Browsing by Subject "Museum"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Book Review of Museum Mercenary: A Handbook for Independent Museum Professionals by Rebecca Migdal
    (2021) Hamm, Marissa
    Museum Mercenary is the definitive guide for any new or long-established museum professional who is intrigued by the prospect of a freelance career, but unsure of how to start.
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    The Center for Ray Bradbury Studies: A Case Study in Sustaining a Single Author Archive
    (2020-12) Aukerman, Jason Michael; Eller, Jonathan R.; Calloway, Heather K.; Goff, Philip K.; Haberski, Raymond J., Jr.
    The Center for Ray Bradbury Studies (cited also as the “Bradbury Center” or the “Center”) is a single author archive, museum, and outreach center housed in the Institute for American Thought, located in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. This dissertation employs a case study methodology to explore the complex issue of single author archive management and sustainability as it applies to the Bradbury Center by extending the research process beyond working with primary sources and published materials. The applied research project unfolded in two phases. The first involved an intensive four-day on-site consultation in which five professional archivists and preservation experts from across the Midwest visited the Bradbury Center and examined its collections and policies. Following their visit, the consultants prepared recommendations concerning artifacts, manuscripts, correspondence, physical layout, access, operational procedures, processing priorities, and environmental/climate control for artifacts. The on-site consultation team also informed objectives, goals, and strategies for addressing the preservation needs of the Center’s vast and varied collections, aiding in systematically moving forward with curatorial initiatives, and planning for general organizational development. The second research phase involved site visits to five peer institutions to tour facilities, interview directors and archivists about best practices, and established a plan for adapting these practices to the Bradbury Center. Findings from both research phases inform the Bradbury Center’s immediate and long-term plans for center staff, fundraising, spatial expansion and renovation, and the Center’s strategy for identifying key constituencies as it endeavors to serve a broad spectrum of public and academic audiences through various outreach and programming initiatives. Upon completion of the case study field research, a formal report was prepared. That report serves as the cornerstone for this applied dissertation. Additional chapters cast a vision for the Bradbury Center and address potential opportunities to serve the Indianapolis region by tapping into tourism markets, conventions, and local cultural festivals and celebrations while also developing into an international research hub as the sole entity that preserves the material legacy of Ray Bradbury. The introductory chapter situates the Bradbury Center within the legacy of the central figure of the Center—Ray Bradbury.
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    Importance of Emergency Preparedness for Cultural Museums
    (2023-04) Howell, LaQuita A.; Ray, Veto M.; Koo, Dan; Dalir, Hamid
    The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center (DuSable) in Chicago, Illinois, has received threats in person and via mail from individuals and groups who disagree with the museum's mission. The museum's mission is "dedicated to the collection, documentation, preservation, study and the dissemination of the history and culture of Africans and African Americans" (The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, n.d., Our Mission). The threats received have directly implied that the sender planned to cause harm to the facility and the museum's occupants, which poses a risk to the museum's day-to-day operations. Knowing these threats, the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center must have the appropriate Emergency Preparedness measures, including security management, fire protection, and an emergency response plan to mitigate risk to its facility, collections, and occupants. Studying cultural museum emergency preparedness aims to identify and assess the various threats to the safety and security of museum collections, the facility, visitors, and staff. By understanding the emergency preparedness needs of museums, specifically cultural museums, appropriate measures can be implemented to prevent and deter physical harm. The emergency preparedness plan must include physical security measures, including security staff, access controls, surveillance, and fire protection systems. The minimum safety measures for a museum include a fire protection system equipped with smoke alarms, sprinklers, and fire extinguishers. Access control should consist of a security system controlling access to restricted areas, including physical guards and electronic surveillance, depending on the access needs. A surveillance system should include closed-circuit or wireless cameras to monitor the interior and exterior of the building. Security personnel is needed in the security system and serve as in-person deterrents in the case of an incident. An emergency response plan is also necessary to plan for and mitigate risks in an organized manner.
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    The Institute of Habits and Weirdness
    (2013-05) Senibaldi, Dominic; Morrison, David
    I draw inspiration from mundane activities such as shaving, shredding documents, waking up to an alarm clock and clipping fingernails. I use these activities as a springboard to explore the meaning behind habits. Are habits a human need? Do we place such importance on our daily repetitive activities that they become rituals? Do mundane activities help us to ignore the meaningless of existence, or give purpose to our existence? These are questions I actively attempt to answer with my art works.
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    Ryan White: A Geospatial Analysis of his Correspondence
    (2020-05) Shaeffer, Haley Lynn; Johnson, Daniel; Wilson, Jeffrey; Lulla, Vijay
    The letters Ryan White received over the course of his diagnosis, illness, and eventual death show a spatial distribution that reflected the United States’ response to Ryan’s condition. Ryan was diagnosed with AIDS in December of 1984 at the height of the epidemic, and the panic that surrounded it. In 2000, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis accessioned a selection of letters sent to Ryan White and his mother, from 1980 to 1993. The expanded incorporation of these letters into the museum’s “Power of Children” gallery will introduce museum visitors to the public view on Ryan and the role he played in developing the public perception and awareness of AIDS in the 1980’s. Originally, it was anticipated that the distribution and number of letters Ryan received directly related to the concentration and spread of AIDS cases around the US. This research assumed that the AIDS community would have been more supportive and empathetic of Ryan’s diagnosis, resulting in those populations sending a higher number of letters. This assumption was also informed by the fact that the highest number of AIDS cases were in areas with large populations such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. Yet findings showed relatively few letters were coming from the populated coasts where AIDS was more prevalent, and many more letters than expected came from areas with lower populations across the US. Ryan was one of the first children to go public with his AIDS diagnosis, which sparked strong reactions among people throughout the United States. Ryan’s correspondence and the outpouring of support he received allows insight into the multifaceted reaction to the AIDS crisis, especially from young people. Before Ryan became associated with the AIDS epidemic, this disease was seen primarily as an urban, gay, and drug-user related issue. The goal of this research is to gain further understanding of society’s shifting response to Ryan and AIDS during the 1980’s, by placing these letters in their social and geographic context.