct care." 

       

      The American Alliance of Museums is conducting an online survey to find out what museum professionals, from a broad range of functions and types of museums, personally think should be included in the definition of these terms. The survey also asks about current museum practice regarding deaccessioning and the use of proceeds. The Alliance's cross-disciplinary Direct Care Task Force will use the survey results to provide guidance to the field on generally accepted uses of proceeds shared by all disciplines and those specific to each discipline. 
       
      The survey is 
      open now and will remain active until March 4. It should take 15–20 minutes to complete. The majority of the questions ask for your personal professional opinion, not the stance of your museum. A few questions ask about your museum's policy; you'll want to have your collections management policy at hand. (Or you'll have the option to skip these questions.) 

       

      You can also take the survey by cutting and pasting the following URL into the address bar of your web browser: https://newknowledge.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cIb6SW5TiJB6GBDhttps://newknowledge.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cIb6SW5TiJB6GBD
       
      Feel free to share this link with your colleagues.
                                                      
      If you have questions at any point prior to, during or after completing the survey, please contact 
      aamsurvey@newknowledge.org.


    • 13 Feb 2015 4:46 PM | Anonymous member

      Small Museums Scholarship

      2015 AASLH Annual Meeting and Online Conference

      Louisville, Kentucky

      DEADLINE: 12 June 2015

      The American Association for State and Local History will hold its Annual Meeting and Online Conference in Louisville, Kentucky from 16-20 September 2015. This year’s theme – The Power of Possibility - examines the personal, communal, and organizational journeys that lead to vibrancy, authenticity, social change and sustainability. 

      Unfortunately, many working in our nation’s small museums feel as if we can only dream of attending this meeting. In a perfect world, boards would grant every request to fund our professional development. Institutions of modest means, however, may not have the resources to help us become effective stewards of our community’s memory.

      Websites, listservs, and social media constantly offer new sources of technical and psychological support, but nothing is better than the face-to-face fellowship of sharing survival strategies. Every year, increasing numbers of Annual Meeting sessions address issues specifically affecting small museums. These sessions can be as practical and wide-ranging as training, marketing, and strategic planning. Other sessions focus on creative ways to forge and re-energize relationships with the surrounding community.

      Now in its tenth year, AASLH’s Small Museums Committee is offering scholarships to any AASLH members who are full-time, part-time, paid, or volunteer employees of small museums. Each $500 scholarship will cover the cost of the conference registration and the Small Museums luncheon. Any remaining funds may be used to offset travel and/or lodging expenses.

      To qualify, the applicant must work for a museum with a budget of $250,000 or less. They also must either be an individual AASLH member or work for an institutional member. Application forms are available at http://community.aaslh.org/small-museum-scholarship/

      The deadline for applications is 12 June. The committee will email award winners by 29 June. For questions, please contact Bruce Teeple, Small Museum Scholarship Subcommittee Chair at mongopawn44@hotmail.com

    • 11 Feb 2015 8:11 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

      Deadline for nominations is March 1, 2015.

      Every year, AASLH bestows the Leadership in History Awards in recognition of excellence in the field of state and local history.

      The Leadership in History Awards was established to encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans. By publicly recognizing superior and innovative achievements, the Leadership in History Awards serves as an inspiration to others in the field.

      AASLH recognizes excellence in the following areas: 

      • Exhibits
      • Public and educational programming
      • Special projects
      • Publications
      • Multimedia
      • Individual  Achievement

      Applicants can self-nominate or nominate another project. Nominees need not be members of AASLH to qualify. Organizations of all sizes are encouraged to apply! Learn more about the awards by visiting the website.

      Contact: Bethany Hawkins
      hawkins@aaslh.org
      615-320-3203


    • 07 Feb 2015 11:02 AM | Anonymous member

      Call for creative works—written, art, photography, craft!

      Working title:  Inspired, Inspiring, Inspire--French Heritage Women Create!

      The Franco-American Women’s Institute (http://www.fawi.net) will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2016.  The Franco-American Women’s Institute promotes the contributions of the French heritage women’s lives—past, present and future through its online presence and publishing their creativity.  For FAWI’s 20th Anniversary, there will be a publication of written works and visual arts to mark the present, active, creative lives of the women of the French heritage culture.  

      This call for creativity looks towards the future as creating a legacy of the French heritage women, who they are, and what they want to convey about their lives in the present and future.  This anthology will incorporate the lives of the women who make up this cultural heritage—online, and hopefully, in print as well, and it will offer to the present and future generations a vivid compilation of voices and visuals to express modern-day, French heritage women and their creative works.  The anthology will build bridges of insight and understanding for all who will read and view the works.

      This call for written/visual works seeks materials that are inclusive, encompassing, energetic and exemplary—realistic, fresh and mindful of how far we have come in our voices and visions as French heritage women.  Prose, poetry, song, artworks, photographs—will be open to interpretation by you, the women, in order to focus on the broad subject areas of  women’s lives and  to fully include and illustrate the women’s lives.  What are our legacies that we wish to pass onto the subsequent generations about who we are as a community of women?  This is our opportunity to present our modern-day selves in a body of work that reflects our lives.  Please consider submitting to this anthology.

      Who can submit:  Women of French heritage, Franco-American, Québécois, Acadian, Métis, Mixed Blood, French Canadian, 'Cajun, Creole and Huguenot—are invited to submit.  This anthology will be a volume compiled of the women’s voices who are of the culture/heritage.

      Works sought:

      Prose, essay, fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir,  5,000 word limit

      Poetry, 3 poems, or 1 long, 72 lines limit

      Artworks, able to be scanned, 81/2 x 11 inches, limit

      Photographs, able to be scanned, 81/2 x 11 inches, limit

      Crafts represented by images, able to be scanned, 81/2 x 11 inches, limit

      Submit works online to FAWI2000@aol.com 

      Send written works as a .doc or .docx. only

      Send images as .jpg with an artist’s statement accompanying all images

      Submit a brief biography—telling the reader who you are and about your heritage background.

      Deadline for submission:  May 30th 2015

      If you have any questions about the submission process or ideas for a submission, do not hesitate to contact me via email FAWI2000@aol.com.

      Thank you.

      Rhea Côté Robbins, M.A.

      641 South Main St.

      Brewer, Maine 04412-2516

      Email:  

      FAWI2000@aol.com

      Web Sites:

      Author of 'down the Plains,' & Wednesday's Child

      http://www.rhetapress.com/


      Edited

      Canuck and Other Stories

      Rhea Côté Robbins, Editor

      Canuck, by Camille Lessard Bissonnette, (1883-1970),~

      translated by Sue Huseman, Ph.D. and Sylvie Charron, Ph.D.

      La Jeune Franco-Américaine, The Young Franco-American

      by Alberte Gastonguay, (1906-1978),~

      translated by Madeleine C. Paré Roy

      Françaises d'Amérique, Frenchwomen of North America

      by Corinne Rocheleau Rouleau, (1881-1963),~

      translated by Jeannine Bacon Roy

      Director of:

      Franco-American Women's Institute

      Established 1996

      2015 is the 19th Anniversary of FAWI!

      http://www.fawi.net/

      Call for creative works—written, art, photography, craft!
      Working title:  Inspired, Inspiring, Inspire--French Heritage Women Create!
      The Franco-American Women’s Institute (http://www.fawi.net) will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2016.  The Franco-American Women’s Institute promotes the contributions of the French heritage women’s lives—past, present and future through its online presence and publishing their creativity.  For FAWI’s 20th Anniversary, there will be a publication of written works and visual arts to mark the present, active, creative lives of the women of the French heritage culture.  

      This call for creativity looks towards the future as creating a legacy of the French heritage women, who they are, and what they want to convey about their lives in the present and future.  This anthology will incorporate the lives of the women who make up this cultural heritage—online, and hopefully, in print as well, and it will offer to the present and future generations a vivid compilation of voices and visuals to express modern-day, French heritage women and their creative works.  The anthology will build bridges of insight and understanding for all who will read and view the works.

      This call for written/visual works seeks materials that are inclusive, encompassing, energetic and exemplary—realistic, fresh and mindful of how far we have come in our voices and visions as French heritage women.  Prose, poetry, song, artworks, photographs—will be open to interpretation by you, the women, in order to focus on the broad subject areas of  women’s lives and  to fully include and illustrate the women’s lives.  What are our legacies that we wish to pass onto the subsequent generations about who we are as a community of women?  This is our opportunity to present our modern-day selves in a body of work that reflects our lives.  Please consider submitting to this anthology.

      Who can submit:  Women of French heritage, Franco-American, Québécois, Acadian, Métis, Mixed Blood, French Canadian, 'Cajun, Creole and Huguenot—are invited to submit.  This anthology will be a volume compiled of the women’s voices who are of the culture/heritage.
      Works sought:
      Prose, essay, fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir,  5,000 word limit
      Poetry, 3 poems, or 1 long, 72 lines limit
      Artworks, able to be scanned, 81/2 x 11 inches, limit
      Photographs, able to be scanned, 81/2 x 11 inches, limit
      Crafts represented by images, able to be scanned, 81/2 x 11 inches, limit
      Submit works online to FAWI2000@aol.com 
      Send written works as a .doc or .docx. only
      Send images as .jpg with an artist’s statement accompanying all images
      Submit a brief biography—telling the reader who you are and about your heritage background.
      Deadline for submission:  May 30th 2015
      If you have any questions about the submission process or ideas for a submission, do not hesitate to contact me via emailFAWI2000@aol.com.
      Thank you.
      Rhea Côté Robbins, M.A.
      641 South Main St.
      Brewer, Maine 04412-2516
      Email:  
      Web Sites:
      Author of 'down the Plains,' & Wednesday's Child

      Edited
      Canuck and Other Stories
      Rhea Côté Robbins, Editor
      Canuck, by Camille Lessard Bissonnette, (1883-1970),~
      translated by Sue Huseman, Ph.D. and Sylvie Charron, Ph.D.
      La Jeune Franco-Américaine, The Young Franco-American
      by Alberte Gastonguay, (1906-1978),~
      translated by Madeleine C. Paré Roy
      Françaises d'Amérique, Frenchwomen of North America
      by Corinne Rocheleau Rouleau, (1881-1963),~
      translated by Jeannine Bacon Roy
      Director of:
      Franco-American Women's Institute
      Established 1996
      2015 is the 19th Anniversary of FAWI!
    • 04 Feb 2015 9:22 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
      MAINE NATIONAL HISTORY DAY 2015 
      CALL FOR JUDGES

      Do you love history? Do you support dynamic hands-on projects for
      students? Then we are looking for you!

      Sign up now to be a judge for the 2015 Maine National History Day
      competition, to be held at UMaine in Orono, on Saturday, March 28. Whether
      you've been a judge for several years running, or have never experienced
      the excitement and reward of History Day, we encourage you to take a few
      minutes to join the 2015 team. It's an inspiring experience!

      The competition runs from 10AM-3PM; judges must be on-site by 8:30AM.
      Morning refreshments and lunch will be provided.

      Judge registration this year is via the National History Day website.
      Please go to http://me.nhd.org/ud/templates/registerLinks.php?cid=71 and
      select “Judge” from the drop-down menu, then create a username and
      password. Once you do that, youíll be directed to a form where you can
      provide your name and contact info, and choose your preferred judging
      categories.

      Please note this form does not require ranking your choices so we
      recommend selecting at least three categories (and more if you wish) that
      you would be happily willing and able to judge. We make every effort to
      align judge registrants with one of their chosen categories, but make no
      guarantees.

      We strongly encourage you to sign up by February 20, and, as an extra
      incentive, we will put your name in a drawing for a great prize.
      (Compliments of Maine Historical Society and Maine Humanities Council.)
      The final deadline for judge registration, however, is February 27.

      You'll get an initial automated confirmation email and, in early March,
      Maine NHD coordinator John Taylor will be in touch with your judging
      assignment, information and resources about the judging role and
      responsibilities, and the logistics of the day.

      For questions about judging, contact: John Taylor, Maine NHD Coordinator,
      207-474-7133, john.m.taylor@maine.edu.

      For more information on History Day 2015, visit
      http://umaine.edu/history/national-history-day/, or
      http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/.

      And THANKS!


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