[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2008-12-10

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1. Collections bookshelf to be offered again
2. Cultural Trust campaign intensifies
3. Newell House event includes living history
4. New website, closure taking place in Oregon City


COLLECTIONS BOOKSHELF TO BE OFFERED AGAIN

The Institute of Museum and Library Services has announced that it will
offer 1,000 more Connecting to Collections bookshelves to museums,
libraries and archives beginning Jan. 5.

The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf is part of a multi-year
national initiative to raise public awareness and inspire care for the
collections held in public trust by libraries and museums throughout the
United States. The initiative is grounded in the results of "A Public
Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of
America*s Collections", which reported that 190 million objects in
U.S. collections need conservation treatment. 

The Bookshelf is actually three sets of resources. The Core Collection
set contains 11 publications that all awardees will receive. The Living
Collections set contains six additional resources that will be
distributed to those institutions that care for living, biological
collections. The Nonliving Collections set contains five additional
publications focused on specialized collections and on library
preservation issues. Awardees will receive either the Living or the
Nonliving Collections set, not both. 

The Bookshelf includes books, DVDs, and other collections resources, as
well as a guide to online resources and a user*s guide to all of the
materials. It addresses such topics as the philosophy and ethics of
collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness,
and culturally specific conservation issues. Such texts as The National
Trust Manual of Housekeeping (published by the British National Trust in
2005), the Field Guide to Emergency Response (published by Heritage
Preservation in 2006), and Essentials of Conservation Biology (published
by Primack in 2006) are among the recent publications included in the
Bookshelf. 

For more information and an application, visit www.aaslh.org/bookshelf



CULTURAL TRUST CAMPAIGN INTENSIFIES

The Oregon Cultural Trust is intensifying its efforts this month to
spread the word about the Trust's accomplishments and seek donations. It
is expanding its marketing activity and meeting with newspaper editorial
boards.

The Trust is built on community and partnerships with 1,200 heritage,
humanities and arts nonprofits; 45 county and tribal coalitions; five
statewide agencies serving the Trust*s disciplines (Oregon Arts
Commission, Oregon Council for the Humanities, Oregon Heritage
Commission, Oregon Historical Society and State Office of Historic
Preservation); and 14,000 donors.

The donors have contributed $14.1 million to the Trust during its first
six years. Those funds have created an endowment of $9.5 million, and
resulted in the distribution of 577 grants totaling $6.6 million. Some
of these grants have been further divided by the county and tribal
coalitions, bringing the total number of organizations receiving
Cultural Trust funds even higher.

Beyond financial support, the Cultural Trust promotes the idea that
cultural nonprofits are so designated because they serve the community
good.  The Trust*s tax credit incentive encourages people to invest in
their own communities.

For more information on how your organization can participate in the
Oregon Cultural Trust or how people can contribute to it, visit
www.culturaltrust.org 


NEWELL HOUSE EVENT INCLUDES LIVING HISTORY

The Newell House Museum will present living history interpreters from 3
p.m.-7 p.m. Dec. 13. The 1858 interpretations will feature Doc and
Rebecca Newell and their lodging guests William and Martha Barlow.

The museum, located in the Champoeg State Heritage Area near St. Paul,
houses décor of the 1860*s. For more information about the museum,
call 503-678-5537, or visit our website at www.newellhouse.com .


NEW WEBSITE, CLOSURE TAKING PLACE IN OREGON CITY

Historic Oregon City and the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive
Center have created a new website.

The new site integrates the rich educational content from the center
and current information from the Historic Oregon City. "We have
downloadable materials
a rich history library,  a virtual collection,  and several ways to
interact with our professional staff," said executive director David
Porter.

The new website can be viewed at www.historicoregoncity.com 

Meanwhile, the McLoughlin and Barclay Houses, a unit of Fort Vancouver
National Historic Site, will be closed from Dec. 14 to Feb. 10 to allow
the National Park Service to do maintenance and curatorial tasks.   More
information is available at 503.656.5151.
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Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission,
which invites you to attend the Northwest History and Heritage
Extravaganza April 15-18 in Portland.