#museumpass

For my Module 5 Assignment, which could pretty much be on any topic involving instructional media, I chose to create the second episode of my Arts In Your Library podcast - Going Deeper Through the Looking Glass: Your Pinellas Library as a Gateway to the American Studio Glass Movement in St. Petersburg. Going in a different direction than theatre arts, this time I wanted to join forces with the library and arts in Pinellas county using one of the museums included in the Museum Pass. The Museum Pass is amazing because it allows library patrons to visit 8 local museums for free using their library cards.

How does it work? You go to the circulation desk at your participating branch location. Bring your library card (or if you forget, your driver’s license will work). They will give you a receipt good for a specific museum for 1 visit during the next 7 days. Take that receipt to the museum and enjoy! Note – this pass does not include parking or special exhibits; just the main collection.

I selected the Imagine Museum, which is focused on American studio glass artworks since the 1960s because I have never visited there and have zero prior knowledge of studio glass, except for seeing a few Chihuly pieces over the years. I wanted a challenge for the second episode since writing and talking about Broadway was in my wheelhouse (Episode 1 of my Podcast). Writing and discussing studio glass, however, was much more difficult.

As I state in my podcast episode, I began with a general search of the Imagine Museum’s website and other web searches, including Wikipedia, to learn more about studio glass art and how contemporary the American movement was in the grand history of glass. Armed with a basic understanding, I searched keywords in the PPLC’s database, which did not provide a ton of resources. The small number I found appeared relevant, but without the library system being open (thanks, corona!) I could not double check to verify.

The low number of resources challenged me to rethink about how to order and create my podcast. Originally, I planned to talk about the Imagine Museum first and then discuss how the library can supplement what the museum offered. But I flipped that around and noted that sometimes libraries partner with community organizations like museums when their own collections are lacking and they want patrons to enjoy the arts in their community. Once I changed my way of thinking about the subject matter the writing became easy. Recording the podcast was easy because I had the same setup as I did the first time around.

I enjoyed creating this episode of my podcast, maybe not as much as my first episode, but that is okay (Broadway holds a special place in my soul so it is impossible to compare most things to that). I could see myself continuing this podcast as a librarian, but while I’m in school it would be difficult to keep up with it in a timely manner given everything else I need to accomplish right now. Maybe that is the exact reason I should continue to do it. We’ll have to see.