AASLH Annual Meeting » Introductions

Finally made it to Indy!

Lillian — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:52:22 +0000

Hi everyone. I am Lillian Choy, Assistant Public Programs Manager at the Homestead Museum, located near Los Angeles. Like Ken, I had the opportunity to be on this year’s program committee, and am looking forward to an invigorating, thought-provoking time in Indianapolis. In thinking about the theme, “Making History a 21^st Century Enterprise,” my hope is that we, as public/state/local historians, will continue to challenge ourselves and each other to remain relevant and innovative to the communities and audiences we serve, in light of changing times and tastes.

On the surface, this challenge could mean honing our “Web 2.0” tools and keeping up with the plethora of social networking sites, which have certainly been popular. Digging a bit deeper, though, it could be manifested in thinking radically about each of our institutions and about how we can engage our communities in active and productive dialogues—not simply to teach about past events and figures, but to cultivate an understanding of the significance of history in our lives and the potential that we all possess to be shapers of the future.

In what ways are we, as history professionals, “making history a 21^st-century enterprise?” Please share your thoughts!

History goes hi-tech

Tim Grove — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:55:43 +0000

Hi Everyone –
I have written the History Bytes column in History News for the past five or six years. We started it to foster discussion in the history community about the Internet, to help encourage history folks to think critically about their websites and to highlight projects we think feature excellence. I’m thrilled that over the years the annual meeting has included an increasing number of sessions related to the Web. This year there are many opportunities to learn more about social media/ Web 2.0 and other digital challenges. The fact that the meeting has a blog and new this year – Twitterers and a virtual conference component – means that AASLH is serious about using technology to bring our discussions to you whether or not you can be in Indy. While the excitement of attending the meeting cannot exactly be replicated electronically, we hope you’ll feel a part of it.

On a personal note, I like the meeting because it allows me to catch up with my colleagues, to soak in all kinds of history facts, and to visit some great historic sites. Like my fellow blogger, Kim, I’m looking forward to the evening at Conner Prairie. It has been many years since I last visited and they have just debuted a new exhibit, 1859 balloon voyage, which connects directly with my current employment at the National Air and Space Museum. I may even get to take a balloon ride!

PS – If you’re new to Twitter, give it a try. It’s easy to sign up. And, watch for an upcoming History Bytes all about Twitter and microblogging.

Looking Forward to Indy

Ken Turino — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:54:46 +0000

Hello, I am Ken Turino, Manager of Commuity Engagement and Exhibitions at Historic New England. We are the largest regional heritage organization in America with 36 historic properites in 5 of the 6 New England States. We are not in Vermont yet but we will get there. I am located at our headquarters in Boston. I was fortunate to be on the AASLH Planning Comittee for this meeting so I know you are in store for some particularly relevant programs wether you are from a historic house or a large state museum. If you are interested in small museums or military history or on developing new revenue sources, there is something here for you. Having a particular interest in historic houses, I am looking forward to learning more about AASLH’s Standards Project for history museums, historic houses and other historical organizations. We will have much to report on. Indy is a great city so I am also looking forward to exploring. See you there.

Ken

See you in Indy!

Amanda Wesselmann — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:41:06 +0000

Hello! My name is Amanda Wesselmann, and I am the Acting Director of the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum. The Museum consists of the personal study and artifacts relating General Lew Wallace, famous for his service in teh Civil War and authorship of Ben-Hur. As part of a small staff (2 FT, 2 PT), I have participated in all aspects of this museum over the past three years: education, volunteer coordination, exhibit fabrication, development, administration, cleaning the bathroom – you name it! The conference falls at the same time as preparations for our big fundraiser for the year, the Taste of Montgomery County, but it’s such a great opportunity to attend that we are making it a priority to attend as much as we can. I am looking forward to catching up with friends from around the country, meeting new colleagues, and learning ways to improve our operations and programs here. I’m hoping the field trip to the Crawfordsville museums on Wednesday will be a good showcase of small museums, and the Small Museums Roundtable on Thursday should be interesting as well. Of course, the best part of any conference are the evening receptions and dinners after the sessions have finished!

See you in Indy!

Prepping for the Annual Meeting

Bob — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:06:09 +0000

Our Annual Meeting is several weeks earlier this year than usual so things are ramping up very, very quickly.

We have another fine crew of bloggers scheduled to bring you regular posts about this year’s annual meeting. In addition, we are asking Twitterers (is that a word?) to use the hashtage #aaslh2009 in their Tweets so that folks can follow these as well.

We are also excited to be offering our first-ever online conference concurrent to the onsite annual meeting. For details and a session schedule see: http://www.aaslh.org/online09

Last, Carol Kammen put into words much more eloquently than I the experience of attending and annual meeting in the attached PDF which you can find here Carol Kammen - In the Company of Our Peers (137)

I look forward to seeing many of you next week and hearing from those of you who cannot join us.

Bob Beatty