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Page 29 of 150 <br />dedicated research room in the new Community House building, will help ameliorate this <br />challenging situation. <br />• The lack of adequate collections storage space on the Museum campus was first documented in <br />the 2004 CAP Report. As a result of the CAP report's stated concerns with collections items <br />being stored in the partially dirt Jacoe Store cellar, the Museum Coordinator moved collections <br />items needing climate control and a higher level of protection from the cellar into the Jordinelli <br />House. Besides the concern with the most of collections being stored in the Jacoe Store cellar, <br />which has been resolved, the CAP Report stated concerns with 1) a need for space for the <br />growth of the collections and 2) a need for increased public/research access. <br />The addition of storage space in the new Community House building will address these needs, <br />which go to the heart of the responsibility for preservation of the collections that the Museum <br />and City bear as stewards of historical artifacts, and will satisfy the need to keep the collections <br />on site where the Museum staff members can easily access them for their work and for the <br />public. <br />The Museum staff and the Commission do not consider off-site storage in a remote storage <br />facility that is not owned by the City to be a satisfactory solution due to the inefficiencies and <br />the lack of regular access that would result and that was clearly viewed as a high priority in the <br />CAP Report. There is also concern about the collections potentially becoming less secure or <br />susceptible to physical threats such as insects or moisture if they were stored in a remote <br />location. <br />• The small sizes of the Museum buildings present challenges when school classes visit. It is not <br />possible to keep an entire class together in any of the buildings and a class is immediately <br />divided in order to be shown around, leading to inefficiencies and the need for more staff and <br />volunteer time to be spent on school tours. Perhaps more importantly, unlike at other <br />museums that have been designed to offer adequate interior public and programming space, <br />there is no space at the Museum to shelter a waiting school class during bad weather. The <br />construction of the new Community House building and the improvements planned for the <br />Jordinelli House will provide adequate space for school classes to stay together for much of <br />their tours and for there to be shelter provided to classes that arrive early for their tours. <br />• Another challenge of the site is that the buildings and their limited public spaces are not geared <br />to meet the particular needs of young children. The planned improvements to the campus are <br />intended to create additional space that can be used for baskets or trunks of educational items <br />that children can spread out, touch, and talk about with their caregivers. Programming space in <br />the new building could be sometimes used for craft projects or other programs geared towards <br />children. <br />• The existing Museum buildings do not provide dedicated office space for City staff members. <br />The Museum Coordinator's office area, with a desk and computer, is currently part of the public <br />exhibit space in the Jacoe Store, and visitors regularly pass through it. The office photocopier <br />looks out of place next to historical artifacts that are on exhibit. Due to the lack of office doors <br />or any privacy, it is difficult for the Museum Coordinator to have a phone conversation or hold a <br />private work meeting during the public hours of the Museum, or to work with confidential <br />materials. File drawer or cabinet space for museum administration files has not been planned <br />or provided for. The small restroom for the use of the public, staff, and volunteers is located <br />immediately next to the Museum Coordinator's desk, which necessitates that the Museum <br />Coordinator step away from her desk to give people privacy when they are using the restroom. <br />The Museum Technician's desk area at the Museum consists of a laptop and chair at the public <br />21 <br />