Turned In, On Time!

Just wanted to let everyone know the grant was submitted this weekend. Thanks for all you helped with suggestions and edits. A special thanks to Lynn at the BBHC for writing the final draft and submitting through grants.gov

I'll let everyone know when I hear from IMLS! In the mean time, have a great winter season.

2nd Draft of the Narrative

1. Need and rationale
Wyoming is characterized by vast open spaces and relatively few people. Nearly ninety-two percent of the state is classified as rural, with an average of only 5.2 inhabitants per square mile. In spite of its rural nature, Wyoming is home to eighty-one libraries, seventy-five museums, twenty-three county historical societies, two tribal cultural centers, seven herbariums, nine state historic sites, and countless municipal, museum, church, and courthouse archives. Twenty-three Wyoming institutions responded to the Heritage Preservation’s Heritage Health Index, giving a broad overview of the diversity of collections in the state. But little has been done on a statewide basis to organize collections care and to develop a conservation initiative and statewide disaster response plan. The fact that Wyoming’s collections are so widely dispersed and, in some cases, relatively isolated, presents a challenge for professionals charged with the stewardship of the state’s collections. The goal of Wyoming’s Connecting to Collections statewide planning project will be to provide the organizational structure that will foster a cooperative statewide effort of conservation, preservation, and preparation. To do this, we will:

· identify the state’s collecting institutions and assess their preservation needs
· hold regional conferences for networking and basic disaster planning
· develop and maintain a statewide database of all collecting institutions
· organize workshops that address three Heritage Health Index recommendations

We are confident that the challenge of the fourth Heritage Health Index recommendation will become clearer by the end of the project and that we can then begin a statewide effort to identify sources of public and private support.

The Heritage Health Index has raised awareness across the nation about the critical state of our important collections. The findings that roughly one-third of institutions surveyed lack adequate knowledge of the condition of their collections, that half have no written long-range plan for collections care, and that eighty percent do not have emergency or disaster plans in place for collections is distressing, but not at all surprising. Each state is faced with its own unique conservation and preservation issues. Wyoming, for example, is home to Yellowstone, the world’s first national park. Together with Grand Teton National Park to the south, the parks’ visitor centers and small museums have collections documenting the cultural and natural history in the parks and the conditions of their resources. Some of the collections play a part in the resource management of these spectacular public lands. Wyoming’s arid climate also poses a challenge for preservation of such disparate objects as quilts at the Campbell County Rockpile Museum, and saddles and tack at the Laramie Plains Museum. And the rural nature of the state makes networking among those responsible for the preservation and protection of collections difficult at best. Currently, Wyoming does not have a statewide disaster response plan for collections, nor do we have a comprehensive database identifying all cultural institutions and the types of collections they hold.


Throughout 2008, Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS) is offering workshops in disaster planning and response with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. As part of the rigorous schedule of training, two workshops were presented in Wyoming: one at the Homesteader Museum in Powell, and one at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne. Participants at training sessions were provided with a template for a disaster plan and a short list of responders for the state. Representatives from libraries, museums, and county courthouse archives were present, but the attendance was small and not nearly inclusive of Wyoming’s collecting institutions. We need to ensure that each collecting institution in Wyoming receives training in disaster planning and response and that every institution is part of a statewide network.

Prior to 2008, collecting institutions in Wyoming relied on the expertise of out-of-state conservators acting as consultants, principally from Colorado. In May 2008, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, hired Beverly Perkins, currently the only full-time staff conservator in the state. The Center also employs a full-time archivist. With more than 38,000 artifacts, 30,000 books, and 500,000 photographs, the Historical Center and its McCracken Research Library have urgent conservation and preservation needs. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center conservator has expertise in ceramics, wood, metal, glass, leather, feathers, plant fibers, taxidermy, painted surfaces, bone, and ivory. She also has advanced instruction in disaster mitigation and response for cultural collections and extensive experience with outreach and training. For this reason, and because the Center itself has such a diversity of collections, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center will serve as the lead institution for the Wyoming Statewide Planning Grant proposal.

To carry out the Connecting to Collections planning project, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center will partner with the Wyoming contingent of the Colorado-Wyoming Museum Association (CWAM). This organization exists to unite and serve all collecting institutions in Colorado and Wyoming. Member institutions include art museums, history museums, natural history museums, and historical sites. CWAM’s annual meeting brings together professionals for workshops, plenary sessions, and presentations as well as tours of member institutions and networking opportunities. CWAM also hosts from four to six meetings throughout the year that will offer workshops addressing the first three Heritage Health Index recommendations and the needs identified during each regional conference. CWAM members will also help identify participants for the regional conferences, and CWAM will maintain the database that contains contact information collected at each regional conference.

In addition to CWAM, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center will partner with five other collections-holding institutions in the state: the Wyoming State Library, the Sheridan County Historical Society Museum, the Shoshone Tribal Cultural Center, the Natural History Museum of Western Wyoming Community College, and the Nicolaysen Art Museum. Designated as Leader Institutions, each represents a geographical area of the state. Leader Institutions will play two key roles in the project: they will aid the project coordinator in locating collections personnel within their area, and they will host the initial planning and organizational meeting for their area.

2. Planning process

A part time Project Coordinator will be hired in March 2009 to implement the project. The coordinator will serve as liaison between the partners designated as Leader Institutions. The Project Coordinator will draft a document that outlines the project and suggests a time frame, and he/she will discuss the document with the Leader Institutions. These conversations will also include an informal survey of major conservation concerns as addressed in the Heritage Health Index. During this discussion, the Project Coordinator will compile a list of collecting institutions in each geographic region, relying on CWAM’s lists of libraries, archives, historical societies, museums, etc. already in existence, as well as on information supplied by the six Leader Institutions. At the end of this initial process, the Project Coordinator will compile results of the informal survey and distribute it to each collecting institution in the state, along with a proposed plan of regional conferences that will take place over the next year. This information will also be placed on CWAM’s Web site. Some Wyoming cultural institutions are closed during winter months, and conferences will be scheduled in the summer and early fall to accommodate those sites.

The regional conferences will consist of both networking and brainstorming opportunities as well as hands-on training sessions. Beverly Perkins, staff conservator for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, will act as trainer and facilitator for each regional conference. Ms. Perkins is one of two professional conservators in Wyoming and the only American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) Fellow and AIC-CERT member in Wyoming. Ms. Perkins has extensive experience in disaster response training and in practical experience as a responder as well. She served as coordinator for the AIC volunteer response efforts after hurricane Katrina. Each morning session will begin with a discussion of collections in each individual institution so that participants can identify the needs in their regions and begin to establish networks. Each participant will be given the opportunity to express their needs for education, public relations, and communication, and they will also be given the opportunity to discuss specific object needs. Each collecting institution’s preservation capabilities and facilities will be added to the database developed by the Project Coordinator. Following the grant period, this database will be maintained by CWAM and published on their Web site.

In the afternoon, training in basic principles of preservation, as well as disaster response planning, will take place. In preliminary discussions, disaster planning is the most important concern among cultural institutions in the state. Each collecting institution represented will receive a basic preservation and response backpack containing such necessary items as a Beilstein test kit, an emergency response and salvage wheel, the Field Guide to Emergency Response, a dry cleaning screen, a dry cleaning brush, a magnifying head loop, and a sand snake. At the end of the day, we will have formed a regional network of professionals who will be able to assist smaller, remote institutions with important preservation work. We will also have laid the groundwork for a statewide disaster response network.

The goal of the initial regional conferences will be to build a network in each area of the state that will respond as a team in the event of a disaster, and that will also share knowledge and expertise in matters of preservation and stewardship of collections. A future goal is for emergency drills to take place in each region as institutions learn to work as a team. The plan would be for institutions within the region to alternate hosting drills so that members of the network learn first hand about collections in their region.

Three Wyoming statewide organizations have agreed to publicize and promote the Connecting to Collections planning project. The Wyoming Arts Council, the Wyoming Humanities Council, and the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund are state granting agencies and, as such, are in contact with Wyoming’s cultural institutions throughout the year. All three agencies will encourage current and past grant recipients to participate in the project and to attend one of the planning meetings organized by the project coordinator. Information will be disseminated through e-mails to grant recipients, through Web pages, and through the Wyoming Arts Council and Wyoming Humanities Council newsletters.

3. Project resources: budget and personnel

Beverly Perkins
Ms. Perkins joined the Buffalo Bill Historical Center as Conservator in May 2008. Prior to that she was Western Region Field Service Officer at Balboa Art Conservation Center in California. Ms. Perkins is an AIC Fellow and an International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) Fellow. She is an AIC-CERT Team Member of Responders for Cultural Institutions. She served as volunteer responder coordinator for AIC from 2005 to May 2008. She has also served as a member of the AIC Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Committee and as chair in 2006-2007. Ms. Perkins has conservation expertise in ceramics, wood, metal, glass, leather, feathers, plant fibers, taxidermy, painted surfaces, bone, and ivory. Ms. Perkins holds a BA in art history from Denison University in Granville, Ohio; an MA in art history from The University of Chicago; MA, CAS (Certificate of Advanced Study) from the State University College at Buffalo; and has completed the Cooperstown Conservation Program. She also studied semesters at the University of Hawai'i, and the Institute of European Studies in Paris, France. Perkins will serve as the trainer and facilitator at all regional conferences.

Teresa Sherwood
Teresa Sherwood is Curator/Public Historian at the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historical Site. Sherwood recently served as project director for the 2006/2007 Save Our History grant from the History Channel entitled “Unlocking Secrets in the Soil.” She has presented public programs at the American Heritage Center, the American Association for State and Local History, and the Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums. Sherwood has reviewed grants for the Institute of Museum and Library services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ms. Sherwood holds a BA in history from Piedmont College in Georgia and an MA in public history and museum studies from the State University of West Georgia. She has been on the board of directors of CWAM for two years and serves as the CWAM workshop coordinator. Sherwood will be the liaison between the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and CWAM and will facilitate the CWAM workshops in response to needs expressed during the regional conferences.

Project Coordinator A part-time coordinator will be hired with grant funds. The coordinator will communicate closely with a contact person within each Leader Institution. Together they will identify all participants in each geographic region. The coordinator will work with the Institutions to plan a one-day conference in each region. The coordinator will also help prepare a brief checklist explaining what conservation supplies and equipment each institution holds. This list will be maintained by CWAM.

Please post or email your comments to: tsherw@state.wy.us

Narrative - First Draft

Lynn from the BBHC put this together. Feel free to leave your comments on the blog or email them to me at: tsherw@state.wy.us

1. Need and rationale
Wyoming is characterized by vast open spaces and relatively few people. Nearly 92% of the state is classified as rural, with an average of 5.2 inhabitants per square mile. In spite of its rural nature, Wyoming is home to 81 libraries, 75 museums, historical societies, and tribal cultural centers, seven herbariums, and countless museum, municipal, church, and courthouse archives. Twenty-three Wyoming institutions responded to the Heritage Preservation’s Heritage Health Index, giving a broad overview of the diversity of collections in the state. But little has been done on a statewide basis to organize collections care and to develop a conservation initiative and statewide disaster response plan. The fact that Wyoming’s collections are so widely dispersed and, in some cases, relatively isolated, presents a challenge for professionals charged with the stewardship of the state’s collections.

The Heritage Health Index has raised awareness across the nation about the critical state of our important collections. The findings that roughly one-third of institutions surveyed lack adequate knowledge of the condition of their collections, that half have no written long-range plan for collections care, and that eighty percent do not have emergency or disaster plans in place for collections is distressing, but not at all surprising.

Each state is faced with its own unique conservation and preservation issues. Wyoming is home to Yellowstone, the world’s first national park. Together with Grand Teton National Park to the south, the parks’ visitor centers and small museums have collections documenting the cultural and natural history in the parks and the conditions of their resources. Some of the collections play a part in the resource management of these spectacular public lands. Wyoming’s arid climate poses a challenge for preservation of organic materials such as the quilts at the Campbell County Rockpile Museum and the saddles and tack at the Laramie Plains Museum. Wyoming does not have a statewide disaster response plan for collections, nor do we have a comprehensive database identifying all cultural institutions and the types of collections they hold. The Connecting to Collections project will provide the organizational structure to begin a cooperative statewide effort of conservation, preservation, and preparation. We will address the first three of the Heritage Health Index recommendations during this project. We are confident that the challenge of the fourth HHI recommendation will become clearer by the end of the project and that we can then begin a statewide effort to raise support.

Throughout 2008, Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS) is offering workshops in disaster planning and response with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. As part of the rigorous schedule of training, two workshops were presented in Wyoming: one at the Homesteader Museum in Powell, and one at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne. Participants at training sessions were provided with a template for a disaster plan and a short list of responders for the state. Representatives from libraries, museums, and county courthouse archives were present, but the attendance was small and not nearly inclusive of all state collecting institutions.

Prior to 2008, collecting institutions in Wyoming relied on the expertise of out-of-state conservators acting as consultants, principally from Colorado. In May 2008, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, hired the first full-time staff conservator in the state. The Center also employs a full-time archivist. With more than 38,000 artifacts, 30,000 books, and 500,000 photographs, the Historical Center and its McCracken Research Library have urgent conservation and preservation needs. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center conservator has expertise in ceramics, wood, metal, glass, leather, feathers, plant fibers, taxidermy, painted surfaces, bone, and ivory. She also has advanced instruction in disaster mitigation and response for cultural collections, and extensive experience with outreach and training. For this reason, and because the Center itself has such a diversity of collections, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center will serve as the lead institution for the Wyoming Statewide Planning Grant proposal.

2. Planning process

To carry out the Connecting to Collections planning project, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center will partner with the Wyoming contingent of the Colorado-Wyoming Museum Association (CWAM). This organization exists to unite and serve cultural institutions in Colorado and Wyoming. Member institutions include art museums, history museums, natural history museums, and historical sites. CWAM’s annual meeting brings together professionals for workshops, plenary sessions, and presentations as well as tours of member institutions and networking opportunities. Regional meetings throughout the year also lend themselves to practical workshops that CWAM members will organize in response to the needs assessed during the Connecting to Collection project. CWAM members will also help identify participants in the regional conferences, and CWAM will maintain the database that will be populated by information from each participating institution at the conferences.

In addition to CWAM, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center will partner with five other collections-holding institutions in the state: the Wyoming State Library, the Sheridan County Historical Society Museum, the Shoshone Tribal Cultural Center, the Natural History Museum of Western Wyoming Community College, and the Nicolaysen Art Museum. Designated as Leader Institutions, each represents a geographical area of the state. Leader Institutions will play two key roles in the project: they will aid the project coordinator in locating collections personnel within their area, and they will host the initial planning and organizational meeting for their area.

Two Wyoming statewide organizations have agreed to publicize and promote the Connecting to Collections project. The Wyoming Arts Council and the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund are state granting agencies and, as such, are in contact with Wyoming’s cultural institutions throughout the year. Both agencies will encourage past grant recipients to participate in the project and to attend one of the planning meetings organized by the project coordinator. Information will be disseminated through e-mails to grant recipients, Web pages, and the Wyoming Arts Council newsletter.

A part time Project Coordinator will be hired in March 2009 to implement the project. The coordinator will serve as liaison between the partners designated as Lead Institutions. The Project Coordinator will draft a document that outlines the project and suggests a time frame, and will discuss the document with the Leader Institutions. These conversations will also include an informal survey of major conservation concerns as addressed in the Heritage Health Index. During this discussion, the Project Coordinator will compile a list of collecting institutions in each geographic region, relying on state lists of libraries, archives, historical societies, museums, etc. already in existence, as well as on information supplied by the six Leader Institutions. At the end of this initial process, the Project Coordinator will compile results of the informal survey and distribute it to each collecting institution in the state, along with a proposed plan of regional conferences that will take place over the next year. Some Wyoming cultural institutions are closed during winter months, and conferences will be scheduled to accommodate those sites.

The regional conferences will consist of both networking and brainstorming opportunities as well as hands-on training sessions. Beverly Perkins, staff conservator for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, will act as trainer and facilitator for each regional conference. Ms. Perkins is one of two professional conservators in Wyoming and the only AIC Fellow and AIC-CERT member in Wyoming. Ms. Perkins has extensive experience in disaster response training and in practical experience as a responder as well. She served as coordinator for the AIC volunteer response efforts after hurricane Katrina.

Each morning session will begin with a discussion of collections in the individual institutions so that participants can identify the needs in their regions and begin to establish networks. Each participant will be given the opportunity to express their needs for education, public relations, and communication, and they will also be given the opportunity to discuss specific object needs. In preliminary discussions, disaster planning seems to be the most important concern among cultural institutions in the state. One outcome of the morning session will be a database describing each collecting institution’s preservation capabilities and facilities in the form of a checklist. This database will be maintained by CWAM and published on their Web site.

In the afternoon, training in basic principles of preservation, as well as disaster response planning, will take place. Each collecting institution represented will receive a basic preservation and response backpack containing such necessary items as a Beilstein test kit, an emergency response and salvage wheel, the Field Guide to Emergency Response, a dry cleaning screen, a dry cleaning brush, a magnifying head loop, and a sand snake. At the end of the day, we will have formed a regional network of professionals who will be able to assist smaller, remote institutions with important preservation work. We will also have laid the groundwork for a statewide disaster response network.

The goal of the initial regional conferences will be to build a network in each area of the state that will respond as a team in the event of a disaster, and that will also share knowledge and expertise in matters of preservation and stewardship of collections. A future goal is for emergency drills to take place in each region as institutions learn to work as a team. The plan would be for institutions within the region to alternate hosting drills so that members of the network learn first hand about collections in their region.


3. Project resources: budget and personnel

Beverly Perkins
Ms. Perkins joined the Buffalo Bill Historical Center as Conservator in May 2008. Prior to that she was Western Region Field Service Officer at Balboa Art Conservation Center in California. Ms. Perkins is an AIC Fellow and an IIC Fellow. She is an AIC-CERT Team Member of Responders for Cultural Institutions. She served as volunteer responder coordinator for AIC from 2005 to May 2008. She has also served as a member of the AIC Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Committee, and as chair in 2006-2007. Ms. Perkins has conservation expertise in ceramics, wood, metal, glass, leather, feathers, plant fibers, taxidermy, painted surfaces, bone, and ivory. Ms. Perkins holds a BA from Denison University in Granville, Ohio; an MA from The University of Chicago; MA, CAS from the State University College at Buffalo; and has completed the Cooperstown Conservation Program. She also studied semesters at the University of Hawai'i, and the Institute of European Studies in Paris, France. Perkins will serve as the trainer and facilitator at all regional conferences.

Teresa Sherwood
Teresa Sherwood is Curator/Public Historian at the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historical Site. Sherwood recently served as project director for the 2006/2007 Save Our History grant from the History Channel entitled “Unlocking Secrets in the Soil.” She has presented public programs at the American Heritage Center, the American Association for State and Local History, and the Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums. Sherwood has reviewed grants for the Institute of Museum and Library services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ms. Sherwood holds a BA in history from Piedmont College in Georgia and an MA in public history and museum studies from the State University of West Georgia. She has been on the board of directors of CWAM for ????years and serves as the CWAM workshop coordinator. Sherwood will be the liaison between the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and CWAM and will facilitate the CWAM workshops in response to needs expressed during the regional conferences.

Project Coordinator
A part-time coordinator will be hired with grant funds. The coordinator will communicate closely with a contact person within each Leader Institution. Together they will identify all participants in each geographic region. The coordinator will work with the Institutions to plan a one-day conference in each region. The coordinator will also help prepare a brief checklist explaining what conservation supplies and equipment each institution holds. This list will be maintained by CWAM.

Budget *DRAFT*

We can spend up to $40,000 in this initial planning grant. A break down of where the money is expected to be spent:
Contract with Survey Company: $14,200
Project Coordinator: $14,400
Travel for above position (gas & hotel): $1,743
Mail ling: $84
Travel for participants (those attending initial planning meetings): $1,074 (this number will increase as data comes in from each "point person")
Training (Free to Participants) $3,000
In - Kind from the Mountain Training Network: $4,500
In - Kind from "point people" and free meeting locations: $8,270.36 (this number will also increase as data comes in from each "point person".
Total Costs: $34,501
Total In - Kind: $12,770.36
(As of 9/05/08)

Sept. Planning Meeting/DRAFT job description

Present: Teresa Sherwood, Wyoming Territorial Prison, Judy Knight and Joney Wilmont, Laramie Plains Museum, Deb Person, UW Law Library, Maria Emmons and Mandy Langfald, Wyoming State Museum, Sarah Gadd, UW Art Museum, Terri Schindel, Museum Training Network.

Teresa gave an overview on the history of the statewide planning grant for Wyoming and outlined where we are to date. There are cooperating “point persons” identified in 20 of Wyoming’s 23 counties. Crook, Lincoln and Platte still need contacts (either from a library, museum, or archive). Joney and Sarah offered to contact people in those counties.

Partnerships statements have been received from 5 of 20 “point persons”. Partnership Statements need to be complete by Sept. 25th in time to take to the next CWAM board meeting. CWAM will be meeting in Casper the 26th and 27th to review the grant.

If you haven’t already, please get Teresa the list of museums, libraries, and archives in your county, names of contacts, address, and your hourly salary if you would like to donate your time in-kind.

During the meeting Teresa components of the narrative statement for the application. Suggestions were 1) to stress how isolated Wyoming is, and how we differ from coastal states that reviewers may be more familiar with, 2) explain the low number of conservators in the state and lack of full-time professionals in this field to utilize as trainers or mentors, 3) to emphasize that we are building capacity for CWAM to provide services and mentoring once this project is over with (sustainability).

Teresa reviewed the time line. It was suggested that: 1) all persons within CWAM (all WY board members) be identified by name in the proposal. TERESA WILL REQUEST RESUMES OF THESE MEMBERS. 2) That an “up front” person with CWAM or someone familiar with Wyoming’s museums or libraries be identified and hired part time to administer the grant (project director). We will be notified by IMLS Feb. 1 if we receive the money but the project cannot start until March 1. Because our time line is tight, the group suggested CWAM hiring someone to work in Feb. and then starting March 1, pay the part time employee out of the grant budget.

Below is a DRAFT job description for the project coordinator:

CWAM EMPLOYEE:
Title: PROJECT COORDINATOR for Wyoming’s Connecting to Collection Grant

Salary: $20 an hour @ 30 hours a week for 24 weeks with possible extension

Start Date: Mid Feb. by the 1st of March – Aug. 31

Responsibilities:
Work with Grant Administrator and CWAM board members to complete Wyoming’s Connecting to Collection’s grant. Coordinate surveys with the University of Wyoming’s Survey & Analysis Center. Work with a “point person” in each of Wyoming’s 23 counties to set up and facilitate a meeting in their community about the project. Meetings require travel and overnight stays. There is a travel budget of $1,743 for gas and hotel. (Paid with grant funds). Meetings will take place starting the last week of April and into May 2009.

While at these meetings, disseminate information about CWAM and the grant to Wyoming’s libraries, museums and archives. Field questions about the grant and survey. Take notes of the participants’ concerns and track them in a database.

May – July, create a network of trained professionals willing to be a part of MAST (Museum Assistance & Services Team). This will be a grassroots effort to bring together Wyoming’s most talented museum, archives, and library employees. Mentors should be willing to give of their time through email and phone. Through the MAST program, CWAM will reimburse them up to $150 for on-site consultations.

In August, create mailings about the survey results and post results on CWAM’s website. Using MAST, assist CWAM and the Museum Training Network in planning workshops based on the survey results. Confirm workshop dates and curriculum with trainers involved in MAST and MTN.

Qualifications: Graduate student or independent consultant with experience in museums, archives, or libraries with a degree (or working towards a degree) in conservation, preservation, history, public history, archives or related field. Must be organized, able to work with a team but be self-motivated, have good verbal communication skills as well as the ability to produce clearly written reports.

Willingness and ability to travel is a must. CWAM will reimburse employee for travel and hotel expenses from the $1,743.
This position does not offer benefits but employee is entitled to attend one annual meeting free of charge and all of the training sessions he/she arranges in Aug. that will take place between Sept. 09 and Jan. 2010.

DUNS number

If you are completing a Partnership Statement for the grant and need to register for a DUNS number, please go to: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/pages/reqDuns_phone.jsp

Make sure you have the information handy that is listed, i.e. name of organization, phone number, etc.

If they ask about a CFDA number, it is: 45.312 (that refers to the grant we are applying for). You will be registering as a Federal government grantee, option #4.

Calling is much faster than filling out the application online. Please note that you have to be registered as a non-profit to get a DUNS number.

Survey

The good news is I talked with the UW Survey Co. and they are excited about the project. That bad news is it looks like the cost will be more than half our budget ($40,000). I’m looking into ways to cut corners through partnerships (the UW Art Museums has offered its help) and will be making an appointment with another company in Cheyenne for a second bid. I will post the outcome in the coming weeks as we finalize the budget.
See the post below about the timeline for more of what the survey will include.

Partnership Statement

CWAM is asking for all the "point persons" in each of the 23 counties and organizations that would like to support his project to fill out an official Partnership Statement, required by IMLS.
PS can be found at: http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grantsgov/forms/Partner.doc

Under number 9, CWAM is asking "point persons", as a representative of your institution to facilitate a meeting with the museums, libraries and cultural institutions in your county around May 2009. We also ask that you assist CWAM with gathering data about collections in Wyoming by promoting awareness about the adapted Heritage Health Index survey (that CWAM will write and the grant will pay for). Also, to share contact information between CWAM and the cultural non-profits in your community (which you've already done but I've included in the "key roles" statement).

Under that section, feel free to use the following wording:
"Facilitate meetings with the museums, libraries and cultural institutions in my county. Assist CWAM with gathering data about collections in Wyoming by promoting awareness about the adapted Heritage Health Index survey. Share contact information between CWAM and the cultural non-profits in my community. Help CWAM with the survey by reviewing questions and develop training topics by suggesting material and resources.

If you are not a "point person" and would like to show your support, consider filling out the PS and creating your own "key roles". How do you feel your organization or institution can assist CWAM with this project? The more support the better!

I.e. Would you be willing to review the survey before it goes out? Tweak questions so they are more specific to Wyoming? Can you help arrange training by identifying expertse in the field? Would you review training material? Help recruit mentor's for CWAM's MAST (Museum Assistance & Services Team).

Can you send an email to your clients or others in your department reminding them to complete the survey? Or encourage them to attend a meeting to hear about CWAM's long term goals for the project. What about including a description of this project in your newsletter?

Do you have staff members with conservation or exceptional collections experience? Would they be willing to talk with the museums and libraries who through the survey show a need for professional assistance? The more involvement the better!

Please send electronic copies of the PS to me at: tsherw@state.wy.us and a hard copy with signature to 975 Snowy Range Road, Laramie, WY 82070.

Thanks everyone for your support!

Project Time Line

A tentative project timeline for the IMLS project:
March 1 2009 – CWAM hires part time employee to help administer the grant
CWAM uses HHI survey to create a survey specific to Wyoming
April 1 - CWAM provides survey company with questions
Survey company formats and prints the survey for mailing
CWAM employee works with the “point person” in each county to set a meeting date and location.
May 1 - CWAM holds meetings in Wyoming’s 23 counties to prepare participants for the survey. During the meetings, we will also discuss how the data will be used and long-term goals of the project.
Potential session on the project at CWAM’s annual meeting in Estes Park
mid May - Survey mailed to all of Wyoming’s non-profit museums, libraries & cultural institutions with collections.
June 1 - Survey company conducts phone follow-ups to make sure everyone received a survey.
July 1 - Surveys due, co. starts analyzing the data
Aug. 1 - Data report delivered to CWAM

Based on the data and report received, CWAM will pen another IMLS grant application, this time for ½ a million to implement training and care based on the needs of the museums and libraries. If we are successful, the BIG money should be in place by March 2010!!!

Making Progress!

I’ve now heard from 17 of the 23 counties and have information from them in regards to all the museums and libraries with collections. We promised this would be an inclusive progress and want to have information from all of you for the application. CWAM wants everyone to benefit from this process!

If you have friends in the following counties you think might be interested in helping out by gathering information and hosting a one time meeting this summer, please send them my way: tsherw@state.wy.us

I’m still looking for Crook Co., Lincoln Co., Platte and Washakie.

Later in the month I’ll be meeting with two different survey companies to get bids for our project. The survey will take place summer 2009 and gather information from the museums and libraries concerning the Heritage Health Index as defined by IMLS.

Sept. 26th and 27th CWAM will be meeting in Casper. We’ll have some time to discuss this grant and work on a job description for the person who will be hired to help administer it.

If you’ll be in the area and want to be part of the discussion, contact me and I’ll send you a copy of the agenda.
Thanks for all those who’ve stepped up and helped with this amazing project!

Notes from the Last Meeting

IMLS CONNECTING TO COLLECTIONS MEETING
June 17, 2008

The CWAM planning group for the IMLS Connecting to Collections grant application met on Tuesday, June 17, at Hynds Lodge. Present were: Teresa Sherwood, Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site, and chair for this group; Cristina Bird, Old West Museum, Michelle Bahe, Fort Caspar Museum; Deb Person, University of Wyoming Law Library; Jennifer Alexander, Wyoming State Museum; Judy Knight, Laramie Plains Museum; Tina Hill, Wyoming Frontier Prison; and Cecily Goldie, Nici Self Museum.

After introductions, Teresa reviewed the project. She said that the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS) undertook a Heritage Health Index (survey) in 2004 to determine the state of collections in American museums. The results indicated widespread neglect in collection care. As a result, the IMLS developed grants for each state to help plan and implement care of collections. The grants will be $40,000 for planning and $500,000 for implementation.

Planning Grant, $40,000:
The Colorado Wyoming Association of Museums (CWAM) has decided to apply for the grants both in Wyoming and in Colorado, and will hope to include all museums, libraries, institutions with collections in both states (although there will be 2 separate applications). CWAM will write the grant, hire a part time employee to organize, and find a point person from each county in the state. Both the University of Wyoming’s survey company and a private survey company have been contacted, and one will prepare a survey for this project; the part time employee will be the liaison between the survey company and CWAM. The grant will be prepared after referring to an application submitted and denied last September as well as successful applications from other states. When the survey is completed, institutions with similar needs will be linked.

Implementation Grant, $500,000:
After the Planning Grant is received, the Implementation Grant will provide training sessions in several categories, and each museum will select which it needs. The process will probably take 2 to 3 years. Teresa will find out whether the grant is for training only or may be used for other activities. IMLS is interested in assuring that each cultural institution has safe conditions, emergency plans, responsible collections persons, and public awareness resulting in public and private support.

General discussion followed.
Museum Assessments: Judy mentioned that Heritage Preservation does museum assessments on site, which would be helpful. She will give Teresa the information about this. She also said that Terri Schindel is now incorporated as Wyoming Museum Training Network, with Judy, Patty Kessler, and Sarah Gadd as officers; it could serve as a funnel-through entity. The Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund might be a source to help with emergency planning.

Participants: The Buffalo Bill Historic Center is considering hiring a conservator, who would be a useful participant to include. Successful grant recipients included in their groups a broad spectrum of participants, such as philanthropic and state entities, and this is why CWAM is spearheading this application. Having a blog site helps make the project inclusive as well. The blog is www.wyimls.blogspot.com. Teresa will also send all the narrative when it is completed.

Point Persons: Cristina asked what the duties of the “point person” would include. She felt there should be standards. Teresa said: The point person for each county needs to compile the following data: name and cost of a meeting facility in your area, cost of advertising for meeting (the meetings will only be held if the grant is funded. Invites can be through email at no cost), reimbursement for GAS and travel costs for those in your area who will have to drive to the meeting location, etc. Essentially, I want to know how much you think it will cost to get all the museums, archives, libraries, etc. in your community to one central location for planning, education on the HHI results and training to take the survey once we get the grant. I'll need these figures for the budget.I'll also need an idea of your hourly salary, whether or not you will be donating your time in-kind or wish to be reimbursed. Also, for ease of the survey, I'll need a list of all the institutions in your county that have collections. I'll need their name, address, phone, primary contact (ideally the individual who cares for the collections) and a secondary contact, i.e. the director.
ALL cultural institutions open to the public that hold or have collections (2 or 3D alike) should be considered part of this project.

Collections: Teresa asked Tina whether IMLS had defined what constitutes a collection, but Tina said this had not been specifically addressed. She suggested that being open to the public might be a requirement; the collection of the Episcopal Church was discussed.

Survey: Since not all museums received a Heritage Health Index survey in 2004, Teresa wants to be sure to include everyone in the planning. This involves finding all museums, alerting them to the coming CWAM survey, and having point people help them prepare for and complete the surveys. After the planning grant is received, we will reorganize. She passed around a list for point person name suggestions, and Judy mentioned asking UW Extension for help with suggestions as well. It is desirable to involve the Sate Museum and the libraries. Teresa will contact Lesley Boughton. Jennifer will talk with Renee Bouvee about possible SHPO/WCTF participation.

Deadlines: Since the grant application is due in October, the point people for each county should be in place by the end of June, and information from each county completed by July 14. Also Teresa needs the list of those involved so she can prepare a real budget estimate. Records of in kind hours spent should be kept by participants.

The group thanked Teresa for her leadership in the project.

Submitted by Cecily Goldie

Next Meeting

The next planning/still getting everyone on board meeting for the IMLS grant will be June 17th at 1:00, Hynds Lodge at Curt Gowdy State Park. The meeting facility is free but please bring your own snacks. We will be meeting immediately after the first joint meeting of the Cheyenne and Laramie museums.

We'll review where we are in the grant planning process and identify counties/communities that still need representatives (Cheyenne is one of them).

If you've offered to be a contact in your county, please bring or send me an idea of what meeting facilities are in your area, rental costs, cost of advertising/invites, GAS, travel, etc. Essentially, I want to know how much you think it will cost to get all the museums, archives, libraries, etc. in your community to one central location for planning, education on the HHI results and training to take the survey once we get the grant. I'll need these figures for the budget.

I'll also need an idea of your hourly salary, whether or not you will be donating your time in-kind or wish to be reimbursed. Also, for ease of the survey, I'll need a list of all the institutions in your county that have collections. I'll need their name, address, phone, primary contact (ideally the individual who cares for the collections) and a secondary contact, i.e. the director.

This list should include all the museums, libraries, archives, etc. Even if the institution is only open part time or volunteer run.

Thanks for your interest, help, support, and positive mental attitude! I can't wait to improve the state of Wyoming's collections and set the bar higher for the next generation of museum professionals!

A More Polished Plan

CWAM is closing in on its IMLS grant application! At the last meeting in Sheridan we decided that we would ask for funds to do the following with the initial planning grant ($40,000).

1. Identify and work with community leaders in each 23 counties that have the ability to rally and dialogue with all the museums, archives, historical societies, Federal entities, and libraries in their area.
2. Ask this leader to host an inclusive meeting (using funds from the grant) with all interested parties in their county to discuss the four points of the Heritage Health index and prepare any collection holding cultural institution for the upcoming survey.
3. CWAM will develop a Wyoming specific survey using the key questions from IMLS’s Heritage Health index to gather data about the following:
a. Conditions of collections
b. Emergency plans; disaster/risk management
c. Assigned responsibility for collections care
d. Public and private support for, and public awareness about, collections care
4. A survey company out of the University of Wyoming will distribute the questions among any institution with collections, approx. 200 museums, 23 libraries, and ?.
5. A part time employee (hired with grant funds, administered through CWAM) will work with the survey agency to gather and interpret the data.

The data from the survey will be used to write the second part of the IMLS grant, implementation and action. 1/2 a million is on the line! Museums and libraries with similar needs, as identified through the survey, will be grouped together for training and action steps.

If you are interested in being a leader in your county, please contact me at: tbeyer@state.wy.us.

Next Meeting

The next “Connecting to Collections Grant for Wyoming” meeting will be held during the Colorado Wyoming Association of Museum’s annual meeting in Sheridan, WY. We will meet on May 9, 2008 at the Best Western bar in Sheridan at 4:45 p.m.
For information on the annual conference, please visit: http://www.cwamit.org/

Meeting Minutes

IMLS CONNECTING TO COLLECTIONS GRANT FOR WYOMING
MINUTES
March 20, 2008

ROLL CALL: Janet Woods, University Libraries; Judy Knight, Laramie Plains Museum; Cecily Goldie, Nici Self Museum; Troy Rumpf, Laramie County Library System; Christina Bird, CFD Old West Museum; Michelle Bahe, Ft. Caspar Museum; Lesley Boughton, Wyoming State Library; Terri Schindel, Museum Training Network; Sarah Gadd, UW Art Museum; Denise Patton, Carbon County Museum; Kathy Marquis, Albany County Public Library; Laura Douglas, CWAM; Teresa Sherwood, Wyoming Territorial Park; and Tina Hill, Wyoming Frontier Prison.

CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Teresa Sherwood. The members of the group went around the table and introduced themselves. After discussion, the group appointed Teresa and Laura Douglas as Chair and Co-Chair and Tina Hill as the Secretary.

A sign in sheet was passed around the table.

This group gathered to discuss the IMLS “Connecting to Collections” grant for Wyoming. IMLS is offering a $40,000.00 grant to each of the 50 States. After the initial round of grants is approved, IMLS intents to offer a limited number of $500,000.00 implementation grants. According to the announcement from IMLS:

“IMLS invites proposals for statewide, collaborative planning grants to address the recommendations of the Heritage Health Index (HHI) which found the collections held in the public trust to be at great risk. The report offered four recommendations for collecting institutes:
-To provide safe conditions for their collections;
-To develop emergency plans;
-To assign responsibility for collections care; and
-To marshal public and private support for, and raise public awareness about, collections care.
These grants will engage institutions in collaborative planning partnerships to address one or more of the HHI recommendations. Projects should demonstrate how the participating organizations (libraries, museums, archives, and relevant statewide organizations) will work together in a planning process that moves the state closer to achieving shared collections stewardship goals and an appropriate and achievable plan for action.”

Teresa and Laura contacted IMLS to see if Wyoming’s Connecting to Collections grant may be applied for through Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums (CWAM). The grant requires a leading agency to administer the grant. Wyoming does not have an agency that over-sees all of our museums and none of the larger museums or libraries in Wyoming were willing to take the lead on this statewide grant, so CWAM seemed liked the best option. CWAM has applied for and received IMLS grants in the past.

Matt Mayberry of the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum was recently in Washington D.C and he met with IMLS to discuss the Connecting to Collections grant. Colorado would also like to apply for their grant through CWAM. MPMA is considering a multi-state application. The IMLS officials thought that applying through CWAM would work out well for Wyoming and Colorado. Because CWAM has no staff we would include a paid grant administrator in the requested budget.

This state wide grant needs to be as inclusive as possible in order to receive funding. Key players/supporters for the Wyoming grant could be the State Library Association, the Wyoming State Museum, CWAM, the Wyoming State Archives, the University of Wyoming, the Buffalo Bill Historic Center, the Museum Training Network, the Western State and Territory Preservation Service, and the individual museums and libraries through out Wyoming.

GRANT GOALS: When discussing the goals for the Wyoming Connecting to Collections grant it is important to decide what outcomes we want from the grant. Once we decide the outcomes we can decide what activities we need to accomplish to get where we want to be.

Terri Schindel submitted a grant for Wyoming during the first round of the grant application. Unfortunately that grant was not accepted. Terri provided a portion of her grant, along with some of the peer reviewers’ comments, for those in attendance to review. Terri’s first grant focused mainly on Disaster Preparedness.

Is Disaster Preparedness what is most needed for Wyoming museums and libraries? Or is there something even more elementary that is needed?

At this point of the meeting, those in attendance spoke about the greatest needs their museums and libraries faced. Many around the table thought that a collections risk assessment would be very beneficial. A risk assessment would look at the threats from within an organization that put the collections at risk. Things such as a lack of funding, staff shortages, staff education, the facilities the collection is displayed and stored in, security, the governance of the museum or library, the operations of the Board, all can harm the collections in a library or museum. Once the risks are identified, it is possible to come up with a mitigation plan to protect the collections. Funding from the second implementation grant would allow Wyoming museums and libraries to carry out the steps needed to protect the collections.

After the discussion, it seemed as if most of the museums and libraries represented at this meeting first needed to do an assessment of their collections and then following closely behind was a need for an emergency plan. The best way to accomplish this outcome seemed to be to create another survey; similar to the one IMLS developed for the HHI, but make this one very specific to the state of Wyoming.

The survey can be done through the UW Survey & Analysis Center and reviewed by Wyoming’s Economic Analysis agency. CWAM and the participating museums and libraries will write the survey. The survey will be sent to all of the libraries (22) and museums (approximately 200) in Wyoming. (A note after the meeting from Janet Woods “…wanted to comment that in addition to the 23 county libraries you might want to send the survey to the University and Community College libraries and the American Heritage Center at UW”. At the very least you might want to include any of these agencies that agree to be partners in the grant process.)

Once the survey results come in it is very important that the information is disseminated to the museums and libraries across Wyoming. This way different museums and libraries can partner themselves with others that are at the same level of collections care for joint training or sharing of ideas and resources. CWAM will easily be able to get this information out to the libraries and museums through the use of their newsletter, web site, and the Annual Meeting.

The project will be divided into three phases: 1. Create the Survey; 2. Do the Survey; and 3. Connect different museums and libraries by their needs.

ACTION ITEMS: 1. Write a job description for the grant administrator; 2. Find out what the UW Survey & Analysis Center will charge for the survey; 3. Create a budget for the grant; 4. Gather letters of support and partnership; 5. Get CWAM’s official approval of applying for the “Connecting to Collections Grant for Wyoming”; 6. Write the grant; 7. Read/Review the grant.

The grant is due on October 16, 2008. If we submit the grant early enough, IMLS will review the grant. We can then make any necessary changes before October 16th. It was decided that we need to submit the grant by September 1, 2008 to allow time for review. Luckily for us, IMLS representatives will be in Denver three times this year with the AAM meeting, the AIC meeting, and the Connecting to Collections forum, so if we have any questions we should be able to find someone to help.

The next “Connecting to Collections Grant for Wyoming” meeting will be held during the CWAM Annual Meeting in Sheridan, WY. We will meet on May 9, 2008 at the Best Western bar in Sheridan at 4:45 p.m. Teresa will ask JJ Rutherford to send out a state-wide invitation for this meeting through the CWAM email list.

With no further discussion, the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Tina Hill
Secretary

- Our next meeting will be in Sheridan, at the Best Western hotel bar on May 9th at 4:45. This will give those museums and libraries who didn’t get a chance to come to Laramie, a chance to discuss the grant and get caught up to date. If you have contacts in the Sheridan region, please share this information with them. Thanks! – Teresa Sherwood, 4/16/08

We have a plan!

At the last meeting we discussed developing a grant proposal for a survey, which would be done through the UW Survey & Analysis Center and reviewed by Wyoming’s Economic Analysis agency. Colorado Wyoming Association of Museums, the participating museums & libraries will write the survey.

The survey would be sent to all of the libraries (23) and museums (about 200) in the state. It would address the four concerns outlined in the Heritage Health Index but would be worded specifically to Wyoming. CWAM will apply for this grant with various partners from libraries and museums identified. The grant would also cover a part time position to administer the grant. This person would be hired through CWAM and work closely with the board members.

This plan is still in the early development ideas. If you have comments and/or suggestions, please click on "comments" below.

Our next meeting (everyone is welcome) will be during CWAM’s annual meeting in Sheridan. Come to the Best Western bar on May 9th at 4:45 if you wish to contribute or have questions.

CWAM's annual meeting info. can be found at: http://www.wyomingmuseums.org/2008_annual_meeting.html

What Can the Grant Funds Be Used For?

This first go-around, funds can be used for:
1. Cost for collaborative planning meetings
2. Databases
3. Supplies and postage
4. Travel/mileage expenses
5. Staffing the project
6. Consultants' fees
7. Needs assessments

The first award is up to $40,000 and can be used over a two year period.

GREAT insight into the Heritage Health Index and how it relates to Wyoming!

I was on the telephone with Kristin Laise from Heritage Preservation (HP) about another matter. So I took the liberty of asking her about the Heritage Health Index survey.

Kristin said that it is correct that the survey results can only be broken down by Rocky Mountain region. It cannot be broken down by state.

She said that the large museums and libraries in Wyo. received the survey. Smaller museum were sent the survey by random sample. HP sent 73 surveys to Wyo. and received 27 responses for a 37% response rate. (A pretty good response rate, she felt.) She also was not sure that the list HP used for the random sample was a full list of Wyoming museums.

She said that a lot of states are doing a collections survey to gather data about their state using the IMLS planning grants. HP has permission to let the states use their survey instrument in the state surveys. Kristin said that HP spent a lot of time researching the questions, working with heritage organizations to develop questions, making them applicable to museums and libraries, and making the answer choices relevant and valid. The survey instrument was tested for validity and more. HP felt the results of the survey were quite valid, very usable, and very helpful. HP found it did not use the answers to only a couple of questions. It did not have to throw out any of the questions for issues of survey validity or reliability.

Kristin said HP is requesting permission from IMLS to talk to the states planning surveys or to have a conference call (with each state or groups of states) about doing the surveys so that HP can share what it learned in doing the survey with states.

If Wyoming did a survey, timing would be important since so many of our county museums are seasonal and some do not have year round staff. And the museum and library participants would need to be sure that we captured all Wyoming museums.

The University of Wyoming has a department with great survey expertise. It did a survey for the Teton County Library for its strategic planning process a couple of years ago. The library seemed very pleased with the survey. (I can’t recall the department, political science or sociology. Deb Adams, the library director would know.) They would charge a fee for their services. Perhaps the grant could cover having them review the survey instrument, and administer the survey, and compile the results in a meaningful way.

You can pass this email along if you would like.

Lokey Lytjen
Executive Director
Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum

Agenda

Agenda for the March 20th, Initial Planning Meeting for IMLS Connecting to Collections Grant for Wyoming

Location: Albany County Public Library, 11 to ?

1. Greetings and Introductions
2. Appoint Chair, Co-Chair and Secretary for meeting
3. Confirm Working Group & Pass Out Sign In Sheet
a. Identify who is missing and needs to be involved.
4. Identify Leading Agency
a. CWAM – Laura & Matt report findings
b. WLA?
5. Goals for CWAM – Laura and Matt give a report of what is happening in Colorado.
6. Review Grant Goals (4): http://www.imls.gov/collections/grants/index.htm
a. Grant application: http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/pdf/CtoC_2008.pdf
b. Heritage Health Index and specific stats for Mt. Plains region: http://www.imls.gov/collections/index.htm
7. Questions/Comments on reviewed material:
a. Successful Applications: http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/012308_list.shtm
b. Review comments on prior application: http://wyimls.blogspot.com/2008/03/summary-of-first-application-wpeer.html
8. Timeline/deadlines in place and Action Plan for Working Group
a. Communicate thru blog: www.WYIMLS.blogspot.com
b. Timeline for comments
c. Meeting at AAM, April 29th ?
d. Meeting CWAM, May 8th or the 11th ?
www.wyomingmuseums.org

Summary of First Application w/Peer Comments (in red)

Museum Training Network (MTN) 501 C3
Terri Schindel, Conservator and Founder
303 544-9632
terrischindel@gamil.com

February 29, 2008
Hello Everyone:

Re: IMLS Connecting to Collections Planning Grant, 2008 – 2009

I am Terri Schindel Conservator and Founder of the Museum Training Network, MTN 501 C3 and the author (unpaid) of this hastily written IMLS Connecting to Collections Planning Grant. I did it so we could get IMLS peer review feed back and use comments to engage the necessary agencies that were mentioned in the comments. You may read the criteria for this grant at imls.gov – go to grants category then by date – scroll to you see Oct 1 09’. You should read it before our meeting in March so we can formulate a revised or new proposal.

The MTN’s mission is to link providers/trainers, services with people working in small, rural, and tribal museums, libraries and cultural institutions to improve their capabilities. The nonprofit MTN is based on my work with this constituency in MT. WY, CO and AZ over the last 15 years. Together we have created training models that are now funded through federal grants to individual institutions and recognized on a national level. The MTN operates with private contractors who have an expertise in many topics and are experienced trainers. Training sites are located in WY and CO host institutions and each agrees to invite other institutions within a two-hour driving distance thus extending the reach of hands on training. The training topics follow CAP and MAP assessment recommendations and are specific to the host’s highest priority.

When the IMLS planning grant for Connecting to Collections was announced there was a 6 week turn around and as you can imagine a too quick to organize by state. I called around to see if anyone was planning or wanted to assist me in the planning and writing this grant. Five small museums agreed to be the host institutions and sponsor an onsite meeting, a one-day risk assessment and training opportunity. To reach all participants in the state I included opportunities to meet either in-person, onsite at host institutions or the Internet via Webinars and Skype technology. The MTN Mobile Museum, Training and Conservation Laboratory (MTN service) will be utilized to deliver services. I think the process of peer review gives us the opportunity to see that Washington DC wants this to be top-down management from the state level. I hope at the next meeting these people from state agencies are present and step up to the task of organizing the planning and grant efforts.

In this email I have included the abstract, excerpts from the grant, some of the peer reviewer comments in red. The reviewers commented on the hastily written grant and the disconnect between the goals and objectives and the fact that no state entity is involved. I use this document to show that everyone must somehow cooperate understand that this is an opportunity to resource collection care, training and conservation of collections. It appears the reviewers were not aware that there is no regional conservation laboratory, no conservators in the state of Wyoming (Carmen Bria is in the process of moving his private painting conservation business to Lander) and other than myself and the MTN there are no other providers of collections care/conservation services that I am aware of to the small, rural and tribal groups in Wyoming.

You will note that I chose risk assessment and DPRPlanning as the main goals and objectives. While this is mentioned in the criteria our planning proposal does not have to be single topic. There are no databases, surveys or documentation stating the condition of the collections and or collection needs in Wyoming. I chose risk assessment and onsite training as the main topic because it could lead to documenting need. This topic may or may not be the way we want to go.

Proposal: General peer comments about proposals that were funded: The best proposals, in addition to meeting, the review criteria, shared the following characteristics; project goals tied directly to findings of the Heritage Health Index; the application engaged a broad array of partners across the state, including museums and libraries of many disciplines, archives, representatives from the philanthropic community, and state government officials with relevant collections oversight or disaster preparedness responsibility. The proposed partnership coalition included the “major players” within the state and outreach to institutions of many sizes in an inclusive planning process.

The Museum Training Network’s, MTN 501 C3 initiative, Wyoming Connecting to Collections Risk Evaluation and Planning Proposal will be to assist small, rural, tribal museums, libraries, and cultural institutions to assess risks, compile a statewide risk database and utilize onsite planning workshops and Webinar technology to develop a statewide plan to train, reduce risks, mitigate and respond effectively to emergencies. Peers thought the MTN could be a player in the planning and implementation but questioned the bottom-up proposal. They said several times this is a top down organizational partnership. While the MTN is a service organization for the constituents they are trying to reach, it should not be the sponsoring organization.

The Heritage Health Index, the first national survey of U.S. collecting institutions, found that “80 percent of U.S. collecting institutions does not have a written emergency/disaster plan that includes collections with staff trained to carry it out.” Further analysis reveals that 78 percent of museums and 92 percent of historical societies do not have an emergency plan that includes collections with appropriately trained staff. Wyoming data was compiled as part of the Mountain Plains Region and the region as a whole indicates equally grim statistics: 83% of museums and 93% of historical societies do not have an emergency plan with staff trained to carry it out. Peers thought there must be some Wyoming collection data somewhere which would make the risk assessment approach and collecting data from the object level not necessary. Does anyone know of a WY survey or data collection tasks to prove current conditions? The use of HHI data for the mountain plains region would be appropriate if the data was used to support the proposal.

The Museum Training Network, MTN a nonprofit service organization, developed as an outgrowth of Terri Schindel, Conservator and the people in small, rural and tribal museums and cultural centers in Wyoming and Colorado working together over the past 15 years. There are no conservation laboratories or collection care services provided in the state of Wyoming. Two peer reviewers (obviously never here or did not do their homework) insisted that Wyoming conservators and larger institutions could be expected to take this on a statewide Connecting to Collections project and that they must have programs that service small, rural, and tribal museums. Working together at a grass-roots level, Ms. Schindel and the people in Wyoming have developed excellent host institution training models that have been used to increase capabilities, share training and implementation opportunities and raise awareness in the communities for collection concerns. The programs have been funded to institutions by state and federal grants and recognized at local and regional museum association meetings as well as in publications such as Before and After Disasters: Federal Funding for Cultural Institutions; a FEMA publication. One of our peers thought this statement sounded like it came from a business plan for the MTN. Another peer thought there were collection needs in the state but the grant author did not state clearly what the needs are and how that was documented.

To accomplish the goals in this initiative, the MTN will launch its Mobile Conservation Laboratory and provide direct services onsite and via Webinar technology to other participants. The consultants will utilize the Mobile Unit’s equipment, exhibits, and technology and stop at 6 host institutions who have agreed to conduct a risk assessment, planning workshop, invite 20 to 30 institutions, area 1st responders, and community leaders thus extending the reach of the planning grant funds. Peers thought the use of a Mobile Lab to provide direct services was good but wanted to see the documentation stating it was needed and how it would be used by participants. The information about the condition of collections at 6 host institutions and the surrounding smaller institutions will be converted to a statewide database and Webinar presentation. Said this was too much to do in a planning grant but liked the use of technology to reach all groups in the state. It will include visual documentation, suggested ways to reduce risks and a list of resources that can be found at a local, state and regional level. The presentation, downloadable and available to everyone can be used to garner support for collections care and conservation in Wyoming. Detailing products such as this was good but no information was provided as to how this would get done and who would pay for it. No proof larger organizations were in on the development of such products.

Two conservation professionals peers wondered why they came from out of state will visit each site to conduct a risk assessment on the first day and a planning workshop the second day. The team, (from each host institution) will include the two consultants, Director and collection liaisons, who will assess their exposure to risks, share the initial results with the planning workshop participants and area 1st responders. The following three-month planning phase will then take into account which institutions have similar challenges, threats, and are in greatest need of attention. An interactive Webinar session will present the findings, suggested implementation plan and receive comments and suggestions. The consultants will then compile a final report and present to MTN and the Wyoming participants.

The goal of the planning phase is to assess risks, increase community awareness about collections care and conservation needs, compile risk assessment data, increase readiness of the institutions to implement and write a “Next Steps” document. By strengthening the host institutions, who will act as learning centers, we can reach additional small, rural, and tribal museums, libraries, and cultural institutions as well as local emergency management teams resulting in a future core group who are prepared to respond in an emergency. Each one of these items is useful, but how one leads to or informs the next is not evident. The proposed organizational agenda needs to focus on developing a statewide plan to address collections preservation needs and the grant criteria listed at imls.gov. The desired outcomes are “fuzzy”.

Notes from Terri 2/29/08: We now know that this planning proposal must be a top down and include state agencies. I do hope there are representatives from larger organizations that are authorized to take the lead and make decisions about their institutional commitments. While we must all work together to plan the planning phase there must be one agency willing to take the lead for Connecting to Collections.

I will see you all in Laramie. Thanks, Terri

Narrative: The Museum Training Network, MTN, a nonprofit service organization requests $40,000 to lead Wyoming Connecting to Collections Risk Evaluation and Planning Proposal. The funds will be used to assist small, rural, tribal museums, libraries, and cultural institutions to hire conservation consultants, conduct risk assessment of six host institutions, network planning workshops and utilize Webinar technology to develop a statewide plan to participate in the national Connecting to Collections Initiative, CCI. The single topic ‘risk assessment’ approach to planning will result in the following multi-level project design: 1) Begin a statewide database entitled, “Risks to Collections in Wyoming”, (see 8.8a), 2) Group collection needs by topic and network for each region in the state (see 8.8b maps), 3) Participate in onsite host risk assessment and network local collection data (see 8.8c), through the host 4) Participate in onsite planning workshop to document needs, share successes, list local resources and brain-storm solutions (see 8.8d), 5) Share information via two Webinar presentations that will include statewide risk assessment results, state and local resources, case histories of collection successes and facilitated Webinar discussion. Outcomes will be a Webinar presentation that can be used by all participants to raise awareness about collection needs, six risk assessment reports and a summary report of collection priorities for the next implementation grant proposal. All products will be delivered digitally (or hard copy upon request) to participants

Data used in initial grant application

Here is another section from the initial grant application.

"There are no conservation centers or services located in or near Wyoming. There are approximately 120 museums and 23 county library systems plus 25 academic libraries in Wyoming that have collections care and conservation needs. And more importantly, small museums/libraries, because they seldom can afford the travel and/or services of a conservator or regional center, their conservation needs go unmet. Issues that are relevant for Wyoming: (a) small museums lack strong mentored relationships with professionals and institutions to build administrative and management capabilities, (b) due to western geography, small museums in the Mountain Plains Region, lack access to training and/or mentored opportunities for building these capabilities, and (c) the majority of museums, libraries and cultural institutions do not have emergency plans.
The Conservation Assessment Program, CAP and Museum Assessment Program, MAP represents a substantial investment in helping museums (large and small) identify priorities for excellent collection programs, operations and visitor services. Yet, little effort is focused on helping these museums implement in a sustainable manner, an ongoing priority list. This is especially true for small museums that often lack the funding, expertise, and resources to sustain a capability building effort. One-time efforts and/or unfinished efforts lead to frustration in museum personnel and ultimately impact the value of collections for preserving and teaching history, science, art, and content of all these institutions. By utilizing the existing network begun in the 1990’s, strengthening the Wyoming host institutions through risk assessment, inviting additional small, rural, and tribal museums, libraries, and cultural institutions to participate in the planning process we can build individual and statewide sustainable plans to implement collection care and conservation programs.
Data concerning emergency preparedness: The Heritage Health Index, HHI the first national survey of U.S. collecting institutions, found that “80 percent of US. collecting institutions do not have a written emergency/disaster plan that includes collections with staff trained to carry it out.” Further analysis reveals that 78 percent of museums and 92 percent of historical societies do not have an emergency plan that includes collections with appropriately trained staff. Data from Wyoming institutions was compiled as part of the Mountain Plains Region and the region as a whole indicates equally grim statistics: 84% of museums and 95% of historical societies do not have an emergency plans(see 8 10a) for HHI statistics on the complete range of institutions in the MPR without an emergency plan."
- Submitted by Terri Schindel, Museum Training Network

Comments, suggestions, questions? Please post, we are eager for feedback.

Planning Meeting: March 20th

Hello All!
Thought this would be an easier way to communicate as a group. One of the key goals of this project is to be inclusive. Everyone can blog!

For the meeting March 20th:
Due to the overwhelming level of support and interested parties, the location has been changed to the Albany County Public Library: 310 S. 8th St.
We will start at 11 with a lunch break at 12 and finish by 2.

Lunch will be delivered by Turtle Rock Cafe. Please follow the link to their "To-Go Order form", print a copy and indicate what you would like to eat. Then fax your order to : 307-745-8620, attn. Teresa. I need to have all the orders into Turtle Rock by MARCH 18th. Bring cash to the meeting to pay for your meal. http://www.turtlerockcoffee.com/to%20go%20order%20form.pdf

I'll be sending/posting an agenda tomorrow, but in the mean time, please review the following from IMLS:
The best proposals, in addition to meeting the review criteria, shared the following characteristics:
· Project goals were tied directly to the findings of the Heritage Health Index. (We will review the HHI at the meeting).
· The application engaged a broad array of partners across the state, including museums and libraries of many disciplines, archives, representatives from the philanthropic community, and state government officials with relevant collections oversight or disaster preparedness responsibility.
· The proposed partnership coalition included the “major players” within the state and will reach out to institutions of many sizes in an inclusive planning process. http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/012308.shtm

Summary of Successful Applications can be found at: http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/012308_list.shtm

Goals of the Grant:
"IMLS invites proposals for statewide, collaborative planning grants to address the recommendations of the Heritage Health Index (HHI) which found the collections held in the public trust to be at great risk. The report offered four recommendations for collecting institutions:

-To provide safe conditions for their collections;
-To develop emergency plans;
-To assign responsibility for collections care;
and
-To marshal public and private support for, and raise public awareness about, collections care.
These grants will engage institutions in collaborative planning partnerships to address one or more of the HHI recommendations. Projects should demonstrate how the participating organizations (libraries, museums, archives, and relevant statewide organizations) will work together in a planning process that moves the state closer to achieving shared collections stewardship goals and an appropriate and achievable plan for action."

General Findings of the Heritage Health Index:
The initiative is grounded in the results of A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections, which reports that:
• 190 million objects need conservation treatment,• 65 percent of collecting institutions have damaged collections due to improper storage,• 80 percent of collecting institutions lack an emergency plan for their collections and trained staff to carry it out, and • 40 percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budget for preservation and conservation. http://www.imls.gov/collections/index.htm

Questions? Feel free to comment below.

-Teresa