Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2022 07 20

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Louisville Historical Museum Collections Management Policy Adopted by the Louisville Historical Commission March 2, 2016 1. Introduction Louisville Historical Museum Collections Management Policy 1.1 General Introduction The Louisville Historical Museum ("Museum") constitutes a division, alongside the Louisville Public Library, in the City of Louisville's Department of Library & Museum Services. The Museum buildings and collections are owned by the City of Louisville, and the Museum staff members are City employees. Volunteers started the Museum in the 1980s. Although the doors of the Museum didn't open to the public until 1986, the first gift was received in 1984 and its accession number reflects that year of donation. The Museum was completely volunteer -operated, with volunteers for the City accepting gifts and conducting cataloging activities as well as engaging in other activities, until 1999, when the City hired a paid Museum staff member for the first time. However, volunteer help has continued to be vital to the registration and cataloging process and to the general operation of the Museum, over the years. The Museum campus, where the public visits the Museum, where the collections are stored, and where staff and volunteers work, is at 1001 Main Street in Louisville. Several historic buildings comprise the Museum. The Jacoe Store was a grocery store and is now the main building of the Museum. Its exhibit areas interpret Louisville's mining, agricultural, and commercial history. This building contains the only office area on the campus and it is part of the space open to the public. The three-room Tomeo House is interpreted as a mining family's house. The Jordinelli House and Summer Kitchen were both moved to the campus in 2001 from 1000 La Farge Ave. The Jordinelli House contains a replica of original downtown Louisville in one room that has been open to the public since October 2014. Staff and volunteers use the replica to talk with visitors about the development of Louisville. Last, an outhouse was moved to the site from Rockvale, Colorado in 2005. The Jacoe Store, Tomeo House, and Jordinelli House have furnaces and air conditioning to control temperature. The Museum's collections are stored in different locations in these buildings. Items needing temperature control are in a small storage room in the Jacoe Store and in four small rooms of the Jordinelli House. Some items not needing strict temperature control, such as metal tools, are stored in the Summer Kitchen and in the partially dirt cellar of the Jacoe Store. The Museum cannot use the cellar of the Tomeo House for collections storage of any kind in its current condition because it is only large enough to contain a furnace and is a partially dirt cellar. The strengths of the collections are in the artifacts, maps, and records relating to coal mining in the area; historic photos of downtown Louisville; items relating to Louisville families and houses; items relating to immigrants who came to the Louisville area; and business items from the Louisville area. The Museum's holdings include not only artifacts that are exhibited and interpreted for visitors, but also archival materials that researchers use. The Museum is also the repository for historical items from the administration of the town.