SCHOAM! for September 2024

Special Collections, Historical Organizations, Archives & Museums

News from SCRLC

New York Heritage Website Updates

For several months, the platform that NY Heritage webpages are built upon, Drupal, was having trouble with its required updates. Our sitewide administrator kept two copies of the site running: a public-facing one that was basically functional but not updating, and a second version that he tinkered with until all parts of it could update to the new version of Drupal. He was finally successful in August, and he did his best to make sure everything carried over. However, we've found some hiccups along the way. I will keep checking all pages for issues, but if you see something amiss, please don't hesitate to send me an email.

New Collection: Mary Fargo Collection

Zac Greenfield of Chenango County Historical Society has finished work on the Mary Fargo collection, funded with a recent SCRLC Digitization Grant. Mary Fargo was Town Historian for Smyrna, NY for many years, and the collection of over 400 images shows daily life, events, and people from the rural farming community. Some of my personal favorites are the beer can collection and the 1972 fashion show contest. This photo of a man watching a milk station fire strikes me as remarkably poignant, too.

New Collection: Horace Hanford Collection

Horace Hanford was an amateur photographer in East Meredith, NY, whose collection of snapshots spans from 1890 to 1920. The collection is interesting to look through and so is this excerpt for the Hanford Mills Museum's catalog about his photography: Horace Hanford and the History of Photography.

New Collection: Oneonta Area Directories

There was already a collection on NY Heritage from the Greater Oneonta Historical Society called Oneonta City Directories with a single book from 1901-1902, but this new collection from the Huntington Memorial Library includes nearly all of the directories from 1912 through 1984, and often encompasses nearby communities like Laurens, Hartwick, Otego, Schenevus, and Unadilla.

Grants & Assistance

Humanities Action Grants

Apply for up to $10,000 for humanities projects. These have a 1:1 match, but staff time can count toward your in-kind contribution (which is what SCRLC is doing for its Underground Railroad exhibit, as funded by a spring Action Grant). Applications for the fall are due on October 1.

CLIR: Digitizing Hidden Special Collections & Archives

Initial applications are due by October 30 for projects that "deepen public understanding of the histories of people of color and other communities and populations whose work, experiences, and perspectives have been insufficiently recognized or unattended."

Carnegie-Whitney Grant

If you have a subject you'd like to start researching in order to create a reading list, index, or other guide to library resources, apply for this grant by November 1.

ICYMI: IMLS Funding Opportunities

The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program “supports the training and professional development of library and archives professionals.” The National Leadership Grants for Libraries assists projects that aim to create replicable practices, programs, models, or tools to aid in strengthening library and archival services in the US. There's no cost share requirement under $250,000 but the kind of grant request will determine the minimum and maximum request amounts. Applications for both are due September 20.

Ideas & Inspiration

New York Archives Magazine

Are you already familiar with New York Archives magazine? It's a beautifully put together magazine for the general public from the New York State Archives Partnership Trust (the same organization that runs Consider the Source). Print subscriptions for non-profits are only $45 for two years, and the articles are really great. In particular, the Summer 2024 has a feature about "Safe Milk," with articles about pasteurization in NY, county fairs, and glass milk bottles- all of which would be of interest in our region.

Please consider what you could submit for publication yourself, as well!

If you know any classroom teachers, make sure they know that they can request free classroom sets of New York Archives Jr, with glossy pages and age-appropriate versions of the local history articles.

Banned Books Week

Here's a simple, effective project from NYLA to help you and your library push back against censorship. All they need is a 30 to 60 second clip of you reading a favorite banned book. State your name, the title and author of the book, read an excerpt, and then upload the short video to this Google folder.

Happening in the Neighborhood

Laramie Meets Elmira

Chemung County Historical Society is the only historical society participating in a pilot program from the Smithsonian Institution aimed at getting teens to ponder: "How has your community played a role in 250 years of the American experiment?" CCHS Education Director Susan Zehnder was selected along with 19 classroom teachers across the county to connect teenagers with local history and each other. Elmira teens will create short videos and share with teens in Laramie, WY. This is a wonderful project for the 250th celebration, and something other organizations could certainly imitate, perhaps on a smaller scale: you could simply task teens with answering the question as a short video to share.

Name that Tune and Book Sales Between the Lakes

Waterloo Library & Historical Society has a familiar fundraiser next week: a book sale! Of note, all teachers and daycare providers who come to the book sale will get a free bag of books to stock their classrooms. This sale is part of a coordinated "Book Sale Trail," which includes Seneca Falls Library, Edith B Ford Memorial Library in Ovid, Lodi Whittier Library, Interlaken Public Library, and Elizabeth B. Pert Memorial Library in Hector, all cross-promoting and holding their fall book sales on the same day, Saturday, September 21. That same evening, a $5 ticket will get you in a super fun music trivia event at Waterloo Library called Name that Tune, where the DJ will play clips of songs to guess and win prizes.

Renovations in Oneonta

Congratulations to Dr. Marcela Micucci and her team of staff and volunteers at the Greater Oneonta Historical Society, where they've finished two major capital projects recently. In June, the exterior brickwork on their historic downtown building was restored and repointed, and in August, the front entryway mosaic tilework was historically reproduced and returned to its former glory. In 2025, GOHS will focus on restoring their third-floor ballroom. GOHS is also fundraising to help restore the Little Red Caboose of Neahwa Park, installed 100 years ago.

Acknowledgements in Auburn

Billye Chabot, Executive Director of the Seward House Museum in Auburn, just shared the acknowledgements of a recently published book, Freeman's Challenge: The Murder that Shook America's Original Prison for Profit by Robin Bernstein, over Facebook. Billye was able to tag a number of the people acknowledged because they're all local historians from Cayuga County. This kind act of amplifying gratitude also serves to show Cayuga County residents just how local the story is, and further compels them to attend the lecture by the author on September 11.

In a different vein of grateful acknowledgement, the Cayuga Museum has just started a great series of posts quoting museum members as they explain what inspired them to be involved with the museum.

Massive Shifting in Binghamton

There are few phrases that can strike fear in a librarian's heart quite like "let's move 440,000 books without disrupting access." Starting in early October, Binghamton University Libraries will be doing just that, as they move books between Bartle and Science Libraries. Their thoughtful, detailed planning is evident in the public blogpost they've made to help students avoid any issues.

Zooms & Webinars Up Your Alley

DHPSNY Dialogue: Building an Inclusive 250th: Changing Interpretations

Thursday, September 12 at 2 pm

Cultivating Wellness through Engaging in Sustainable Environmental Practices

Friday, September 13 at 11 am

Wellness in the Library Workplace

September 16 - 27

Meet an Audiobook Reader: Peter Berkrot

Monday, September 16 at 3 pm

DEIJA Learning Circle

Tuesday, September 17 at 11 am

Partnering for Progress: Discussion on Transformative Agreements

Tuesday, September 17 at 1 pm

Personal Development (ESLN Academic Leadership Series)

Wednesday, September 18 at 1 pm

Crafting and maintaining effective patron policies for community success

Wednesday, September 18 at 3 pm

Generative AI and Practical Applications for Libraries

Thursday, September 19 at 1 pm

The Collection Life Cycle – Collection Management in Action

Tuesday, September 24 at 10 am

Bibliographic and Referral Center (BARC) Training

Tuesday, September 24 at 11 am

NEDCC: Care and Reformatting of Microfilm

Tuesday, September 24 at 12:30 pm || $45

Northeast Summit on Climate Adaptation: Adapt and Fortify Your Library against Extreme Weather

Tuesday, September 24 at 2:30 pm

Supporting Secondary Students Throughout the School Year with Gale/NOVELny Resources

Tuesday, September 24 at 3 pm

AASLH History Hour: Cemetery Walking Tours

Tuesday, September 24 at 3 pm

Effective Library Advocacy: Engaging Representatives Locally and in Albany

Wednesday, September 25 at 10:30 am

R4 Connections: The Role of Libraries in an Aging Society: A Social Justice Imperative

Wednesday, September 25 at 3 pm

Conservation and Preservation Grant Writing Workshop

Thursday, September 26 at 10 am

Conducting an Inventory of Your Paper Records

Thursday, September 26 at 10 am

Meet the New York State Archivist

Thursday, September 26 at 12:30 pm

Beyond the Ordinary: A Paranormal Archive

Thursday, September 26 at 1 pm

Engaging Beyond Our Walls: Libraries connecting communities through outdoor games and stories

Thursday, September 26 at 3 pm

Preservation Plans: An Overview

Friday, September 27 at 12 pm

Caring for Yourself and Your Colleagues in Times of Stress

Monday, September 30 at 1:30 pm

Southeastern's Digital Preservation Special Interest Group (focusing on fixity & checksums)

Wednesday, October 2 at 2 pm

Balancing Academic Demands and Fiscal Reality: Digital Content Strategies

Wednesday, October 2 at 2 pm

Disaster Planning for Libraries

Friday, October 4 at 1 pm

From Threats to Solutions: Cybersecurity in Academic Libraries – an SNSI Security Summit

Tuesday, October 8 at 2 pm

Introduction to Digitization

Thursday, October 10 at 11 am

DLF 2024 Forum

October 22 - 24 || $60

In Person Events

AI 101 for Archives and Museums

Rochester, NY || September 13

Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS) Annual Conference

Port Jefferson, NY (Long Island) || September 16 - 18

Wester NY Meet up for the Museum Association of New York

Jamestown, NY || September 18

Greater Hudson Heritage Network Deep Dive: Security Solutions

Albany, NY || September 25

Intersect 2024 | Innovate or Stagnate: Embracing Necessary Changes in Library Practices

Buffalo, NY || October 11

DHPSNY Fall Workshops: Caring for Photograph Collections

Rochester, George Eastman Museum || Tuesday, October 15

Syracuse, CLRC || Wednesday, October 23

Aurora, Howland Stone Store Museum || Tuesday, November 12

Chautauqua, Chautauqua Institution || Thursday, November 21

New York Library Association (NYLA) Annual Conference

Syracuse, NY || November 6 - 9

Recordings & Follow-up Resources

Openings in the Field

Systems and Discovery Services Librarian at SUNY Cortland
Executive Director of the Mid York Library System (Utica)
Research and Instruction Librarian (Liaison to the College of Graduate Studies) at SUNY Upstate Health Sciences Library (Syracuse)
Research and Instruction Librarian (Liaison to College of Health Professions) at SUNY Upstate Health Sciences Library (Syracuse)
Adult Services Librarian at the Kirkland Town Library (Oneida Co.)
Exhibition Technician at the National Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown)
Manager of Digital Engagement at the George Eastman Museum (Rochester)
Associate Director, Discovery Services at Colgate University (Madison Co)
Outreach & Engagement Librarian at Colgate University (Madison Co)
Daytime Supervisor at Syracuse University

That's all for this month! Send me an email if there's anything at your organization you'd like me to include in the next newsletter: clovell@scrlc.org | Claire Lovell, Digital Services Librarian