2012 in Review and Hopes for 2013

It's been a while since I've penned a post here, so I thought I would break the silence by posting one themed around reviewing 2012 and listing my hopes for the New Year.

Some Highlights of 2012:

1) Taking my final class, Essentials of Museum Management, and touring/ reviewing a good portion of Memphis's museums.

2) Starting work at Davies Manor Plantation, a beautiful historic house museum and farm.

3) Being hired as the museum assistant - my first professional job in my field - and getting to dress in period costume!

4) Adopting the world's cutest, sweetest, and furriest dog, and naming him Fred.

5) Finally graduating with my Masters Degree in History, concentration Public History, with a track in archival management, in May!

6) Teaching my first college classes.

7) Welcoming the world's most beautiful niece, Kaylee, and watching my brother struggle and succeed to be an amazing father.

8) Leaving Davies Manor Plantation with a small legacy, and with personal and professional relationships that, I hope, last a lifetime.

9) Cramming our entire life into one U-Haul truck and setting our sights on Nashville on the cold evening of the first of December:

I guess I really have been more productive this year than I knew! For 2013, I hope for more direction in my professional life and to be able to contribute more to our financial stability. I hope to settle down with my husband and create the strong fabric of our life together. I hope to mend and strengthen bonds with family members. I hope to learn how to take it easy on myself, to cut myself a break, and to love myself, even with my flaws and other people's perceptions of my flaws. I hope to be in a place, physically, emotionally, and financially, where we can seriously consider adding even more life into our home.

Did I forget anything? Did you share in some of these highlights with me? What were your personal highlights for 2012? What are your hopes for the New Year?

Adults in Toyland: Engaging the Children's Museum of Memphis

My husband, Jordan, in front of CMOM

I've been excited about visiting and reviewing the Children’s Museum of Memphis (CMOM), primarily because I’ve never intellectually engaged children's museums. That is to say, I've always looked at them as places for children to have fun rather than museums where people of all ages can learn. CMOM is a Memphis treasure held in high regard both locally and regionally. Just today, at a regional museum workshop, I overheard two colleagues discussing how fabulous CMOM is. While I was personally impressed with the museum, I also saw some areas for improvement.

A classroom at CMOM

Anna Billings Gallup, a children’s museum pioneer, said, “To inspire children with this love for and pride in the institution, they must feel that it was created for them, and that in all of its plans, it puts the child first.” [1] As one approaches CMOM, it is obvious that its founders held the same view. Children’s music plays over speakers, a cage of birds greets children before they even enter the museum, and the colorful façade hints at the wonders behind the museum’s door. I brought my husband, as he often expresses his childhood love for the museum. It was really interesting to watch him, as an adult, encounter one of his favorite childhood spaces. One imagines that many Memphians bringing their children to this landmark Memphis museum have similar attachments to familiar exhibits and the museum landscape.

Jordan, a Spanish teacher, points out inclusive language!

We also enjoyed the museum’s newer exhibits, like one on backyard gardening, which invited children to “plant” plastic fruits and vegetables in a fabric “dirt” bed. I especially appreciated how newer exhibits, including a temporary one on dinosaurs, had dual text in Spanish and English. We valued these efforts towards inclusiveness, although the landscape could have been more inclusive to children with physical disabilities. The temporary dinosaur exhibit is rather dark and items strewn across the floor don’t improve accessibility.

Vegetables in the garden - Jordan picks a fruit from the apple tree!

I did enjoy that nearly every exhibit had a hands-on and text component, ensuring that the museum is fun for both toddlers and older children. Toddlers who enjoy playing dress-up in the dinosaur exhibit may grow up to be children who, because of the fun they had as a child, enjoy learning from text accompanying exhibits. For now, their older siblings will certainly enjoy reading and learning about dinosaurs. Although text was concise and simply worded, parents can also be engaged through it, verbally passing information to children and learning something new themselves. Older children also enjoy the grocery store exhibit, where they can “shop” for “groceries” and use cash registers.

Grocery store exhibit, sponsored by Kroger
Visiting children learn about shopping and using money

I also appreciated how the museum incorporated local history and culture. My favorite examples of this were two exhibits, one modeling the Mississippi River and the other centered around a real FedEx plane. Visitors can play in the water of the “Mississippi,” see fish that swim in the river, and learn about the effects of pollution, while physically tracing the river’s path on the periphery of the city. An exhibit like this one teaches children about an important aspect of the city’s landscape and history. Children are also introduced to a crucial piece of Memphis’s economy as they help “load” the FedEx plane with “packages” on a conveyor belt. As someone avidly interested in local and community history and memory, I enjoyed that CMOM thought to include these aspects of Memphis culture.

Model of the famous bridge connecting Memphis and Arkansas

The Mighty Mississippi

At the same time, I did observe some negative issues. Parts of the museum were not as well-monitored as they should have been, sacrificing opportunities for education. We went on a Saturday, likely the busiest day of the week. Many exhibits, like the doctor’s office, were in absolute turmoil. This exhibit included no textual interpretation, while the hands-on educational tools were scattered throughout the area, making it difficult for children to actually learn anything. A more orderly procedure might correct this. The small grocery store replica, adjacent to the doctor’s office, is closely monitored by staff to ensure that the area is kept neat, while, just a few feet away, the doctor’s exhibit is strewn everywhere and poorly developed. The museum is missing a major opportunity here to educate visitors.

Children load packages on a conveyor belt connected to a FedEx airplane

Another missed opportunity is Windows to the World, funded by the Indian Community Fund. I was excited to see how the museum incorporated globalism, but was disappointed to find that the alcove was mostly empty, with only benches, some framed art, and paintings of generic books. I couldn’t help but feel that the museum was missing an important educational element here. Children’s museums should educate, as well as provide a creative outlet for children to run and play. Aside from a few exceptions, CMOM does an admirable job of educating and engaging Memphis children.

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[1] Edward P. and Mary Alexander, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums (Plymouth, UK: Altamira Press, 2008), 167.

Getting Lost in Art and Garden Paths at the Dixon

Dixon Main Gallery Building

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens is an art museum and botanical garden located in East Memphis, Tennessee. It was established in 1976 by its former residents, Hugo and Margaret Dixon. The private residence is now open as multiple galleries, while a separate building houses galleries, a gift shop, and meeting space. I enjoyed my time touring the art galleries, but I especially enjoyed touring the gardens.

When I arrived at the Dixon Museum, they were between exhibitions, so a large portion of the galleries were closed. I was able to see the Lee Littlefield glass sculpture special exhibition in the museum building and gardens, a permanent pewter collection in the reception hall, and selections from the Kattner Collection of American Paintings in the Dixon Residence. This last collection is on long-term loan to the Dixon while the majority of the Dixon’s permanent collection is being shipped to Louisville.

The first collection I viewed was Lee Littlefield’s glass sculptures, specifically the smaller ones, which were on display in the left wing of the main building. Each was mounted to the wall with a label containing the name and date of the piece. The exhibit is called Big Texas Bayous, which is indicative of the inspiration of the bayou in the shape of the sculptures. Each sculpture is also composed of bright colors which reflect the underwater environment.

Lee Littlefield sculptures in an open area of the grounds behind the Residence

I then saw that the reception hall was open to the public. Noticing large glass cases filled with objects on the walls around the room, I wandered in and found a huge collection of pewter dinnerware, figurines, and serving materials. This was one of my favorite aspects of the museum because it connected part of the museum’s permanent collection to history through material culture. Viewers could look at dinnerware sets, ice cream molds, and other household implements, and imagine how people who used them might have lived. More interpretation to educate visitors about how the pewter utensils were used would be beneficial towards this goal. I did, however, appreciate the labels corresponding to the displays, because each features outlines of the items contained within, arranged in the same order as they are in the cases. Each outline contains a name and/or description of the item, as well as its year of creation. Unfortunately, some of the outlines on the labels do not correspond to the arrangement of the case. Some items have been removed, perhaps for cleaning or repair. Presumably, these items will be returned, which is likely why the labels have not been changed to reflect the accurate current arrangement.

            

From there, I stopped by the gift shop, which is well-maintained, but doesn’t necessarily reflect the overall feel of the museum. While the items there are nice, they don’t explicitly correspond to either the collections or theme of the museum, as I have seen in other art museum gift shops. I then walked across the drop-off lot to the Residence, where I viewed a selection of American paintings. I enjoyed the setup of the galleries in the Residence, especially because rooms like the dining room are still easily recognized. Since the museum was getting ready to close, I did not go into the upstairs of the Residence, so I would be interested to see that area of the museum on a later visit.

The Garden Path from the direction of the Residence

Finally, I walked towards the entrance to the gardens, near the parking lot. A small wooded trail leads visitors to the Memphis Garden Club Cutting Garden, past a tented patio covered with bright blue café tables and chairs. The cutting garden, bordered on the back by the greenhouse building, is well-manicured. This is in stark contrast to the beautifully overgrown, but still well-maintained walking trails to the left of the garden. Trees are marked with metal numbered medallions, while both trees and plants are marked nearby with labels that tell visitors of their species. The wooded trails are winding, allowing visitors to get lost and to forget they are in the city. I had the impression that, by the time I needed to leave, I hadn’t yet seen everything in the trails.

Fountain and Pond in the Memphis Garden Club Cutting Garden

My overall impression of the museum is that it is a great place to quietly pass an afternoon. The art on display is interesting and the gardens are beautiful. The Dixon is an important cultural institution in Memphis and a valuable asset to the city. I would love to see some educational programs and special events there to see how the museum engages the general public.  

Our Visit to The Brooks Museum of Art

My husband, Jordan, in front of the "Peaceful Warriors: Aim for Change" post-it wall

            The Brooks Museum is a fabulous art museum located in historic Overton Park in midtown Memphis, near the famous Memphis Zoo and the quirky Memphis College of Art. We visited on an early Wednesday afternoon and saw two special exhibits, “Art and Scandal: The McCall Purchase” and “Peaceful Warriors: Aim for Change.” These exhibits are powerful and successful because they meld together art and local culture.

            The first exhibit we viewed was “Art and Scandal: The McCall Purchase.” In addition to showcasing exemplary art, this exhibit focuses on some fascinating Memphis history. The McCall Purchase was a group of paintings bought by the city in 1943. The collection was already controversial in the art world because many of the works were considered to be frauds. Complicating matters, many Memphians felt that $25,000 of taxpayer money could be better spent. The parks commissioner, city mayor, and Brooks personnel, however, saw the money as an investment in Memphis’s cultural community.

Many of the paintings were indeed frauds and acknowledged as such by the city and its art advisers at the time, but critics disputed the worth of several of the paintings, supposedly by masters. While the city felt one of these paintings alone was worth $25,000, many art connoisseurs thought it was worth much less and valued the collection at well under $25,000. Now, however, the acquisition is seen as a smart investment for the city. Time eventually proved the value of the pieces and the acquisition garnered much prestige for the museum, elevating it from a regional museum of art to one of the best in the Mid South.

            I especially enjoyed this exhibit because it combined local history, art history, and art exhibition. The installment displayed items from the purchase still in the collection, as well as black and white foam board prints of paintings which had been deaccessioned or never accessioned at all. Prints’ interpretive labels discussed the piece’s history, role in the scandal, and reasons for deaccessioning. A hallway between the two rooms of the exhibit featured a display of enlarged prints of period newspaper articles discussing the purchase, including statements made by the mayor. As a historian, I really loved this aspect of the exhibit.

            We also viewed an exhibit called “Peaceful Warriors: Aim for Change.” Advertised as having been “curated by the Memphis community via Facebook,” it was developed to correspond with a visiting exhibit, “The Art of the Arsenal,” which closed earlier this month. The project asked students from three local high schools to submit photographs and short essays depicting their “peaceful warriors,” people engaged in changing the community through social action. Before the exhibit’s opening, interns and other workers used social media to invite the community to vote for their favorite photographs.[1] The top twenty were displayed in the gallery, along with descriptions of the community action depicted. Other entries not chosen by Facebook fans were displayed in a small slideshow in the gallery.

I loved that the exhibit was almost entirely community-collaborative. A large wall of post-its invited visitors to share their own ideas of peaceful warriors. Unfortunately, most of the post-its left on the wall did not take the charge seriously. Many visitors put answers like “Batman,” “Godzilla,” or outright offensive statements that should not be repeated here. I am normally against censoring, but I feel that the staff could have curated the post-it notes, especially since one of the exhibit themes is involving teenagers in cultural collaboration. Seeing such immature and offensive responses, likely from visiting school groups, after seeing such thoughtful photographs by students cheapened the experience. Labels on the photographs were also difficult to understand. There were two or three names on each label, but nothing showed who the photographer was, who wrote the description, or who submitted the idea. Overall, I loved the idea behind this exhibit, but thought it could have been better curated.

The Brooks is one of my favorite museums in Memphis. I’ve gone to more visiting exhibits here than I can count, including Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, and a selection of Impressionist paintings. The permanent collection is also impressive. I really enjoy the layout of the museum – it is in typical art museum style, featuring multiple galleries where one can get lost looking at art. The museum décor is clean and modern, while the architecture is traditional and ornate. The Brooks is an integral part of the cultural fabric of Memphis, and a must-see for any visitor to or resident of the city.

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[1] See the Facebook page created for the exhibit, “Peaceful Warriors: Aim for Change,” here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peaceful-Warriors-Aim-for-Change/151238354979515?sk=wall

Memphis Rock and Soul Museum!

Jordan and I are attending Memphis museums on their free day while he is on his Spring Break. Yesterday we went to the Rock and Soul Museum. Check out my impressions from our tour.

Jordan and I in front of the Rock and Soul Museum in the FedEx Forum plaza

The Rock and Soul Museum is located in Memphis, Tennessee, around the corner from the bustle of historic Beale Street. Founded in 1996, the museum was developed by the National Museum of American History as a part of the legendary Smithsonian Institution. Originally meant to be a traveling exhibition, funding for such was never available. The museum became a Memphis reality when a group of Memphians stepped in to secure funding to construct the museum locally.[1] Touring the Rock and Soul Museum should be an important part of any trip to Memphis because it does a fantastic job of situating the musical heritage of Memphis within the overarching cultural context of the Mid South.

The tour begins with a seven minute video discussing the convergence of country, blues, soul, and rock music in the rural Midsouth, and how Memphis came to be the epicenter of that music. The video is dated by the musicians and record executives who appear in it, but not by the information or cinematic style. From there, the tour is self-guided with an optional audio component. The first room of the exhibit focuses on the shared roots of country and blues in Southern porch culture, sharecropping, and rural life. Along with a reproduction of a rural porch, the exhibit featured a covered wagon and representations of cotton and cotton culture. My only complaint about this portion of the exhibit is that it was possible to hear the introductory video while touring it, since the two rooms are only separated by a heavy black curtain. It would be beneficial at some point to build a wall separating the two. The exhibit continues with the depiction of a country kitchen and bedroom; a depiction of how the music migrated, along with sharecroppers, to Memphis; and continues with music memorabilia. It ends with a collection of modern albums that were recorded in Memphis, a blurb about each, and a wonderful wall of post-its inviting visitors to “record” themselves in Memphis.

I especially loved how the video and exhibits combined musical history with social history, particularly race relations, civil rights, and sharecropping. I also loved the “touchability” of the exhibits and artifacts. Signs invited visitors to explore the porch replica and to touch items set out on the table in the kitchen exhibit. Some artifacts, such as an old radio, were housed in glass cases, of course, but quite a bit of the objects were out. I felt like displaying objects in this way in such a setting really helped to immerse the visitor in the cultural history that gave rise to the musical revolution of the 1950s and 60s. In addition, there were multiple forms of media, including text, photograph, audio and video. The text on the exhibits was not overwhelming, but still informative, especially combined with the photographs, descriptions of objects, and audio tour.

The audio tour was also a wonderful accompaniment to the exhibits. The combination of interpretation, famous voices, and music on the audio tour helped to provide visitors with an interesting and varied tour experience. Halfway through the tour, Jordan discovered that one of the juke boxes on display actually had a code next to each song that, when entered into the audio tour handset, played the particular song to which it corresponded. I thought that this was a fun and interesting novelty within the tour. I also really enjoyed the post-it wall at the end of the tour. It is a smart way to gauge visitors’ opinions about the tour, involve children, and make visitors personally invested in the museum experience.

            

The Rock and Soul Museum is a wonderful gem in the middle of the busiest part of Memphis. The walk to and from the museum was half the fun of the experience. We parked several blocks away, but the walk wasn’t difficult as we passed through Beale Street, past the Ida B. Wells historic marker, through the FedEx Forum open air plaza, and into the museum. Going in the early portion of the evening was an especially exciting time to visit because one could hear the music from Beale Street drifting through the air. The location of the museum was a bit of strategical genius because the surrounding area sets the mood perfectly. Visiting the Rock and Soul museum was a Memphis experience I wish I had done sooner. I definitely plan on returning to experience more of the exhibit at a more leisurely pace.  

My post-it "record"

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[1] For more information, see http://memphisrocknsoul.org/aboutus. 

Me at the Ida B. Wells historical marker at Beale Street and Rufus Thomas

Yesterday Jordan and I visited the National Civil Rights Museum here in Memphis. Its primary focus is to document the nineteenth and twentieth century African-American struggle for liberty. Although the Civil Rights museum is a fantastic example of a large, well-funded and well-developed museum, there are also some negative issues that deserve consideration.

Upon entering the museum, a visitor veers to the right and begins the tour with a depiction of slavery. From there, the museum continues chronologically through the escalation of the Civil Rights Movement. The first half of the tour ends in a replica of rooms 306 and 307 of the Lorraine Motel, the former being the room where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was staying during the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike. The second half of the tour continues across the street in the former boarding house where James Earl Ray is said to have fired the shot that killed Dr. King. It begins with a chronology of the days surrounding the assassination and continues with replicas of both the bedroom where Ray stayed and the common bathroom from where the shot was fired.

As far as interpretation is concerned, the Civil Rights Museum does a great job. The facts included in the exhibit are accurate, clear for the most part, and free of grammatical error. The museum also does a great job of situating the movement in its cultural context and provoking the visitor to think clearly about its foundations and legacy, posing important questions and depicting multiple theories. I did appreciate the various forms of media in the museum, including text, image, artifact, video and audio. I also especially enjoyed the exhibits’ larger artifacts, including a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, a destroyed Greyhound to illustrate the Freedom Rides, and a Memphis garbage truck to represent the Sanitation Workers' Strike.

I did perceive some issues during our tour, however. The abundance of text in the exhibits is overwhelming. There is no way to read all of it and, when one attempts to do so, the exhibit space becomes congested. I heard several complaints, including “I feel like I’m not getting to see all of this,” and “I’m so overwhelmed.” To be fair, we visited on a Monday afternoon, when the museum is congested because Tennessee residents with a valid driver’s license can enter for free. I appreciate free admission because it allows many people to attend who otherwise would be unable, but I can’t help feeling that the driver’s license requirement is more restrictive than it ought to be, undermining the mission of the museum to educate and inspire the public about Civil Rights.

The overall flow of the museum was sometimes confusing. Exhibits interpreting M.K. Gandhi and Barack Obama were awkwardly placed. The Gandhi exhibit occupies space between the two tour halves, extracting visitors from the narrative of events. Similarly, the Obama exhibit is situated at the end of the Ray trial exhibit, but before the exhibits on post-MLK civil rights. Indeed, the entire second half of the tour lacked a cohesive flow. Jordan and I spent time trying to figure out how the exhibit was supposed to continue, particularly at and after the introduction of the boarding house bathroom replica. The physical path of the museum should reflect the chronological flow of interpretation more clearly. Jordan, a weapons enthusiast, also noticed conflicting information about the gun used by Ray on the day of the assassination. One portion of the exhibit states that Ray purchased a 30.06 and traded it for a .243-styled rifle the next day, while another portion states that Ray used a 30.06 to fire at Dr. King.

Finally, one ought not discuss the National Civil Rights Museum without mentioning the very contentious presence of Jacqueline Smith, who as of today, has protested the Civil Rights Museum for 24 years and two months. Smith, a former resident of the Lorraine Motel, maintains that the forced removal of herself and other residents of the motel desecrates King’s memory, and that his legacy would be better served through service to the poor and maintaining the integrity of the neighborhood.[1] She has received support from many Civil Rights and social justice leaders, including Arun Gandhi, the grandson of M.K. Gandhi and founder of the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, hosted at Christian Brothers University in Memphis. I left the Civil Rights Museum with more questions than I had upon entering, especially after stopping by Smith’s protest corner, as many of her ideas echo those informing the museum’s mission and interpretation.  

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[1] For more information, see Ms. Smith’s website at www.fulfillthedream.net

Museum Careers: A Practical Guide for Students and Novices by N. Elizabeth Schlatter

Click on the photograph to go to the Amazon listing for this book!

This book, as the title suggests, is a practical guide for students and new professionals hoping to enter the museum profession. Schlatter’s wealth of experience as a seasoned museum professional has allowed her to write a well-informed book full of smart advice and real world examples to support it. It is truly beneficial to students and new professionals, and one of the most useful books I’ve read in the course of my Masters Degree program.

Part Two, “Museum Jobs,” was especially interesting to me as a public history professional currently in the middle of the job search. Schlatter creates her chapters by identifying three categories of jobs that a museum might employ, leaving the final chapter in Part Two dedicated to “The Director.” These three categories, which make up chapters three through five, include: jobs focused on objects and/or exhibitions; jobs with a public focus; and jobs with an administrative focus. Within these categories, Schlatter has identified several specific jobs – eight each in chapters three and four, and five in chapter five.

Of particular interest to me in chapter three was the librarian/ archivist position. For each job, Schlatter offers a description; a few examples of how a real person with this job in a real museum might work; and general information about salary, education, experience, and resources where one can find job listings and professional advancement opportunities. I particularly found it helpful that Schlatter included the career ladder with her salary ranges. For example, in the Librarian/Archivist job heading, she lists salary ranges for a Librarian Assistant, Assistant Librarian, Librarian, Visual Resources Librarian, Director/ Head Librarian, Assistant Archivist, Archivist, and Chief Archivist.[1]

Throughout the book, particularly in this section, I found myself encouraged by Schlatter’s information. It is practical and no-nonsense, but not depressingly so. It is easy to be discouraged as a public history professional searching for a job. This is especially true for archives professionals when so many fellow candidates are highly qualified and so many jobs require a candidate to have an MLIS or MLS. Schlatter’s section on archivists in museums reassured me that there is room for archivists with training in public history programs, even as she cautioned readers that not all museums need or can afford a full-time library or archive.[2] I also particularly enjoyed the section on Registrar/Collections Manager, as it’s a position within museums that I regularly see postings for and know very little about.

As a public history student, I was also interested in Chapter four, “Jobs With a  Public Focus,” particularly Educator/ Volunteer Manager, as so many of my colleagues have or have had this job at historic institutions, and Information Manager, as one of its alternate titles might be Digital Archivist. Much of my work experience thus far has been in establishing and curating digital archives collections. I have actually applied for two Digital Archivist jobs at museums within the past few months. Schlatter emphasizes that these are relatively new and perhaps unstable careers, although they carry a salary range that seems to be a little larger than other jobs within a museum ($35,000 to $50,000 for an Information Assistant and $70,000 to $95,000 for an Information Officer).[3] As Schlatter notes earlier in the book, however, salary ranges can vary depending on type and location of museum. In the case of one of the positions I applied for at a local museum, the high end of the salary range only slightly touched on the lower edge of the one listed here.

Part Three, Preparing For and Gaining Museum Employment, was by far the most important part of the book for me as a professional currently searching for jobs. This section of the book includes chapters on Education, Internships and Volunteering, Finding and Applying for Jobs, and Professional Development and Career Growth. The interesting aspect of this section of the book is that it includes advice for aspiring museum professionals at all seasons of their careers. This has likely helped to make the book such a seminal one in museums studies programs and in the field at large.

Chapter Eight, Internships and Volunteering, is particularly useful to someone in the middle of a program now, probably a large proportion of the book’s audience. I especially enjoyed it because it discussed the various reasons one should accept an intern or volunteer position, even if it is unpaid and one would rather have a paying position. Chapter Nine, Finding Jobs and Applying, was especially useful to me and, I suspect, to people like me. I felt as I was reading this section of the book that I got more out of it as someone who is currently going through the situations she describes than I would have if I read the book a year or two years ago. It is so well-written, however, that it would be easy to come back to the book and use it for reference, as I may one day do with Chapter Ten, Professional Development and Career Growth, as it emphasizes several ways in which museum professionals stay up to date on changes in the field.

I especially enjoyed this book because I could relate to it so well. Schlatter not only uses real world examples, but also discusses her own career trajectory and experiences during the seasons of her museum career: pre-professional, student, para-professional, and professional. I also enjoyed that she included some of her own experiences with having a family and being a member of the museum profession. Over the past few months, I have found it frustrating that my career choices would be so much more open if I were able to move anywhere in the country. This is impossible for me, however, as a new wife who now has a second person’s career to consider in addition to her own. Schlatter handles the issue of juggling family and career sensitively in many places in the book, and I am especially grateful to her for that. This is one of the best practical guides that I have read in graduate school and I plan on adding it to my collection as a well-loved favorite.

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[1] N. Elizabeth Schlatter, Museum Careers: A Practical Guide for Students and Novices (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2008), 67.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 87

John Lodl, Rutherford County Archivist, and Bill Shacklett, Murfreesboro photographer, teamed up to write a book entitled Murfreesboro: Then and Now using Shacklett's historic photographs, juxtaposed with photographs taken recently from the same angle, a la historypin. John wrote captions for each. As you may know, I spent the summer of 2010 working practically full time at the Rutherford County Archives on the Shacklett's Photograph Collection, so I can't help but feel excited and proud at this wonderful use of the Collection's photographs. You can bet that when it goes on sale February 27th, I'll be excited to pick it up! According to the article, proceeds from book sales are going to a local literacy charity. Congratulations, John and the Rutherford County Archives family!

Read more over at the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal. Read more about my involvement with the Rutherford County Archives here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/martin-luther-king-jr-quotation-to-be-replaced-on-memorial/2012/02/10/gIQASLfc4Q_story.html

The Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial towers over those who visit, giving the impression of a larger-than-life man of mythic proportions, a standard trope in national figure memorialization. 

Historians know that memorials can take on a life of their own. Those who have lost a loved one know that memory can be distorted after the fact - deceased loved ones take on a grandeur as memory becomes hazy and good times are more often remembered than bad in the face of terrible loss. National commemoration can be similar. Often, the memory surrounding figures of national importance becomes larger than life after their death, both literally and figuratively. This can result in mythology and inaccuracy, sometimes inadvertently and sometimes as a result of political manipulation.

Critics of the popular historical memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. already accuse the mainstream establishment of whitewashing King's legacy, ignoring the militancy of his later years and his sharp critique of the political machine, especially in regards to the Vietnam War. Many important Black intellectuals, including Dr. Cornel West and others, have spoken of this trend. While I was still at CBU, I attended a lecture by Angela Davis, former Black Panther and social justice advocate. As she broached this issue, she encountered vast approval from the audience of academics, community members, and students. This is not a fringe belief. That same year, the Memphis College of Art hosted an exhibition of art inspired by the more radical, less depicted beliefs of King.

Therefore, the controversy surrounding the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial is a crucial one. It's important to examine the popular memory of King and to search for inaccuracies in the way he is depicted. How can we present a full picture of the life and legacy of such an important figure in 20th century American history? How can we do justice to the man, to the movement, and to the people who were inspired by him? We can start by ensuring that his comments are put in their proper context, especially on his public memorial.

The controversy surrounds the sentence, "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness," a paraphrase of a larger sentiment from "The Drum Major Instinct," Dr. King's final sermon. As a former writing tutor and teaching assistant, I know well the slippery slope associated with paraphrasing and with taking a quote out of its context. As it turns out, the speech promotes the opposite of what this quote suggests. King spends the speech arguing against what he calls the drum major instinct, the tendency towards showboating and co-opting a movement. This is especially important because this is a charge sometimes leveled against Dr. King - that his larger-than-life figure actually was so prominent in the Civil Rights Movement that, after his death, it was perhaps inevitable that his memory become co-opted, that his legacy would become skewed, and that the movement would lose momentum.

Shouldn't his monument include a more inspiring quote? A quote that the man might say himself? One that reminds every person who visits to become a better person, to work towards the goal Dr. King envisioned? Because that goal is still not achieved. King's dream has not come fully to fruition. Perhaps it never will. Perhaps the true grace is in the struggle, the never-ending march towards justice and equality for all. King's monument should inspire that struggle in those who view it, not a sense of complacency in a job well done or a sense of awe for a man who, if his last speech is to be taken at face value, never wanted such regard for himself to be his true legacy.

Read the original speech, in its entirety, here.

“I think keeping the community memory alive is the purpose of the archive... That is part of the tradition of archives and libraries, open access to information. Community archives document traditions that otherwise fade away when families don’t keep them.” - Joe Penza, archivist of the City of Elizabethton

http://www.starhq.com/2012/02/15/new-city-archivist-working-to-start-archives-for-city/

I met Joe at the 2010 Society of Tennessee Archivists meeting, where we served on a panel together. Through his own hard work and a previous job, he has been given the amazing opportunity to start the Archives of the city of Elizabethton from the ground up. Joe had been planning on attending MTSU to start work on his PhD but has now put it off for this exciting opportunity. Congratulations, Joe, and good luck on your new endeavor! 

This girl is graduating in May, pending a successful completion of comps and the course in which I'm currently enrolled! The Intent to Graduate form has been turned in and approved!

I will soon have my Master's Degree!

Portfolio

I'm working on adding work products to this blog in order to keep an online portfolio. Check back soon for more examples of my work!

Paranormal Romance Ghostwriting

In my job search, I'm discovering that there aren't many opportunities on Craigslist for someone with my specific educational and work background.

My primary background selling points as I see them are: 1) educational and 2) nonprofit.

My educational selling points include: being a Writing Center assistant for three and a half years, a graduate assistant for three courses (managing around 70 students each time), and a research assistant for a semester.

My nonprofit selling points include: office administration (assistant to the administrative assistant for four years, plus three years, off and on, working in a for-profit office setting), my several internships in archives, and the year and a half that I worked as a digital projects assistant in a library.

I try to keep this past experience in my mind as I search for a job here in Memphis. Thumbing through Craigslist, I always open admin/office, education, government, nonprofit sector, writing/editing, and part-time in separate tabs, looking through the first few pages of results.

The three jobs I find that suit my skills are: 1) Collections Representative, 2) Paranormal Romance Ghostwriter, and 3) MCS tutor.

Sometimes I wish I had chosen a life of managerial retail, human resources, or nursing. These seem to be the best options right now!