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GHHN eNewsletter
Summer 2012 Edition
2199 Saw Mill River Road
Elmsford, NY 10523
914.592.6726
www.greaterhudson.org
Priscilla Brendler
Executive Director
Kerry Sclafani
DHP Regional Coordinator/Archivist
E-Newsletter Editor
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Upcoming
GHHN/DHP
Events
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Friday, August 24
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Behind the Scenes
Networking Event
Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame
Goshen, NY
Register Now!
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Tuesday, September 18
5:00 - 7:00 PM
Behind the Scenes Networking Event
Rockefeller Archive Center
Sleepy Hollow, NY
Register Now!
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Friday, September 28
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
GHHN Annual Meeting & Awards for Excellence
Henry A. Wallace Visitor & Education Center
FDR Presidential Library
Hyde Park, NY
Register Now!
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Wednesday, October 24
5:00 - 7:00 PM
Behind the Scenes Networking Event
Rockefeller Archive Center
Sleepy Hollow, NY
Register Now!
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A sneak peak
Behind the Scenes
GHHN members and friends gathered together in White Plains on July 20th for the 1st Behind the Scenes educational and networking event held at the White Plains Painting Conservator studio of John Vitagliano. Attendees were presented a Powerpoint presentation on the basics of conservation, had a chance to see actual artworks under conservation in the studio, and then spent some time socializing and networking.
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Interested in hosting the next
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at your site?
Let us know!
Showcase your site to other in the heritage community!
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Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program, NYS Archives
The New York State Archives and the Archives Partnership Trust will award grants for qualified applicants to pursue research using historical records in the New York State Archives. The Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program is intended to support advanced work in New York State history, government or public policy by covering research expenses. It also encourages public dissemination of research products. Applicants must conduct original research at the New York State Archives. Keep reading for eligibility and application information.
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AIC Collections
Care Survey
The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) has created a survey to help
identify the opportunities and challenges facing collections care professionals today.
If collections care is part of your responsibilities and/or you supervise collections care professionals, please
take 10 minutes to complete their survey and give AIC your feedback.
The survey closes on August 30th. Click here to respond to the survey.
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Save a stamp!
Renew your membership online
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it's quick and easy!
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Rainbows over the GHHN Membership Appreciation Hudson River Cruise!
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GHHN board members Elizabeth Martin and Jackie Haley with guests Kim Small and Doug Haley enjoy the Hudson River sights. |
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Torrential rains flooded Long Island. Golf-ball sized hail showered down on Kingston. But at West Point, rainbows were overhead. Fair weather brightened the skies above the June 22nd Hudson River cruise (after cancelling last year because of Hurricane Irene) and the GHHN members who were able to navigate through the storms to join us! While the storm raged on elsewhere, those on the boat enjoyed spectacular scenery, Hudson Valley wines, and camaraderie.
We wish to thank the and its Executive Director, David Reel for graciously hosting the evening and for a wonderfully memorable trip! Thank you to our members who sent us their photos from the cruise. You can check them out on Flickr and on our Facebook page. Exciting News!
The West Point Museum has graciously offered to host another Hudson River Cruise in the Spring of 2013! If yoiu missed this year's trip you wont want to miss next years. We soon as we have the date we will share it with you....
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 Please join us for the 2012 Annual Meeting and Awards for Excellence at the Henry A. Wallace Visitor & Education Center at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Presidential Library in picturesque Hyde Park, New York.
The conference theme will explore how organizations can exhibit their collections in new educational and interpretive ways; the steps some museums are taking to attract and engage a more diverse mix of visitors by using their permanent collections more creatively; and show how museums can continue to serve their entire community and make history a more meaningful presence in people's daily lives.
The Annual Meeting will feature keynote speakers, break-out presentations by your peers, "behind-the-scenes" tours of the of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, breakfast, luncheon, networking reception, the Awards for Excellence ceremony, and more!
We look forward to seeing you in Hyde Park on September 28th! Register Now!
The 2012 GHHN Annual Meeting is co-hosted by the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
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Call for Annual Meeting Presenters!
Has your museum taken a fresh look at its collection and created a new and innovative interpretation? What is your site doing to engage new audiences? Are you using drama, 1st person interpretation, or music in your programs to engage your audience and make their visit more meaningful? Then tell us about it as one of our break-out presenters at the Annual Meeting (9/28)!
Each presenter will have 50 minutes (including Q&A) to give their presentation (a/v will be available). Have an idea you would like to share? Call (914-414-6726) or email
Deadline for submission of ideas:
Friday, August 31st.
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Arresting TIme: The Preventative Care of Book Collections
by Renée Wolcott, Mellon Fellow in Book Conservation, CCAHA
With proper care, books can last for centuries-but they are also fragile. In The Inheritance of Loss , novelist Kiran Desai (2006) provides a vivid reminder of what can happen to books in an uncontrolled environment:
The Gymkhana library was a dim morguelike room suffused with the musk, almost too sweet and potent to bear, of aging books. The books had titles long faded into the buckled covers; some of them had not been touched in fifty years and they broke apart in one's hands, shedding glue like chitinous bits of insect. Their pages were stenciled with the shapes of long disintegrated fern collections and bored by termites into what looked like maps of plumbing. The yellowed paper imparted a faint acidic tingle and fell easily into mosaic pieces, barely perceptible between the fingers-moth wings at the brink of eternity and dust. (217)
Light, heat, humidity, insects, dust, and careless handling all take their toll on book collections, which can contain a wide variety of organic and inorganic components: wooden boards, paper or parchment leaves, cloth or leather coverings, metal bosses, and many different inks and pigments. Each of these materials responds differently to environmental conditions, and the most sensitive components ideally determine how the books are handled, stored, housed, and exhibited. Keep reading |
What Really Was In that House?
Comparing Inventories of Revolutionary Era New York and New Jersey
 | | Tin lantern from the permanent collection of Historic Huguenot Street |
By Jacquetta M. Haley,
Haley Research and Consulting
This is the second in a series of installments that will discuss how various categories of furnishings are represented in the different inventories. The four groups will be examined
to determine if there are variations in the types and numbers of objects in each category.
LIGHTING:
Just as Revolutionary War era Americans needed chairs in their homes; they needed artificial light sources. Options were limited. There were three basic alternatives: candles made primarily from tallow, "betty or hanging lamps" fueled by various oils or grease, or
rush lights. An examination of the inventories makes one question exactly how important
our 18th century counterparts viewed
artificial light sources.Keep reading |
Your clients are looking for you!
Help them find you through the GHHN Consultant Registry!
"Can you recommend a strategic planning consultant?"
"Our historic church's stain glass window was broken in a storm! Do you know anyone who can fix it?"
"Do you know anyone who can inspect and repair a working cast-iron oven? We give cooking demonstrations and we really need it fixed!
Every day we receive calls from our members looking for specialty resources for specific projects, ranging from architects to development professionals to conservators. GHHN has created a Consultant Registry to aid in your quest for professional help. Consultants who are listed with this site were carefully screened prior to acceptance; however, inclusion on this site is not an endorsement of the quality of work of any individual or business.
To look for a specific consultant visit our website and click on the Resources tab to find the Consultant Registry. Here you will find specialist ready to help.
Are you a professional who is not included in the Consultant Registry? Don't miss out on this great opportunity to advertise your services and expertise. Contact us today for more information on how to be listed.
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GHHN Member Highlight
Spanning from metro New York City to the Catskill Mountains, from along the Hudson River to the Taconic Mountains, the Hudson River Valley region is rich in cultural treasures. We would like to introduce you to some of them. Each issue of the eNewsletter will feature one of the many outstanding heritage organizations in the Hudson Valley. Meet your fellow GHHN members!
 Abraham Hasbrouck House Restoration
and Re-interpretation Project
By Leslie LeFevre-Stratton, Curator of Collections
The Abraham Hasbrouck House (AHH), a key building in the Huguenot Street Historic District, has received important restoration attention to revive its colonial period history - one that advances our understanding of life in New Paltz focusing on the mid 18th century. The project was generously funded by the Hasbrouck Family Association (HFA), committed to helping Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) preserve its genealogical, architectural, and material culture legacy, involving over ten years of research conducted by a team of architectural and material culture historians. Their findings guided sensitive and accurate restoration by qualified contractors under the supervision of HHS's in-house restoration staff along with the HHS curatorial and education staff and dedicated volunteers. Keep reading |
2013 National Medal for Museum & Library Service
Nominate your institution for the 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation's highest honor for museums and libraries. Museums and libraries make extraordinary civic, educational, economic, environmental, and social contributions. The National Medal is an opportunity to tell your story on the national stage and help raise awareness about the roles of libraries and museum in American society.
We will be accepting nominations through October 15, 2012. Nominations for the Medals are reviewed by the National Museum and Library Services Board. IMLS will host a reception for Medal recipients in Washington, DC in April 2013 and each recipient will receive a two-day visit from Storycorps, an independent nonprofit that helps record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.
Click here for more information and to access the nomination form.
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Digitization Basics for Hudson River Valley Heritage: A Workshop Series for Contributors to HRVH
Is your organization interested in providing web access to historic materials from your collections? The Hudson River Valley Heritage ( www.hrvh.org) service, administered by SENYLRC, is a digital repository designed for contributions from multiple organizations. The first step to contributing items to HRVH is to learn about the various aspects of digitization.
SENYLRC is offering a four-day workshop series on digitization for staff at libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies. These workshops are for people ready to be trained in the five basic areas of digitization necessary to contribute digital objects to www.hrvh.org : management, copyright, digital imaging, metadata and CONTENTdm (software application). The goal is to develop staff with expertise to create and maintain digital collections, on their own, with the assistance of SENYLRC staff.
Organizations that currently contribute to HRVH are encouraged to send new staff members to the training or attend again if they need a refresher on any of the topics covered in the workshops.
Please visit the HRVH web site for workshop details (including fees) and a link to register online:
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To learn more about GHHN and the programs and resources we offer please visit us at
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This program provides support for discrete projects that preserve New York State's cultural and historic resources. The grants will support professional services of architects, engineers and other design and preservation professionals working with not-for-profit groups and municipalities to preserve their arts and cultural buildings, structures and other resources. Deadline: Monday, October 1, 2012
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