Atlanta Connecting to Collections Forum a Success; Webcast Available
Lonnie Bunch, Director of the Smithsonian's
National Museum of African American History
and Culture, was the keynote speaker.
Three hundred museum, library, and archive professionals from 41 states and the District of Columbia gathered in Atlanta on January 31 and February 1 for "Preserving America's Diverse Heritage," sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in partnership with Heritage Preservation.
This was the first of four meetings around the country being held to raise awareness about the nation's valuable and endangered collections. IMLS launched the forums as part of the national initiative Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action.
A webcast of Preserving America's Diverse Heritage is available.
"Yours are collections that truly touch lives," IMLS Director Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice said in her opening remarks. "Whether they are African American, Latino, Asian American, or Native American, these are memories, family oral histories, letters, and sound recordings that bring unparalleled perspective to visitors." Without immediate attention, some 190 million objects may be lost in only a few short years, said Radice, citing the Heritage Health Index report.
Preserving collections is really about "finding concrete ways to help us all remember," said Lonnie G. Bunch III, Keynote Speaker and Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. "I think about a small table that my institution collected. It is a small table from a South Carolina plantation, made of cheap wood that was not meant to last. Yet its survival speaks volumes about the experiences of the enslaved. Looking at the indentations—one can almost feel the hands falling heavily on the table after a long day in the field—one can only imagine the conversation of disappointment, fear—but also of hope for a 'better day'—and there are thousands of objects that can help us to remember," Bunch said.
Remembering goes beyond preserving objects in museums and libraries, said Sven Haakanson, Jr., Executive Director of the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak, Alaska, and a member of the Alutiiq people. Inspired by the living traditions of Nenet reindeer herders in Siberia, with whom he lived for a year, Haakanson returned to Alaska determined to reawaken knowledge of Alutiiq culture. He began teaching Alutiiq youth traditional games, crafts, and language, which the children then shared with their parents. "We are helping our community overcome a hurtful past, generating new dialog about Native traditions, and illustrating the great power of collaboration," he wrote in a panel abstract.
The forum, held at the High Museum of Art and Woodruff Arts Center, featured panels on the significance of, and challenges facing, diverse collections, special issues involved in the care of diverse collections, and fundamental collections care. The final panel focused on connecting to funding and the public. Forty percent of collecting institutions have no funds in their annual budgets for fundamental collections care.
National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Bruce Cole noted that preserving the nation's collections "can't be done by one agency or one group. That's why working together is so important."
"All of us are in this together," Radice said at the forum's conclusion. "We care deeply about history and about the legacy we leave to future generations of learners and citizens. You ensure that our nation's most important and diverse collections live on for future generations. Your history is indeed our history."
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