Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2010 04 21

Home Browse Search

programming between the Library and the Museum is still underway. Historic Preservation Commission offered a volunteer to go to the Carnegie Branch of the Boulder Public Library to copy County property records to keep in Louisville at the Museum. IX. Museum Coordinator's Report: a. Deeds of Gifts from donors. After discussion it was moved, seconded and carried to accept the following items: i. Dave Ferguson - forty scrapbooks kept by his wife, Dorothy Ferguson. These scrapbooks include obituaries, articles, and photos that the Museum doesn't currently have. ii. Shirley Bodhaine - scans of newspaper articles describing a 1932 bank robbery. iii. Joan Tuley - scans of photos including pictures of the Weir family and their house at 1100 Main St. iv. Ronda Leggett - service book published in the mid-1940s with pictures of Louisville service men and a parasol believed to be from the McDonald family. b. There were no questions regarding Museum Coordinator's Report. c. The Commission reviewed the 2009 Performance Measures for the Museum. Bridget Bacon noted that the high number of items donated in 2009 is attributable to a few accessions made up of many small items such as photos, slides, and receipts from historical Louisville businesses. X. Museum and Commission Projects a. Membership statistics were part of the meeting packet. b. History Book Club: The last meeting covered books about Colorado women. The club is now reading about the Great Depression, particularly focusing on the book The Worst Hard Time. c. Oral History Program: Program volunteers recently interviewed John Ross in the Tomeo House. He lived there from 1924-41. The family rented the Tomeo House for $7 per month. More interviews are scheduled, and Cameron Weise is working on making DVD copies of the interviews. XI. Space Needs at the Museum. Bridget Bacon reported from the book Introduction to Museum Work, a book from the American Association for State and Local History, that it is strongly recommended that museums allocate space in such a way that there is 40% for collections, 40% for exhibits, and 20% for other (offices, restrooms, etc.). The Louisville Historical Museum space does not approach this ideal allocation. It was noted that the Museum has many items important to Louisville history in its collection and that storage space is an important priority, along with office and work space. Bridget Bacon noted that in 2004, the Louisville Museum was given a grant to have an assessment of the Museum from experts in the field and that they recommended in their Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) Report that the City of Louisville construct an additional building primarily to address the severe storage issues of the Museum. The recommendation was for a new museum building that could be constructed on the City-owned property between the Jacoe Store and Tomeo House, replicating a period fac;ade from the two story building that was located there during the first half of the 1900s. Such a building would be expected to cost just over $200,000 (based on estimates that were made a few years ago) and could provide much needed storage space, office space for staff and volunteers, an ADA compliant restroom, janitorial space for cleaning supplies, and a staging area for school tours. Potential funding from the Department of Local Affairs and the Louisville Historic Preservation Fund were mentioned as part of the discussion about costs. The discussion turned to the June study session with the Louisville City Council and what needs at the Museum the Commission might want to discuss with City Council. It was decided that the Commission should share the 2009 performance measures with City Council. Diane Marino noted that a continuing issue is the lack of staffing for the Museum, even if the storage needs are met. Some Commission members indicated that they would like the Commission to advocate for a new building to be built in the empty space on the