Greater Hudson Heritage Network: Newsletter

March, 2010

GHHN members, friends and colleagues-

As Greater Hudson Heritage Network begins 2010's program activities with important multi-year funding partnerships in place, and a new 5-year space license agreement at Westchester County's Records & Archive Center in Elmsford, we will also begin a new strategic planning process, and begin a search for a new Executive Director.

After 17 years in leadership service to LHC and Greater Hudson, I will be retiring next fall, at the end of GHHN's fiscal year.

We have a very full spring and summer ahead, and I am looking forward to the many new opportunities for professional development, responsive assistance, collegiality and genuine conversations of mutual concern to the field, ahead.

I have been privileged to work on behalf of and with so many of you—trustees, staff, volunteers, consultants, conservators and curators, and with your stunningly diverse organizations—museums, historic sites and historical societies, archives and local history libraries—all of whom have given me a solid grounding in the "cultural casework" that lies at the heart of Greater Hudson as a service organization. I expect to remain thoughtfully engaged with the museum and heritage communities as a mentor and consultant.

Attached you'll find the Greater Hudson Heritage Network job opening announcement for the position of Executive Director to begin September 1, 2010. Please circulate it to your fellow 21st century museum professionals, and plan to contact the Search Committee with your own great ideas for the future of Greater Hudson Heritage Network and our constituents.

Sincerely,

Tema

Tema Harnik, Executive Director

Position Description:

Executive Director

Greater Hudson Heritage Network, a 501(c)3 non-profit established in 1979 as Lower Hudson Conference of Historical Agencies & Museums, is headquartered in Elmsford, New York (Westchester County) in the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

Mission:

Greater Hudson Heritage Network provides services to the museum and cultural heritage community to meet a mission that will advance professional standards and practices, build the capacity of organizations to meet their missions, and create a network of effective, skilled stewards of regional history and culture.

Programs and Services:

Professional development, resource identification, and responsive assistance are offered for staff, boards and volunteers with stewardship responsibilities in museums, historical societies, libraries, archives and other cultural repositories through workshop training, symposia, site visits, electronic and print communications. An Annual Meeting and Field Forum provide a platform for dialogue among educational, cultural and community organizations collaborating to provide greater public access to cultural heritage.

Regional and Statewide Partnerships:

Collaborative leadership programming is pursued and developed with partner agencies in the field, supported by foundation, regional, state and federal grant sponsorship. Regionally, Greater Hudson delivers Documentary Heritage Program services in eight counties of the Hudson Valley, in partnership with the New York State Archives. Statewide, Greater Hudson administers an annual Conservation Treatment Grant Program, in partnership with the Museum Program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

Governance:

GHHN is governed by an active, working Board of 22 Trustees including museum and history professionals and independent consultants representing a diversity of experience in the field, in administration, development, education, preservation, planning and collections management, across the region. The Board of Trustees provides strategic, financial and program support.

Position Description

The Executive Director is the chief executive officer of Greater Hudson Heritage Network, who provides leadership, vision and direction for the organization, and reports to and works with the Board of Trustees to articulate strategies that will advance GHHN's mission. The Executive Director implements policy approved by the Board, manages programs, operations and a small staff, and represents Greater Hudson Heritage Network as a visible advocate in the professional field, to funders, members, participants, partners and associated constituent communities. The Executive Director will work with board, staff and a diversity of stakeholders to advance GHHN's strategic growth and financial sustainability, and to foster partnerships that will support innovative organizational growth/sustainability measures for the field. The Executive Director exhibits a commitment to management through best practices and highest ethical standards.

Responsibilities

Program, Products and Service Delivery: Develop and coordinate the design, funding, staffing, promotion, implementation and quality of programs, products and services to meet Greater Hudson's mission, to meet grant requirements, and to analyze measurable results and report them to the field.

Revenue and Resource Development: Guide and participate with Board committees, staff and others in membership development, identification of earned and contributed revenue sources and events, identification of private and public funding sources, and development/ preparation/ management of grant opportunities, proposals and contracts.

Budget Planning and Financial Management: Prepare an annual (fiscal year) budget draft for board recommendation/approval; coordinate professional accounting, tax reporting and audit services for GHHN; manage the organization's resources within approved budget and grant guidelines, applicable laws and non-profit regulations.

Human Resource Management: Identify, hire, retain and motivate qualified staff and manage the human resources of GHHN according to approved personnel policies and procedures that conform with current laws and regulations.

Public Relations and Communications: Communicate Greater Hudson's mission, vision and service purposes with clarity and consistency through website, programs, products, methods, venues, design and technologies that create and reinforce GHHN's identity and visibility with members, partners, allied museum, library, archival and preservation organizations, and professional and public constituencies.

Candidate Profile

--Successful non-profit management experience with evidence of leadership in organizational development, advancement and/or strategic thinking, fund raising, grant writing/grant management

--Flexible management style balancing independent creativity with teamwork, and evidence of effective delegation to staff when appropriate; effective management experience with professional staff and volunteers

--Knowledgeable and articulate about issues, operations, skills and diversity of the museum and history field in the Hudson Valley National Heritage Area, in New York State, and nationally

--Proficient at monitoring/assessing statewide and regional museum and history activities, marketing and communications trends, partnership and leadership opportunities

--Experienced in museum, cultural, funding, educational, heritage or humanities environments through projects, board service, or past staff positions

--Connected with individual professionals from (and consultants to) museums, historical societies, historic sites, public historians, professional associations, groups, research, preservation and/or educational programs in the Hudson Valley and greater metropolitan NYC area;

--Proven ability to establish effective relationships with individuals, members, funding agencies, elected officials and collaborative partner organizations

--Commitment to appropriate technological advances in operational management

--Exceptional oral and written communication skills

--Bachelor's degree in a relevant field required, Master's degree preferred

Work Environment

The Executive Director is an annual salaried position, based at Greater Hudson Heritage Network's office in the Westchester County Records & Archive Center, Elmsford, NY. The regular work hours are weekdays between 9am – 5pm, with flexibility of schedule required for program, conference and meeting attendance, and other occasional travel in the field. The building, in which we share space with the Westchester County Archives and the Westchester County Historical Society, is closed for all government holidays.

The Executive Director reports to and receives an annual performance evaluation from the President of the Greater Hudson Heritage Network Board of Trustees. Compensation is competitive, based on experience and demonstrated ability to carry out the responsibilities and duties of the position.

Greater Hudson Heritage Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

A Regional Identity Forged Through Mutual Mission and Smart Stewardship

This year Greater Hudson Heritage Network is proud to become a partner of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area through the support of the Hudson River Valley Greenway Conservancy, stretching like Greater Hudson itself, from the Battery to Albany. Through shared goals, mutual mission and professional development offerings, Greater Hudson Heritage Network's 2010 historic site practicum programming- "Smart Stewardship: Training Towards Mutual Goals of Boards & Mission, Curators & Conservators"- will promote smart working strategies for boards and staff, further strengthening the collegial network of historic sites, historical societies and house museums by communicating common regional identity as well as common ground for sustainable operations and interpreted public access.

Mutual Mission:

GHHN's mission—"to serve the museum and history communities by advancing professional standards and practices, building the capacity of organizations to meet their missions, and creating a network of effective and professional stewards of regional history and culture," meets the Heritage Area's mission to "recognize, preserve, protect and interpret the nationally significant cultural and natural resources of the Hudson River Valley for the benefit of the Nation" under the management of the Hudson River Valley Greenway. The Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area program was established by Congress in 1996 and is funded through the National Park Service and Department of the Interior. The Greenway itself is a compact among over 320 communities in 14 counties- all served by Greater Hudson Heritage Network: Albany, Bronx, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, New York, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Ulster, Washington and Westchester.

Collaborative Regional Efforts:

Fall 2009 saw the collaborative regional efforts of the Quadricentennial Commission, under the Chairmanship of Joan Davidson, and the Hudson River Valley Ramble engage an aggregate of 200,000 public participants in the Heritage Area, where nearly 300 organizations and historic sites hosted cultural heritage and environmental programs, exhibits, walks and activities.

At Greater Hudson Heritage Network, our October 2^nd Annual Meeting at Bear Mountain celebrated the award-winning leaders and staffs among our regional membership, while a Field Forum on Historic Site Futures focused us squarely on the pressing issues of preservation, audience, funding and sustainability immediately ahead.

An Era of Smart Stewardship:

A full program of "Smart Stewardship" practica, facilitated discussion, and responsive on-site consultations ("House Calls") to meet those issues will begin early in 2010, and will include hands-on Historic Housekeeping training, roundtables on Emergency Preparedness & Recovery, and collections care workshops engaging curators and conservators in meeting mutual goals on handling, exhibiting and interpreting historic frames, paintings and furnishings. Interpretive development of a regional identity will be offered through a variety of programs including a newly funded series of digitization training workshops for audio Oral History collections, supported by a New York State Library discretionary grant.

GHHN's 2010-11 programs and services are supported by general operating support from the Museum Program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), a state agency, by the Bay and Paul Foundations, the New York State Archives (DHP), NYS Library Conservation-Preservation grant program, and the Greenway Conservancy of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

The Board of Trustees of Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHHN) conferred special regional recognition to Barnabas (Barney) McHenry through presentation of the Greater Hudson Cultural Heritage Award on October 2^nd, preceding a Historic Site Futures Forum at Bear Mountain, NY.

Greater Hudson Heritage Network is an agent for the advancement of member cultural organizations, their staffs and boards, throughout the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. Known for the past two dozen years as Lower Hudson Conference of Historical Agencies & Museums, GHHN changed its name in 2009, preserving its 21^st century mission to serve the network of history keepers and historic communities throughout the region as a catalyst to advance professional standards and practices, to build the capacity of organizations to meet their missions and to create a network of effective, professional stewards of regional history and culture now and in the future.

For 40 years Barney McHenry has worked to protect the Hudson River Valley, its heritage, cultural history, storied landscapes and historical trails. As counsel to DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace, founders of Reader's Digest, he was the principal architect of the Wallace Funds, which have contributed to the arts, education, humanities and the environment throughout this National Heritage Area.

Barney McHenry demonstrates his commitment to the region as Chair of the Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council, Co-Chair of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, and Member of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, while offering valued trustee-leadership to regional historic sites through his service on the boards of Friends of the Hudson Valley and the Open Space Institute, and as Chairman of Boscobel House and Gardens.

"Greater Hudson's vision of 'communities that value the exploration and preservation of their heritage and cultures, and are empowered to save and interpret them to future generations,' has been furthered by the work of Barney McHenry," affirmed Jacquetta Haley, President of the GHHN Board.

Greater Hudson Heritage Network is a museum service organization that has grown to encompass an area and cultural constituency from the Battery to Albany- engaging, informing and connecting staff, consultants and trustees of cultural heritage organizations as a catalyst to strengthen professional capacity, define and meet mission, and connect them through best practices in stewardship.

2009 Awards Towards Excellence are presented to:

BOSCOBEL HOUSE & GARDENS, Garrison, NY (Putnam) for the exhibition, Home on the Hudson: Women and Men Painting Landscapes, 1825-1875. This award is in recognition of the continued effort to explore the works of Hudson River School painters particularly those done by women artists and for incorporating the research of doctoral students in the exhibit catalog.

CLARKSTOWN TOWN CLERK, DAVID CARLUCCI, New City, NY (Rockland) for the preservation of the Town of Clarkstown's historical records. This award is in recognition of the Town Clerk's program to preserve, digitize and make accessible over 250 years of town records that, in many cases, are too fragile to be handled.

CONSTITUTION ISLAND ASSOCIATION, INC., West Point, NY (Orange) for the film, "Constitution Island: American Landmark." This award is in recognition of the endeavor to raise awareness of the historic and cultural significance of the site and its use as an educational tool.

SAMUEL DORSKY MUSEUM OF ART, New Paltz, NY (Ulster) and NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, New York (NY) for the exhibition and publication, The Hudson River to Niagara Falls: 19th Century American Landscape Paintings from the New-York Historical Society. This award is in recognition of a collaboration that re-interprets the landscape collections of the New-York Historical Society by exploring the importance of the region as a cultural site in the 19th century through the works of Hudson River School artists.

HISTORIC HUGUENOT STREET, New Paltz, NY (Ulster) for the exhibition Before Hudson: 8,000 Years of Native American History and Culture. This award is in recognition of the exhibit and public programming that advances regional history by exploring the history of the native inhabitants of the area using archaeological findings.

KATHLEEN EAGAN JOHNSON, Historic Hudson Valley, Tarrytown, NY (Westchester) for the publication, The Hudson-Fulton Celebration: New York's River Festival and the Making of a Metropolis, co-published by Fordham University Press and Historic Hudson Valley. This award is in recognition of the extensive research and in-depth study of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909 and its impact on New York City.

LYNDHURST and WESTCHESTER COUNTY, Tarrytown, NY (Westchester) for the public program and community collaboration, Hudson River Fest: A Search for the Past, Present, and Future. This award is in recognition of a collaborative program that celebrated Westchester's historic ties to the river and land, and explored the respectful stewardship of these important but fragile resources.

MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE - A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST, New York (NY) for the creation of an on-line collection resource. This award is in recognition of an innovative program that invites the public to browse artifacts in a dynamic and user-friendly environment. The online Collection offers information unavailable in the Museum.

NEVERSINK VALLEY AREA MUSUEM, Cuddebackville, NY (Orange) for the exhibit, "The Star is Born: A History of the Movie Star in America from Florence Lawrence and Valentino to Heath Ledger" and a program on women in early films. This award is in recognition of new audience-driven local history programming.

NEW CASTLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY and EAGLE SCOUT MICHAEL MARTINEZ, New Castle, NY (Westchester) for documentation of the Chappaqua Friends' Graveyard. This award is in recognition of the extensive research, detailed documentation and creation of a searchable database for over 1,000 markers in the local graveyard dating back to 1745.

THE OLANA PARTNERSHIP and NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF PARKS, RECREATION, AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION, Hudson, NY (Columbia) for a new gallery, inaugural exhibit, "Glories of the Hudson: Frederic Edwin Church's Views from Olana" and its exhibition catalog. This award is in recognition of a public-private effort to broaden the scope of the historic house museum, and a valuable collaborative marketing concept.

THE KNICKERBOCKER ICE FESTIVAL OF 2009: TIMOTHY ENGLERT, CO-FOUNDER & PROJECT DIRECTOR, ROBERT PATALANO, CO-FOUNDER & ICE SCULPTOR, CHRISTIAN NIELSEN, ROCKLAND LAKE STATE PARK SUPERINTENDENT, MARIA RODD, 2009 EVENT PLANNER, ROSEMARIE MONACO, 2009 PR/MARKETING DIRECTOR, GRETCHEN WEEKHEIM, 2009 HISTORIC EDUCATION DIRECTOR & HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF ROCKLAND COUNTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, HEATHER DUKE, ROCKLAND COUNTY DIRECTOR OF TOURISM This award recognizes the collaborative efforts of a dedicated group of professionals to create and excite the public about local history.

LAKEVILLE-IRONWORKS EDUCATIONAL TRAIL and MATTHEW SHOOK, Sterling Forest, Tuxedo, NY (Orange) This award is in recognition Matthew Shook's dedication, leadership and collaborative skills in bringing together the PIPC, State Historic Preservation Office, NY/NJ Trail Conference, and Rutgers University to preserve, interpret and make accessible to the public a neglected historical resource.

PUTNAM COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & FOUNDRY SCHOOL MUSEUM, DR. TRUDIE GRACE and DAVID DEARINGER, Cold Spring, NY (Putnam) for the exhibition catalog accompanying the exhibition, George Pope Morris: Defining American Culture. This award is in recognition of the extensive, scholarly research undertaken into the life of George Pope Morris of Cold Spring, and his contribution to 19th century American publishing, music and poetry.

GREATER HUDSON HERITAGE NETWORK AWARDS $120,000 STATEWIDE IN MUSEUM CONSERVATION TREATMENT GRANTS FOR 2009

Greater Hudson Heritage Network (formerly Lower Hudson Conference) has awarded nearly $120,000 in conservation treatment grants to 27 organizations, located in 18 counties of New York, in association with the Museum Program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), a state agency. These 2009 awards bring the total granted by this statewide program to over $1 million, since the Conservation Treatment Grant program began in 2000.

From the Bronx to Buffalo, these re-granted funds will provide treatment by professional conservators to aid in stabilizing, preserving, and making accessible to the public an array of unique objects in collections of New York's museums, historical and cultural organizations of all sizes.

From Seneca Falls to Smithtown, 2009 grants will support treatment of ancient Greek Kylixes and contemporary bronze sculpture, printed earthenware, silk and woven textiles and oil paintings- such as an 18th c. Peruvian Cuzco School Madonna and Child, 19th c. portraits and 20th c. landscapes with their carved, gilt frames; a 28ft. wall mural, an early 20th c. Grand Advertising Curtain, and Frank Stella's Big Gur. Diverse objects such as artist Thomas Cole's Top Hat, a Leather Fire Hose, panoramic photograph of Gloversville, the Caudebec Inn 1920's Hotel Register, a plaster bull sculpture maquette, carriages, coaches, a newsprint sign and a Native American clam basket are among the artifacts stewarded by collecting and exhibiting institutions from Rochester to Rhinebeck receiving conservation treatment support through Greater Hudson's 2009 grant program.

Grants are awarded for prioritized, urgently needed conservation of objects that, once treated, will impact public interpretive programs, exhibitions and education. Non-profit organizations with stewardship responsibility for cultural collections (but without in-house conservation staff) were eligible applicants; state or federal owned collections are ineligible for support. Grant funding can treat paintings, works on paper, textiles, furniture, sculpture, ethnographic, historical and decorative objects, and may also support professional treatment of frames, supports, stands and mounts if integral to the final public presentation of the object after conservation.

Greater Hudson Heritage Network strives to provide support for conservation treatments that are executed on the highest professional level. The field of conservation is continually changing, with pioneering research and dissemination of findings on innovative materials and techniques. Although there are many paths into the field of conservation, we acknowledge practitioners who have demonstrated high levels of proficiency and advanced knowledge, adherence to the ethics and standards of the American Institute of Conservation (AIC), and are recognized for their expertise in the museum field.

An evaluation of the Conservation Treatment Grant Program reported that these grants led to public impact outcomes beyond the actual conservation of museum objects, including heightened appreciation of the collections, and increased public awareness of the institution's role as steward, and has proven a spark to further institutional, strategic, financial and long-range conservation planning. Beyond these outcomes, grant recipients reported that Conservation Treatment funding prompted fuller use of collections (for exhibition, web content and loan), enhanced interpretive capability, and expanded opportunities to educate the public about art, history, humanities, the science of conservation, and museum work.

Forty-one grant applications were received at Greater Hudson from institutions in twenty-three counties of New York State, requesting an aggregate of nearly $192,000 in grant support. 27 awards totaling approximately $120,000 were recommended by a peer panel of conservators, curators and museum professionals. Individual 2009 Conservation Treatment Grants range from $555 to $7,500.

Of the 27 funded institutions, 63% have annual budgets under $360,000 (15% operate at less than $50,000). 37% have budgets greater than $400,000 (15% of those have budgets of $400 to $750,000; 15% are in the $1.8 million - $4.5 million range. 7% operate at over $17 million). Organizational annual operating budgets of 2009's grant recipients span a stunning range from $3,400 to $18.7 million.

Voices of the Hudson Valley

Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHHN) is collaborating with the Southeastern NY Library Resources Council (SENYLRC) and the Sound and Story Project of the Hudson Valley, on a planning project called Voices of the Hudson Valley. Funding for the 2009 project came from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant program. The goals of this partnership project are to develop a plan to identify, digitally reformat, and increase the accessibility of sound recordings that document the rich history of New York's Hudson River Valley region. Many oral history collections exist throughout the region, but very few, if any, have been reformatted for digital access. As a result, many of these recordings are inaccessible and at risk of loss through the deterioration of tapes and the disappearance of outdated playback equipment.

The first step in our IMLS planning project was to survey libraries, historical societies and cultural heritage organizations about their oral history collections.

With recently approved grant support to Greater Hudson Heritage Network from the New York State Library Discretionary Conservation/Preservation program, Greater Hudson is collaborating with SENYLRC to host digital reformatting training workshops. One 3-part workshop series will take place at GHHN in Elmsford, NY (Westchester County), and a repeat series will be offered at SENYLRC in Highland, NY (Ulster County). These sessions will be led by a professional faculty that includes Eileen McAdam and Tim Hawkins of the Sound and Story Project, and will accommodate about 15 persons per session. Six 2010 workshop dates will be announced as soon as NYS grant contracting has been finalized.

Click here for the full survey summary (.pdf)

QUICK SURVEY OF PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTIONS: 12/09

Greater Hudson Heritage Network is working to identify certain kinds of collections in your care such as photographs and oral history recordings that are potentially accessible sources of historic documentation of the greater Hudson Valley and metropolitan region our diverse populations.

With your help and collaboration, we plan to engage member stewards and constituents in
Identifying these collections and collections care needs
Training historical society, museum and library staff and volunteers in handling, storing, re-formatting and exhibiting
Assisting in the creation of common-usage finding aids, archival and electronic indexes to picture content
Offering workshops on handling, preservation and digitization of collections
Facilitating "smart stewardship" roundtables to discuss mutual concerns of curators & conservators, boards & staff.

Please take a moment to download, print, fill out and send this survey (.pdf) to us

REPORT FROM THE DHP, Fall 2009

The Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) is a statewide records program designed to locate, organize and make available the state's historical records that are critical to ensuring the survival of New York's heritage. Established by law in 1988, the DHP is administered by the New York State Archives. Greater Hudson Heritage Network has been providing services for the Hudson Valley Region, DHP (Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster counties) since 2000. Among the services provided are free on-site, email and telephone consultations, workshops and roundtables on archival issues, DHP grant assistance, and News from the DHP, a quarterly newsletter with regional archival news, practical advice on managing historical records, professional development opportunities and useful internet and print resources.

Over the past nine years, the Hudson Valley DHP has offered more than 60 workshops and roundtables, from archival basics to advanced technology for archival solutions, attended by over 1,000 professionals from the Hudson Valley and beyond, and visited more than 120 regional historical societies, libraries, museums and similar organizations offering guidance on managing their historical records.

Free Site Visits

The Hudson Valley Regional Archivists, Dianne Macpherson and Reg White, offer free advice and on-site consultations to area not-for-profits. Organizations of any size are invited to participate. Historical societies, museums, libraries and archives are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. For more information, or to schedule a free site visit, contact Coordinator Dianne Macpherson, 914.592.6726, dhp@greaterhudson.org or archivist Reg White, 845.878.6637, Rwhite@bestweb.net.

Basics of Archives Workshop

62 dedicated people found their way to the Akin Free Library in Pawling on a very hot August day this past summer, to attend Basics of Archives, a full day, basic workshop.. They came from nine counties representing historical societies, public, medical and college libraries, archives, museums, historic sites, and school districts, They came to learn about archival procedures and gain practical advice on the proper practices to follow to collect, protect and make accessible the historical treasures in their care. They came to network and share their successes and challenges with like-minded colleagues.

A sampling of participants' comments:

"Information presented will help us get better control over our collections."

"The information presented today has been extremely beneficial and will greatly assist our organization's effort to create an archive."

"(The Workshop) has provided us with useable advice and knowledge."

"We are indeed fortunate to have the NYS Archives DHP to assist
us in our efforts to preserve and share our historic heritage through
our records and artifacts. I feel a personal indebtedness to you all
for the work you do to preserve these precious records so that others
can learn from them."

2010-2011 DHP Grant Guidelines Online

DHP Grants are designed to encourage more comprehensive documentation of New York State's history and culture by supporting projects that identify, survey, collect, and make available important records relating to groups and topics traditionally under-represented in the historical record. A total of $92,000 is expected to be available for grants projects. Grants will be available in amounts up to $25,000 for projects of up to 12-months, from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. Applications must be postmarked by Monday, February 1, 2010. The grant supports projects sponsored by not-for-profit archives, libraries, historical societies, and similar institutions within New York State, and from consortia or cooperating groups of such agencies. DHP grant project types include: Documentation, Arrangement and Description, and Archival Needs Assessment. Information and 2010-2011 guidelines are available on the State Archives web site, www.archives,nysed.gov . For further information, please contact: Pamela Cooley /Documentary Heritage Program, New York State Archives, Room 9C71 Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230, Telephone: 518-474-6926, Email: dhs@mail.nysed.gov

Congratulations to Locust Grove

Locust Grove Executive Director Ken Snodgrass confirms that the Morse Historic Site in Poughkeepsie (Dutchess Co.) has been awarded a 2009-2010 DHP Grant. The grant will fund the arrangement and description of the Annette Innis Young (1885-1975) papers. Miss Young was the last surviving member of a family that influenced Hudson Valley business, banking, and industry for six generations, and she spent her life ensuring that her family's legacy was protected in museums, historical societies, and nature preserves. Miss Young's commitment to historic preservation and environmental conservation as early as the 1950's is documented in her papers, which are not yet arranged or available to researchers though they have been owned by Locust Grove since 1979. With funding from the DHP, Locust Grove will hire an Archival Assistant to arrange and describe these papers to make them accessible to the public at a time when interest in the early years of the conservation movement in the Hudson Valley is very strong.

American Archives Month

Several organizations in the Hudson Valley celebrated with October events, tours, exhibits and lectures. These events help raise awareness about the value of archives and archivists and the importance of archival and special collections in the preservation of local, state and national history. Thanks to all who participated.

Thank you Hudson Valley DHP Advisory Committee

Linda Bull, RAO, NY State Archives Region 9

Joyce Ghee, Historian, Author

Mary McTamaney, Newburgh City Historian.

Sally Pellegrino, Local History Librarian, New City Library

Ellen Pierce, Director, Maryknoll Mission Archives

Eric Roth, Executive Director, Historic Huguenot Street

Sallie Sypher, Deputy County Historian, Putnam County Archives

The Hudson Valley DHP gratefully acknowledges the commitment, support and guidance the Advisory Committee has given to the program and the Regional Archivists.

Fall Futures Forum
Greater Hudson Heritage Network's October 2009 Annual Meeting convened at Bear Mountain to celebrate mission, look to the future sustainability of historic sites, honor fourteen regional Awards towards Excellence-winning projects, and to present the GHHN Board's Cultural Heritage Award to Barnabas McHenry.

NYS Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (W) joined an audience of 115 to introduce the Futures Forum panel by engaging our collegial audience in defining the standards of Smart Stewardship of museum collections, buildings and sites. Greater Hudson's Field Forum featured a leadership panel of professionals remarking on the local, regional, state-wide, economic and audience-influenced planning issues ahead.

Jack Braunlein, Executive Director of Lyndhurst (a National Trust for Historic Preservation property in Tarrytown) and GHHN Trustee, spoke about moving historic house operations and audiences into a new domain (see below). Franklin Vagnone, Executive Director of the Historic House Trust of New York City, commented on the practical issues arising from identifying and pursuing future support for historic house museums in neighborhoods of the greater metropolitan tri-state area.

Taking a statewide perspective, panelist Amy Facca, Preservation Planner with the NYS Office of Historic Preservation, offered an inside view of the State's latest strategic preservation plan, while Barbara Lilley and Maria Holden (NYS Library and NYS Archives) co-chairs of the state's planning partnership for Connecting to Collections, reported on surveyed needs and plans for advancing care, conditions and training for stewards of NY's widely varied collections in museums, libraries, historic sites and archives.

Historian Dr. Bruce Dearstyne looked to the new research and interpretive roles future individual historians may play in collaboration with heritage organizations. Fabiana Chiu-Rinaldi of NYSCA's Museum Program facilitated questions, discussion and comments from the assembled Field Forum participants at Overlook Lodge.

On The Future of Historic House Museums –by Jack Braunlein
Over the past decade most if not all of us have felt the impact of declining visitation and its effect on our budgets. Hardest hit in many cases have been the largest institutions, some due to faulty strategies employed to address this issue. We've all heard the horror stories… and we've all followed the sale of [historic properties such as] Carter's Grove with great interest and concern, though recognizing that it may be a model for some of us as the financial burdens of "excess" properties will argue for their disposition. And while Heritage Tourism markets are expanding, site attendance is declining. How do we attract these and other "new" audiences?

Add to this the impact of the recession, and most of us have been in difficult straights for the past year or more. By now, most of us have instituted or experienced operational cuts, furloughs, lay-offs and reductions in programs. These dire straights and new audiences demand greater need of change to the old model of the historic house museum-- and the question is," Where do we go from here?"

We need to ask, how is what we are preserving now going to be preserved for the future? It may mean developing new approaches to visitor engagement. It may mean concentrating our resources on the preservation of our historic buildings, grounds and/or collections while we institute programmatic changes or mothball parts of the operation (an "intellectual closure" if you will). For others, it may mean transitioning the building to an altogether new use.

As we at the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) re-consider the place of our sites now and in the future, these are the issues that we are considering:

Heritage Tourism is not a sustainable model; serving the goals of your community is.
Attendance numbers are not necessarily a valid measure of success, and we need to develop new approaches to, and measures of, the quality of visitor engagement.
Museum Standards (borrowed from the museum community at large) are in many cases not reflective of the special mission of historic sites and may work to the detriment of our buildings and deter creativity and sustainability. We have seen how high tech HVAC systems designed to protect collections have, in the end, caused damage to many buildings. Standards that encourage every object to be tested as a Mona Lisa (even reproductions) are not standards but perceptions, and can effect prioritization of care and the demand on our limited resources.,
New standards of stewardship will require sustainable balance between our historic/natural resources and access by the visiting public.
Audience – knowing what your community is and might become. For example, the Glass House in New Canaan, CT markets to a "community of interest"—Modernists – rather than to the residents of the area.
Financial sustainability equals community engagement plus the willingness to change structure/programs/services to meet the needs of the community. We must always be willing to think beyond "we've always done it this way," and not be afraid to be bold and experimental.

Implications: (some of these are obvious, some you may be doing, others are perhaps new)

Design tours for today's visitors. Our tours should incorporate stories and narratives, relating a history that can be made relevant to today's issues; and we should move away from genealogies, decorative arts tours, etc.
Incorporate current technology in tours and programs. Cell phones, iPod, blogging, etc.
Create unique and special programs and tours. Evening tours, behind the scenes lecture, sleep-overs, fantasy tours. Boscobel and Historic Huguenot Street have incorporated yoga and Croquet on the Lawn-- where the emphasis is on programs aimed at small affinity groups, with a low impact on site and staff, but cumulatively creating broad-based support.
More involvement by the local community. Collaboration with groups of all kinds who may have an interest in some special aspect of your site.
Don't rely on one audience. What are the special resources of your site and what is their attraction to new audiences?
Use varied marketing venues, exploring the non-traditional, especially through collaborative ventures.
Be open to change. Again, be experimental with the resources for the site and develop new methods of visitor/user engagement.

For some years, now, the National Trust has been thinking well beyond the "velvet rope tour" and is developing sites to be Centers for Community Engagement as community education centers, performing arts centers, residences, rentals and retreats. Some have created small, affinity group experiences. At Lyndhurst, we are restoring/renovating buildings for revenue generation such as turning the North and South Gate Houses into rental properties. Lyndhurst is expanding catering facilities and opening the site to greater use for hospitality and catered events. The Bowling Alley is being restored for use- not as a static exhibit, and the mansion itself is re-thought as we protect or move collections, but use some period rooms for public events. Finally, we are partnering with environmental groups to engage new audiences in the broad resources of the site, and in the support and preservation of our open space and natural resources.


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