The course blog for Digital History Methods a graduate seminar at American University. One of the explicit goals of this course is for us to develop as communicators on the public web. So please do join our conversation, but please do so respectfully. We are all learning how to do this together.
Hi Kerri,
I have a particular interest in your project because I briefly volunteered at the Laurel Museum a few years ago. I was looking for experience at a small cultural heritage institution, but boy did I underestimate the “small” aspect. They depend very heavily on their volunteers, a majority of whom are older Laurel citizens. While I was there, volunteering consisted of guiding people through the museum and acting as a cashier if they wanted to purchase anything from the shop. It doesn’t surprise me that their digital holdings are small and preservation efforts are fairly poor, because their volunteer force likely does not know anything about digital preservation. Since the Laurel Historical Society’s budget is limited and they only have two paid staff, dependence on volunteers likely won’t diminish anytime soon. With that said, I think it’s important that they start reaching out to a younger volunteer force, the people with technological experience and the drive to save digital objects. That doesn’t mean they have to kick the older folks out on the street–they still need help staffing events and volunteering in the museum. But, I think the Society should make more of an effort to infuse some new energy into their volunteer program.
Mallory