Museums Association of Montana

Behind the scenes at the MET

The museum’s underground halls are all hung with signs reading “Yield to Art in Transit.” Art moves physically within this warren so it can do a different kind of moving — of souls and minds — when it is in the galleries. And really, we should all yield to art in transit.

Ever wonder where a museum gets its objects?

Automatic Document Feeders

Scanners and photocopiers with Automatic Document Feeders (or ADF) permit faster document imaging than the “one page at a time” approach of a flatbed scanner or glass platen would.   However, the reputation for documents being damaged in ADF equipment exists. So much that NARA and other cultural institutions are typically prohibit Archival documents from being scanned or copied in ADFs. This photo shows damage that can result when a document is jammed inside an ADF.

{picture one }This photo shows damage that can result when a document is jammed inside an ADF. {picture two} The amount of time it takes to repair such damage far exceeds the time of taking a more careful scanning approach. {picture three} This is an example of repairs to a document damaged in an ADF.

Most document feeders use a high curvature paper path to turn over documents (usually to preserve stacking order or to flip for imaging the back side), and this places tension on already torn, brittle or otherwise fragile documents, especially in high-speed / high-volume operations. Even with originals in perfect condition there always exists  the potential for machine malfunctions or human error resulting in damage. Failing to detect staples or tape holding pages together prior to feeding documents will likely result in damage in an ADF.  Another general objection to using ADFs (most relevant for intrinsically valuable originals) is that rubber and urethane rollers come into contact with documents, introducing residual chemical compounds that might affect paper condition over time.

Above is a breakdown of some applied best practices for using Tumblr in the context of libraries, archives, and special collections I’ve learned in as both a longtime Tumblr user and recent MLIS.  

Anonymous submitted: 

While I (the Exhibitions manager) was out of the office checking on potential loans for a new display, my boss decides to take in a loan without telling or consulting me. It should be mentioned that this boss has NO museum experience whatsoever. None. Zero. Zip. I’m pretty sure they have been to a museum like 4 times in their life.

Anyways, when I return my boss alerts me that I need to place the two pieces in the temporary exhibition as soon as possible because they are from a very important potential donor. 

I am given no background information, no verbiage for the pieces, no values for insurance, and no budget to create pedestals to display them. 

How temporary is this exhibition to which we are now adding this additional content? It closes in 2 weeks. That’s how temporary. 

Anonymous submitted: 

Today I watched one of our Trustees write a note to himself on a 100 year old handwritten letter from the founder of a very famous British company to a member of the British royal family.

In pen.

Since The Force Awakens opens in cinemas at midnight, we thought we’d check on our lightsaber in the Stores. It still works fine.

Here are some still images to follow yesterday’s video of us opening our newest rare book. The bottom image is a folded engraving of Calzolari’s museum or cabinet of curiosity, which he used as a learning tool for local physicians, pharmacists and botanists to observe and experiment with objects first hand.

Who wants to pretend they’re shooting people in the face while contributing to real research?

You’re in luck, as we have a beta crowd sourcing project where we need help exploring our amazing collection of countryside photographs! It’s a unique insight into the English countryside’s past, and we need you to tell us whether a photograph has people, churches and sheep.

Our Long Game would be discovering photos in named places but with unidentified people, so we can go to those places and ask residents who they are and collect their stories.

From September 1947 until January 1949, the Declaration of Independence crossed the country in a traveling museum called the Freedom Train.

A group of 27 Marines protected the 133 documents, which came from the US National Archives​, the The Library of Congress​, and private museums and personal collections.

The Freedom Train stopped in cities in each of the 48 states (Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states), and the documents it carried were seen by more than 3.5 million Americans.

True to its name, the Freedom Train mandated that the admission lines for the exhibit were to be desegregated. Memphis, Tennessee, rejected this condition; in response, the Freedom Train did not stop there as scheduled.

After a successful national tour, the Freedom Train arrived in Washington, DC, for President Truman’s Inauguration Week. At the end of the week, the scrolls of 3.5 million names signed under the Freedom Pledge were donated to the Library of Congress.

Today is International Archives Day! Did you know that Congress established the National Archives of the United States in 1934 to preserve and care for the records of the U.S. Government?

Previously, Federal records were kept in various basements, attics, and abandoned buildings with little security or concern for storage conditions. This photo shows Shipping Board Bureau records that were being stored in the White House Garage!

In 1935, Archives staff began to survey Federal records and the next year they began transferring records to the new National Archives Building in Washington, DC.

The National Archives now has over 40 facilities nationwide including field archives, Federal Records Centers, Presidential Libraries, the Federal Register, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Learn more about the National Archives and our many locations on our website http://archives.gov