Tuesday, June 29, 2010

State Library Announce Summer Book Selections

The Washington State Library compiles dozens of interesting book lists, perhaps none more so than State Librarian Jan Walsh's seasonal reads. To jump-start summer (assuming we actually get summer this year), she's chosen nine books on the theme "Washington as Place." You can read Jan's comments on each book here. The full list:

  • George Beahm with the Forks Chamber of Commerce, Twilight Tours: An Illustrated Guide to the REAL Forks, 2009.
  • Susan Colleen Browne, Little Farm in the Foothills: A Boomer Couple's Search for the Slow Life, 2009.
  • David C. Dykstra, Lake Washington 130 Homes: A Guided Tour of the Lake's Most Magnificent Homes, 2009.
  • Kurt Hoetling, The Circumference of Home: One Man's Yearlong Quest for a Radically Local Life, 2010.
  • Lloyd Kahn, Builders of the Pacific Coast, 2008.
  • Lawrence Kreisman and Glenn Mason, The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest, 2007 (don't miss this wonderful exhibit at the Washington State History Museum, August 7 - November 28).
  • Craig Romano, Columbia Highlands: Exploring Washington's Last Frontier, 2007
  • Ann Leda Shapiro, My Island, 2009.
  • John Skewes and Robert Schwartz, Seattle ABC, 2009.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Professional Development Around the Region - June-July

Washington and its neighbors are hosting some cool opportunities to learn, connect, and advance your museum skills in the next month or so:

- Washington Museum Association Annual Conference, June 16-18, Gig Harbor - With keynote speaker Nina Simon, this year's conference looks like a winner.

- Advanced Section 106 Seminar, July 15, Seattle - An in-depth look at consultation and resolving conflicts between development plans and historic preservation values under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

- Care and Identification of Photographs, July 22-25, Seattle - This 4-day workshop is an introduction to the history, identification, and preservation of photographic materials. Participants will acquire hands-on identification skills and learn practical photograph preservation techniques. Knowledge about photographic processes is essential to their preservation and leads to a greater appreciation of the aesthetics and history of photographic prints. Due to the hands-on nature of this workshop, the number of participants will be limited to 12. The Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA), a certifying organization of professional archivists, will award 15 Archival Recertification Credits (ARCs) to eligible Certified Archivists (CAs) attending this workshop.

- Instructional Workshop on Museum Registration, July 24, Auburn - This workshop is intended for heritage organization staff and volunteers who are involved in accepting and cataloguing new donations, and managing collections records. It will break down, in detail, budget-friendly, simple methods for the entire process of accessioning and cataloging objects, including how to incorporate an electronic database into your cataloguing process and meeting professional standards set by the American Museum Association. To register, call 253-288-7439 or E-mail.

Collections Camp: Textiles, July 28-30, Carson City, Nevada - This three day workshop will focus on the care and conservation of textiles in museum collections. Spend time working with conservators and textile experts to learn how to be a better steward of your textile collection.