We have paused our cataloging process for now. We didn't get as far along as we would have liked but we are definitely on the right track. We have organized things so that they can be more easily cataloged in the future.
The reason we paused on that process is we wanted to make some changes to the exhibit area. We have moved things around, added some artifacts, and worked hard on refreshing the exhibits! These changes just make OHC better and more exciting!! I'm not going to tell you what has changed, you will have to come see for yourself when we re-open!
We will also have a great temporary exhibit up when we re-open on February 1st! This exhibit will feature a collection of love letters written to Lucius England in the early 20th century, as well as some of Lucius' personal belongings and a little information on the lovely ladies that wrote to him.
We know you will enjoy all the great new changes happening at the Oconee Heritage Center!
---Jennifer
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Progress Progress Progress
It is amazing the amount of progress we have made over the last week! We've cataloged the entire exhibit space!! That's over 500 items that we've numbered, described, photographed and entered into the computer! We have already started cataloging our archives closet! In our archives we are keeping our more delicate items including textiles, important paper collections, and more!
We've found so many great things through this process and some of those you will be able to see on display in the future!! Our goal for this week is to complete the archives closet and the mezzanine area. Next week we are going into the basement. This will be a difficult task but we are up to the challenge!!
Look for another post soon about our new "Favorite Finds"
---Jennifer
We've found so many great things through this process and some of those you will be able to see on display in the future!! Our goal for this week is to complete the archives closet and the mezzanine area. Next week we are going into the basement. This will be a difficult task but we are up to the challenge!!
 |
| Emily braving the heights of the mezzanine to catalog |
---Jennifer
Thursday, January 5, 2012
The Curator's Favorite Finds Part 1
As we catalog, we find great things that have never been seen or have just been overlooked. Here is the first round of the Curator's Favorite Finds
Leslie's Favorite Artifact
Leslie's Favorite Artifact
This Law book is entitled South Carolina & So. Eastern Digest 1783 to Date: Volume Dead Bodies-Dueling. Just by the simple plan of alphabetizing, this volume ends up with a hilarious title!!
Emily's Favorite Artifact
This tiny oil lamp is featured in our Tenant Farmer's House exhibit. It's small but it has a lot of beauty!
Jennifer's Favorite Artifact
This find was quite "shocking" (yes, pun intended)! This is an at-home electric shock therapy kit! It is displayed on a shelf in our General Store display. From the outside it looks like a tea storage box, but once you open it, you see an "electrifying" device!!
As curator's we love finding new and unusual objects in our collection!! We can't wait to share more interesting artifacts with you!!
----Jennifer
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
January Closing progress
We are starting off 2012 with a bang! We are cataloging the entire museum! We have the exhibit hall, archives, and basement to go through. It is a huge task but Leslie, Emily, and I are ready for the challenge!!
We decided to close the Oconee Heritage Center during the month of January to catch up on cataloging. Don't know what cataloging is? Well here is what we are doing in a nutshell. We give each item that we have in our collection a number and we mark the item with a tag, paint, bag, etc... We thoroughly describe what the item is and give its dimension. We also have to go through accession forms (forms that a donor fills out when we get an item with its description and history) to get a background on the item. We also photograph the item with its catalog number. Then when all of that is done we enter it into a museum computer program that keeps track of everything.
That keeps us very busy! So that is why we had to close. We have thousands of artifacts, documents, and photographs. Relatively few items were cataloged when the museum first opened, so we have to go through every item, large and small! It is our duty as museum professionals to care for, store, and display these artifacts to the best of our abilities.
We got a head start in December by cataloging the artifacts in the exhibit hall. We will be done with that process, hopefully, by the end of the week. Then we will venture into our basement to catalog the many artifacts that we have there!
We are so thankful that we have the support of our community in doing this project!
I will be posting more blogs about our progress and special blogs about each curator's favorite find of the week!
---Jennifer
Assistant Curator
We decided to close the Oconee Heritage Center during the month of January to catch up on cataloging. Don't know what cataloging is? Well here is what we are doing in a nutshell. We give each item that we have in our collection a number and we mark the item with a tag, paint, bag, etc... We thoroughly describe what the item is and give its dimension. We also have to go through accession forms (forms that a donor fills out when we get an item with its description and history) to get a background on the item. We also photograph the item with its catalog number. Then when all of that is done we enter it into a museum computer program that keeps track of everything.
That keeps us very busy! So that is why we had to close. We have thousands of artifacts, documents, and photographs. Relatively few items were cataloged when the museum first opened, so we have to go through every item, large and small! It is our duty as museum professionals to care for, store, and display these artifacts to the best of our abilities.
We got a head start in December by cataloging the artifacts in the exhibit hall. We will be done with that process, hopefully, by the end of the week. Then we will venture into our basement to catalog the many artifacts that we have there!
We are so thankful that we have the support of our community in doing this project!
I will be posting more blogs about our progress and special blogs about each curator's favorite find of the week!
---Jennifer
Assistant Curator
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