News from Upstate History Alliance

We now have a full-time Executive Director and graduate-level intern on staff to serve you.
There are two traveling exhibits on tour.
UHA On the Road Listening Sessions met audiences in Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Potsdam, Elmira, Oneonta, and Elizabethtown.
Through our partnership with NYSCA we administered funding for 91 Get Ready, Get Set and Go Grants
We co-sponsored the Children's Museums of NY Conference with NYSCA which assembled representatives from 16 of the states 22 children's museums
Our joint conference with MANY was well attended despite a major snow storm.
On-line course offerings expanded to include four mini-courses

If you would like to make a gift to our Annual Appeal please visit our website:
www.upstatehistory.org

Enliven your exhibit space with a UHA
Traveling Exhibition

Looking for something to perk up your admissions foyer, or perhaps an enticement to draw visitors into your reading room?

The Upstate History Alliance, with funding from the Documentary Heritage Program of New York State, offers two traveling exhibitions Respect for Diversity:Valuing Our Museums, Libraries and the Communities They Create and Why Archives Matter.

These professionally designed and produced panel exhibits are available for loan to organizations in New York State at a minimal cost. The exhibits can stand alone or may be augmented with materials from the host institution to highlight your collections and the important work being done at your institutions.

Visit the UHA website, www.upstatehistory.org, for details on both of these exhibits
Contact Jenny at 800.895.1648 or info@upstatehistory.org for more information.

IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf

IMLS bookshelf logo

The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf,
informative, practical resources to help the nation's museums and libraries sustain our heritage.

To help raise the conservation IQ of museums, libraries, and archives, IMLS, in cooperation with the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH), is offering 2000 free copies of the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of books, DVDs, online resources, and an annotated bibliography that are essential for the care of collections.

The Bookshelf focuses on collections typically found in art or history museums and in libraries' special collections, with an added selection of texts for zoos, aquaria, public gardens, and nature centers. It will address such topics as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues.

Visit AASLH - IMLS Bookshelf for more information.

New Publication from the Columbia County Historical Society

The Columbia County Historical Society recently published Looking for Work: Industrial Archeology in Columbia County, New York written by architectural historian Peter H. Stott. Stott traces the economic storyline of a New York State region now admired for its scenic beauty and sustained agricultural character. He illuminates the eighteen towns and single city of Hudson by focusing on 134 still visible industrial buildings and sites.

The structures he examines include abandoned early sawmills and modified nineteenth-century knitting mills, tollhouses for the first turnpikes, stations for inactive railroads, and bridges and tunnels. He investigates utility plants for water, gas, and electricity; kilns and furnaces for brick and cement; processing plants for milk; and storage houses for fruit. All of them connote population growth and environmental change, decade by decade, as new comers crowd onto the scene... looking for work.

AASLH Digitization Workshop Scheduled for Albany, NY

The registration for AASLH's Digitization and Museums workshop scheduled for April 16 - 18 in Albany is now open at www.aaslh.org/workshop.htm.Register by March 16 to guarantee a seat.

April 16 - 18 - Digitization and Museums: Bringing Your Collections into the 21st Century at the Albany Institute of History and Art in Albany, NY. This workshop, sponsored by AASLH, will be taught by Leigh Grinstead of CDP@BCR and will offer in-depth training on digitizing historic collections. Participants can register for single days of the workshop or the entire three days. Day 1 presents issues surrounding the digitization of primary source materials. Day 2 focuses on basic digital imaging techniques. Day 3 introduces creating metadata for digital objects.

Topics to be covered include:

· Introduction to the issues involved in digital project management

· Why digitize?

· Defining an audience

· Legal Issues

· Tools for deciding what to digitize

· Dublin Core Metadata

· Digital Capture Best Practices

· Digital Glossary

· Funding Options

· Writing Competitive Grants

· Benefits of Collaboration

Cost: $70 per day members/$85 nonmembers or $200 for three days members/$250 nonmember

Registration Deadline is March 16, 2008!! You can register today at www.aaslh.org/workshop.htm.

Please contact Bethany Hawkins, Program Associate at hawkins@aaslh.org or 615-320-3203 if you have any questions about these or other upcoming workshops.

UHA works in partnership with Heritage New York

in administering the Organization Building Grants Program
www.heritageny.gov

UHA is supported in part by

The Relevancy-Driven Museum

The UHA/MANY Annual Conference is the largest gathering of museum professionals in the state. Each year it brings together a diverse array

of individuals from all types and sizes of museums, historical societies, and similar cultural organizations. This year's
conference will be held April 13-15th, in Albany, New York's historic capital.

Registration for this year's UHA/MANY Conference will be available online by February 15, 2008. Brochures will be in the mail shortly thereafter. Be sure to sign up by March 15th to take advantage of the Early-Bird discount.

We have an exciting slate of presentations and events at this year's conference focusing on the theme The Relevancy-Driven Museum. In order to promote discussion at your organization, we are offering a special discount to UHA and MANY organizational members. When one person registers for the conference at the indicated rate, you can register up to three additional people from the same organization, including Trustees, at a $10 discount per additional registration.

A Note from the Director

The winter is upon us and in the museum world that often means it's time to start planning for the year ahead. Indeed that is the mantra at the UHA office these days, we are launching a new round of Online Courses, and looking forward to the upcoming Annual Conference while thinking ahead to summer when we will gather at the glorious Great Camp Sagamore for the 2008 Museum Institute.

Throughout the coming months I look forward to expanding my knowledge of the role of technology in museum through the AAM Online Seminar: The Digital Museum: Transforming the Future Now. This will be useful as we prepare to expand our Online Training offerings.

I am pleased to announce that IMLS Connecting to Collection statewide planning grant - Partnership for New York's Cultural Heritage has been approved. In keeping with the IMLS Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action initiative goals the award will go towards conducting a survey/ assessment of cultural collections statewide to determine the preservation needs of museums, libraries, archives, and other eligible organizations in the new millennium. We will touch base later this spring with more on this statewide endeavor.

In my first four months at UHA I have quickly come to realize that this organization thrives upon building relationships and encouraging communication. I appreciate the role we play in facilitating professional affinity amongst museums and historic sites statewide. It has been a great pleasure getting to know your institutions and discovering the clever solutions that you have found to conquer the challenges that you're facing. I look forward to seeing you this spring!

~Catherine Gilbert

Museum Institute - Save the date

The 2008 Museum Institute at Sagamore, sponsored by the Upstate History Alliance, will focus on the Interpreting Historic Spaces. The Institute is a reflective, intensive, four day retreat at Great Camp Sagamore in the Adirondacks that gives New York State museum professionals the opportunity to learn, reflect, and work with their colleagues throughout the state.

The 2008 institute will take place September 23 - 26. Acceptance to the institute is by application, keep an eye on your email later this spring for the application announcement.

Join us
If you are curious about the 'Sagamore' experience or if you have attended a previous Institute we invite you to join us at DeJohn's Pub & Restaurant for an informal dinner following the Opening Reception of the UHA/MANY conference on April 13th. Come to catch up with old friends or to learn more about this unique professional development opportunity. Additional information on the event may be found in the Conference Registration materials.

The Upstate History Alliance is offering its series of 4-week online preservation courses this spring! These courses offer in-depth instruction on conservation and preservation topics that you should know about. Space is limited, so sign-up now!

Courses include:

Basic Preservation, Care & Handling of Paper Based Materials - Curriculum developed by: Michele Phillips
February 11 - March 7, 2008

Climate Control for Small Institutions - Curriculum developed by: Patricia Ford

March 10 - April 4, 2008

Conservation & Preservation of Photographs and Albums - Curriculum developed by: Gary Albright
April 7 - May 2, 2008

Introduction to Reformatting - Curriculum developed by: Toya Dubin
May 5 - May 30, 2008

These mini-courses were developed thanks to support from the New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials Discretionary Grant.

For more information on all of our online courses, and registration information, visit the UHA website or call UHA at 800.895.1648.

Documentary Heritage Program Workshop

As New York State educators work to meet the needs of their students while simultaneously 2008 logo children

being concerned with state education standards and testing, New York's cultural organizations are also working to develop programming and resources that will prove to be relevant in the classroom experience.

'Building Bridges - Making Historic Records Relevant in the Classroom', a full-day workshop offered at the upcoming UHA/MANY Conference in Albany, will help to bridge the gap between teachers and their community's cultural organizations. Led by Julie Daniels, Coordinator of Educational Programs at the New York State Archives, this workshop will provide participants with:

*A better understanding of the New York State Standards for Education

*An inside perspective from a teacher

*In depth knowledge of some of the leading programs offered by New York's cultural organizations

*Hands-on experience in working to develop education programs that meet the needs of student, teachers, and cultural organizations

Additional information on the workshop may be found in the Conference Registration materials.

Wakanheza Project

As promised late last fall, the following is a informative article on the Wakanheza Project was written by Joe Olson, Senior Director, Visitor Services & Volunteers, Minnesota Children's Museum. Submitted here by the Minnesota Children's Museum, reprinted here from Hand to Hand the newsletter of the Association of Children's Museums.

A reminder that the Minnesota Children's Museum received the 2007 The MetLife Foundation and Association of Children's Museum's Promising Practice Replication Award as well as the 2006 Promising Practice Award for their leadership in the Wakanheza Project.

All parents have horror stories about parenting in public. Mine involves my (then) one-year old son and a red-eye flight home from a trip. It's always tricky balancing the needs of a baby with those of the rest of the passengers. But, when the crying begins at 2:00 a.m., your son gets sick and vomits all over you and the flight attendant appears to be incredibly annoyed with it all, the situation deteriorates quickly. That memory, especially those feelings of helplessness, come rushing back when I see adults struggling with their children in public.

Parenting in public is challenging. Parents feel pressure to keep their children in line for fear of the "tsk-tsk factor" -those looks, sighs or even feigned indifference from people we assume are judging our parenting skills. (They probably are.) That apprehension can accelerate into "losing it" when child exhibits challenging behavior in public.

Staff at the Minnesota Children's Museum has developed way to help parents and their children deal with highly charged situations: the Wakanheza Project. Wakanheza is the Dakota word for child. Its closest English translation is "Sacred Being." The goal of the Wakanheza Project is to lend parents a hand and, by doing so, protect the children in our community.

The Wakanheza Project began a few years ago in Minnesota through the Ramsey County Department of Health's Initiative for Violence-Free Families and Communities. The principles of the project are simple yet powerful, and they have been incorporated into policies that have changed the atmosphere at libraries, government agencies, shelters, clinics adhere at Minnesota Children's Museum.

At the museum, Wakanheza is a comprehensive programmed by a committed team focused on staff training and recognition. Practices and procedures are aimed at creating a welcoming environment for families. Training is centered unpractical ways to assist in difficult parent-child situations-ones that occur on-site as well as outside of work. The workshop format, jointly established by the museum and Ramsey County, constitutes the same model that is now used at libraries and other local institutions.

Last year, the Wakanheza Partnership (Minnesota Children's Museum, Ramsey County, The Minnesota Department of Education and others) introduced a school-based Wakanheza initiative. Participants in Wakanheza were taught the founding, simple principals of the project. However, simplicity doesn't diminish their effectiveness. In fact, its basic focus on empowering individuals to help people is its strength.

The three principles of Wakanheza that come into playing a children's museum setting are judgment, empathy and environment.

JUDGMENT: It is natural to judge and it's incredibly easy to make assumptions about a parent who is struggling with an out-of-control child. To be of any real help, however, we need to recognize our rush to judge and put it in "park." Most staff can recall a situation where they wanted "to set abed parent straight." They can also recall how that actually made matters worse and, in reality, left the child in a more vulnerable position with an even angrier or more frustrated parent.

At the museum, we catch only a glimpse of any parent child relationship. In the Wakanheza training, staff are asked," Do you recall a time when you were judged unfairly?" and" Can you recall a time when you said or did something you weren't proud of in front oaf child?" This leads to some intense discussions and usually to the conclusion that none of us would want the occasional bad experience to be the defining moment of our parenting. If we are truly going to be of assistance in difficult situations, we need to beware of our judgments and willingly set them aside.

EMPATHY: "Children understand our museum, it's the parents who don't" is uneasy frame of mind to slip into. Many of our staff are young and have high expectations or parents. I recall a staff meeting that focused on what parents weren't doing. Staff criticized parents who read the paper, sat down or let their kids run wild. This concern isn't raised as much anymore since the start of the Wakanheza Project. Through exercises and discussion, participants discuss the shear effort and work required to get a toddler or multiple children dressed, fed and transported to the museum. We role-play and ask staff to try to accomplish some these tasks while weighted down with strollers and all the other parenting paraphernalia a mom or dad takes along. Staff quickly develops a deeper empathy for parents.

Empathy is defined as "the capacity for participating in the feelings or ideas of others." We all have this capacity and when practiced, it helps us get into the proper frame of mind to assist. David, a floor staff member, tells of a moment whence intervened. A mother was trying to leave, bundling up an infant in a stroller when his toddler brother decided that it was the right time for a temper tantrum. The mother was approaching the boiling point, so David simply and intentionally engaged the boy in a bouncing ball activity while chatting to the mom that it is "always a challenge" to leave the museum. Distracted for a moment, the mom was able together her senses and finish bundling the baby while his brother was engaged. Sincere words of encouragement and something fun to see on the way out got them on their way quickly and calmly. Pretty basic, but suspending judgment and having empathy was key for David to apply Wakanheza.

Simply understanding that parenting in public is handwork is a healthy and powerful perspective that we can easily forget. I recall my airplane ride during our workshops adjust wonder what a little empathy and understanding would have done to improve my family's trip.

ENVIRONMENT: People respond well to welcoming environments. Our industry is exceptional at creating engaging hands-on experiences. We think we are experts at keeping children involved and stimulated. Yet during training sessions, our staff challenged this assumption. Yes, we have beautiful, busy and colorful lobby that says "wow" to adults. But staff noted that parents had their hands full keeping their children occupied when waiting in line to purchase tickets. Our great looking lobby offered nothing for children to do, and we were creating extra tension for families worried about losing track of their child. Our team brainstormed and came up with a few ideas. Props and toys were added to our counter area, and the "Fustigators" were created. A Fustigator is volunteer who, on busy days, uses hula hoops and other tricks to engage children while their parents wait to purchase tickets.

These are very simple ideas but they have made a big difference in reducing flash points for children and parents especially during the complicated arrival and departure rituals that our visitors must perform.

How culture plays a role in our hesitation to get involved and how violence arises from an actual sense of powerlessness are other principles of Wakanheza that lead to lively discussions and thoughtful reflection. When we set aside judgments, show understanding and empathy and are in the proper state of mind we can do very simple things that have a big impact on relieving stress. Comments such as "Wow, your son has smooch energy, I could use some of that" and "You are showings much patience" can go a long way in expressing compassion and understanding to a parent.

Distraction is a powerful tool, too. A comment from staffer a stranger can deflate an escalating situation, redirecting parent's attention for a brief moment, which allows a parent to calm down and regroup. Jay, another floor staff member, spoke at a session about using Wakanheza in a parking lot. He and his wife were heading towards their car and heard shouting and screaming coming from a mother attempting to strap her child into a car seat. Jay was concerned and approached the car. He tapped the struggling mother on the shoulder. She turned in fury and yelled "What?!" just waiting to lash out at anyone who dared to challenge her. Jay asked, "Do you know how to get on the freeway heading south from here?"

The mom visibly relaxed, smiled and answered their question. They struck up conversation about the neighborhood and made some positive comments about the little girl. Jay and his wife didn't know what occurred before they entered this scene, what might have occurred if they hadn't approached, or what would take place later-what they had was a moment. Their actions calmed the situation between parent and child. The child was safely strapped in, parcels were tucked away, and everyone drove home calmly. And that's Wakanheza-intentionally making efforts to reduce parental stress, lending a hand when we can in difficult situations, and taking strides to make our museums and our communities more welcoming places for families.

Next Major Grant Round: March 1, 2008

The New York Council for the Humanities invites nonprofit organizations to apply for its next cycle of Major Grants of up to$20,000 by its March 1, 2008 deadline. Organizations are also welcome to apply for the Council's Mini Grants of up to $2,500, which are accepted on an ongoing basis. The Council encourages applications for projects serving upstate audiences.

Any nonprofit group, organization, or institution is eligibleto apply for financial support from the New York Council for the Humanities for a public project in the humanities.

Potential applicants may learn more about both of our grants categories, review guidelines, and download grant applications by visiting nyhumanities.org/grants. Copies of the grant information may also be requested by sending an email to lkushnick@nyhumanities.org or by calling 212.233.1131. Council program officers are available for consultation at this number as well.

Grants Available

The Architecture, Planning and Design Program of the New York State Council on the Arts is pleased to announce the availability of project grants for professionals in the design, planning and historic preservation fields through its Independent Projects Category.

Grants of up to $10,000 will be available for architects, landscape architects, planners, designers, historic preservationists and scholars to realize specific projects that advance the field and contribute to the public's understanding of the designed environment.

Projects may relate to any of the disciplines the program covers, including: architecture; architectural history; landscape architecture; urban and rural planning; urban design; historic preservation; graphic design; and industrial design.

The deadline to register a request on line through a nonprofit sponsor is March 3^rd, 2008. Additional written and visual material will be due on May 1^st, 2008.

For further information about this funding opportunity and application instructions, see the Architecture, Planning and Design Program's guidelines for the Independent Projects Category on the New York State Council on the Arts' web site, www.nysca.org.

Photo Feature
The photo featured on our banner in this issue is of Sagamore Lake taken by Idelle Dillon. To learn how your photos can grace our pages in future issues, contact us at info@upstatehistory.org

The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, informative, practical resources to help the nation's museums and libraries sustain our heritage.

The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf,
informative, practical resources to help the nation's museums and libraries sustain our heritage.